Spring football practice begins this week in Columbus, and for new head coach Urban Meyer, it’s going to be like Christmas morning. “I’m excited to see our presents,” Meyer said of his first look at his Buckeye players in uniform and on the practice field. Meyer claims to have not watched film of last year’s games, in order to fairly evaluate his personnel in the flesh this spring. But even before he toots his whistle for the first time, Urban Meyer has put his own indelible stamp on this Ohio State program.

To begin with, the buzz is back. A year ago, Jim Tressel had been suspended but not yet terminated. The 2011 season was set to begin without several key players, and with a different head coach on the sidelines. Then it got worse. From the lofty heights reached during a decade under Tressel, it got nightmarishly worse.

Then over the course of a humiliating 6-7 season, an OSU administration that had appeared unsteady on its good days and clownishly inept on its worst ones, did one very big thing right. They got Urban Meyer to agree to coach the Buckeyes, and in a moment turned the fortunes of OSU football 180 degrees.

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The Ohio State Buckeyes started the regular season with expectations of a Final Four, but finished with a fluster of losses that had many people questioning the team’s mental strength and toughness.

The Buckeyes used that as motivation and rolled through the East region, capped by a 77-70 victory over the Syracuse Orange in Boston Saturday night. Ohio State’s victory -- it’s 31st of the season -- punched Ohio State’s ticket to New Orleans for their first Final Four appearance since 2007.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta talked about the late season struggles and how it motivated his team, "That loss [to Wisconsin in February] opened their eyes and said, 'Hey, maybe we're not as good as we think we are.’ Maybe it got us pointed in the right direction."

Jared Sullinger elaborated, “When we were going through that slump in February, everybody was saying this basketball team was kind of on a downhill. We heard negative comments. I want to thank y'all because through all the adversity, we constantly pushed through that.”

Sullinger finished the game with 19 points and seven rebounds despite playing just six minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Lenzelle Smith, Jr. suffered a laceration above his right eye that required three stitches, but he overcame the injury and an 0-4 shooting performance in the first half to finish the game with 18 points -- half of which came from behind the arch via three momentum-changing 3-pointers. The Buckeyes had four scorers in double figures as Deshaun Thomas had 14 and William Buford finished with 13.

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Maybe this Ohio State team is maturing.

We’ve watched these Buckeyes lose big leads against Illinois and Wisconsin in ugly, momentum crushing losses this season. Whether it was a lack of team chemistry or a lack of killer instinct, it didn’t seem like Ohio State had the mental fortitude to make a run come tournament time.

That lack of mental fortitude looked to be rearing its ugly head last night in Ohio State’s sweet 16 matchup with Cincinnati. Ohio State was comfortably in charge, leading by 12 points heading into the second half. The momentum swung rapidly though as the Bearcats caught fire, hitting nine of their first 11 shots to start the second. Meanwhile, Ohio State had gone absolutely cold and Cincinnati tied the game with a 16-4 run that spanned just five minutes.

That stretch and multiple timeouts by Ohio State coach Thad Matta still couldn’t shake the Buckeyes out of their funk as Cincinnati took a four point lead with just under 12 minutes to play.

Needing something to spark the team, Aaron Craft put his foot down and started making plays. In a four minute span, Craft forced four turnovers and accounted for five of Ohio State’s 10 points in a 10-1. The Buckeyes kept their foot on the gas and pushed their six point lead out to a 13 point lead before Cincinnati could recover. The Buckeyes went on to cruise to an 81-66 victory.

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The Gonzaga Bulldogs had Jared Sullinger and Ohio State on the ropes in Pittsburgh yesterday.

A 13-3 run late in the game by Gonzaga made Ohio State’s 10 point lead evaporate into nothing with four minutes left. Sullinger had been stonewalled by Gonzaga’s frontcourt all game -- he had no points in the paint through 36 minutes -- but that didn’t stop the Buckeyes from playing through him down the stretch.

With the game tied at 61, Aaron Craft drifted to Sullinger’s side of the court and got him the ball. Sullinger hesitated, made his move and got his first bucket against Robert Sacre, who for much of the game altered or blocked every shot attempt Sullinger made in the paint. Two possessions later, Craft got the ball to Sullinger in the exact same spot and he produced the same result. Gonzaga couldn’t make the same kind of plays on the other end -- they had multiple 3-pointers rim in-and-out down the stretch -- and the Buckeyes went on to earn a place in the sweet 16 with a 73-66 victory.

"Right down the stretch we wanted to get the ball in [Sullinger’s] hands," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "He's a winner. We'll ride that down the stretch."

Sullinger might be a winner, but Aaron Craft was the one who put Ohio State in the position to win yesterday. The sophomore point guard played one of his best games as a Buckeye against Gonzaga, scoring 17 points with 10 assists to go along with his bullish, lockdown defense.

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