See that handsome man to your right? That’s Greg Oden. He went to Ohio State last year and was real good. Now he’s in the NBA. So are fellow stellar freshman of a year ago, Daequan Cook and Mike Conley Jr. (Can you imagine if these guys stuck around this year? Next year? The year after? Wow.) Obviously, when you lose your starting point guard and an incredible presence down low in Oden, your team is going to take a big hit.

And that’s exactly where Ohio State is right now. The Buckeyes stand at 8-3 on the season — good, but not great. They had an embarrassing exhibition loss to Findlay back at the beginning of November and haven’t trumped anyone of note, save for a win against Florida at home last weekend. But, this is not to say Ohio State is devoid of weapons. Freshman Kosta Koufas is the big man up front, averaging just a pinch under 16 points a game. Jamar Butler and David Lighty are still doing their thing, too. Also, watch out for freshman Scrappy McScrapperson Jon Diebler. Take a look at his bio. Dude put up some insane numbers as a high schooler in Ohio. He scored 77 points in a game once and holds the Ohio record for most career points. (Take that LeBron James.)

One change the Buckeyes seemed to have implemented this year is their tempo. Last season they were a run-and-gun threat. This year, Ohio State is notching a paltry 65.3 possessions per 40 minutes and have scored under 50 points on three separate occasions this season. (One of those coming in an embarrassing 65-45 loss at Butler.)

The bottom line: This team is certainly not the Ohio State of last year. But in a weak Big Ten, the Buckeyes have perhaps the most legit shot besides Wisconsin at giving IU and MSU a run for the money at the top of the conference. The Hoosiers travel to Columbus Feb. 10 for a Sunday CBS game. That one certainly isn’t going to be easy.

Read the rest of our Big Ten Preview:

• Minnesota
• Penn State
• Michigan
• Iowa
• Northwestern

Michigan State has been selected as the preseason Big Ten favorite for the 2007-08 men’s basketball season, as voted upon by a 22-member media panel. Indiana and defending Big Ten Champion Ohio State are ranked second and third, respectively. In addition, Michigan State guard Drew Neitzel was named the Preseason Player of the Year and was joined on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team by Illinois’ Shaun Pruitt, Indiana’s D.J. White, Ohio State’s Jamar Butler and Penn State’s Geary Claxton.

The preseason All-Big Ten team that I did over the summer was nearly identical to the one selected by the media. The only difference was that I had Raymar Morgan in place of Pruitt. I also had Neitzel as the player of the year with D.J. a close second.

As far as the order of finish in the conference, you can make a case for Michigan State or Indiana. Everyone else is playing for third.

Steve Grinczel, a Michigan State beat writer, gave us an excellent breakdown of the Spartans a few months back. If, and it’s a big if, Tom Izzo can find consistency in the frontcourt, I would also give the nod to Neitzel and Co. However, considering the options up front are Goran Suton, Marquise Gray, Drew Naymick, Idong Ibok and Tom Herzog, I would say consistency from that group is a longshot. Gray is an effective player when his head is in the game and the rest of the gang is relatively unproven (or not any good) sans Suton.

So, who do you have to win the conference? Player of the year? Surprise team? Coach of the year? Newcomer of the year? Let’s hear your thoughts.

With Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook now in the NBA, Butler will be counted on by coach Thad Matta as the leader for the Buckeyes and I fully expect the Lima, OH native to respond to the challenge.

Butler was named honorable mention All-Big Ten last season by the coaches and the media as he started all 39 games, averaged 8.5 points per game and hit 85% of his free throws. He was second on the team in assists behind Conley Jr.

Expect those numbers to jump considerably as he’ll be expected to take on more of the scoring load while the Buckeye newcomers get acclimated to life in the Big Ten.

While he wasn’t the one getting the brunt of the attention as Ohio State made their remarkable run last season, Butler was one of the “glue” guys that held the team together. He knew the role he needed to play for the team to be successful and played it magnificently.

He’ll now step to the forefront in his final season in Columbus as the leader of what should be another fun Buckeye team to watch.