Last night, Ohio State handled a very good Florida team–a squad that at least one astute observer has picked to win the National Championship–with relative ease. After a slow start, the Buckeyes led by as many as 16 points before finally winning by seven. Thad Matta’s team displayed the same strengths as a season ago–namely a high effective field goal percentage and a low turnover rate–but they also showed a new wrinkle: getting to the foul line. It’s extremely early, but Ohio State now has a free throw rate of 72 FTA per 100 FGA. For some perspective, the Buckeyes only eclipsed that number twice all of last season–and both times were against the hacktastic Hoosiers. Perhaps this increase in trips to the foul line shouldn’t be surprising given the players that are being replaced:

First off, apologies for the absence of the Numbers last week. The demands brought on by our Penn State coverage proved to be a bit too overwhelming.

Every Big Ten men’s hoops team has played at least one game, and in today’s quick-to-judge world, we thought why not offer some initial thoughts on what we’ve seen through the first week of action. See Brent Yarina’s way-too-early Big Ten impressions in this post.

Just two weeks remain in the regular season, but there still is a lot to play for in the Big Ten. Michigan State could wrap up the Legends Division this week with a win at home over Indiana and a loss by Nebraska at Michigan. Regardless, if the Spartans win out, they are in the Big Ten title game on Dec. 3.

In Week 12 of the Big Ten football season we’re adding the audio from the weekly Big Ten Conference coaches teleconference with reporters as we do each and every week. And @B1Gfootball spotlights a tweet or three from each coach on the call live on Twitter.