Deja Vu: Unblemished No. 1 OSU Visits Wisconsin
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 11:09PM 
By JOHN P. WISEOne Great Season
We all know what happened the last time Ohio State took an undefeated and top-ranked team to Wisconsin.
It was just four months ago that the Buckeyes staggered home from Madison, battered, bruised and, most notably, beaten. OSU's singular loss last fall cost it a chance to compete for college football's national championship.
Fortunately, this is college basketball, where perfection is nice and all, but falling short of it neither deems a season a failure nor eliminates a team from championship contention.
Nonetheless, the basketball Buckeyes on Saturday will look to continue their season-long unbeaten streak when they travel to the raucous Kohl Center, seeking their 25th win in 25 tries. Wisconsin enjoys one of the best home-court advantages in all of college basketball. Visiting teams are 17-182 since the arena opened on campus in 1998.
But here are three reasons why the away team will win the 200th game at the Kohl Center Saturday (2 p.m. ET, ESPN):
+ Senior leadership: David Lighty, Dallas Lauderdale and John Diebler have never won in Madison. Each has suffered two losses at Wisconsin, including the 2007 nailbiter during Lighty's freshman year. Think this crew doesn't want another reason to remember this magical run? Bet the ranch that you'll see this trio play harder than they have all season.
+ Rest and preparation: Usually when a team has a full six days between games, especially in February, the value is in the rest and recuperation. True as that may be for Ohio State in this case, don't underestimate the significance of being able to prepare for Bo Ryan's disciplined and methodical system. The Badgers have a road date at Iowa smack in the middle of the week, and won't be able to start game-planning for the Buckeyes until Thursday, just 48 hours before seeing Jared Sullinger in person for the first time.
+ William Buford: The Ohio State junior could be an X factor on Saturday. The Badgers likely will rotate Keaton Nankivil and Jon Leuer on Sullinger down low, and try to keep Jon Diebler's perimeter looks at a minimum. Buford's had a nice stretch in his last four games, hitting 50 percent of his field goals, including 58 percent from beyond the arc. He's averaged 15 points in those four games, while playing 34 minutes each time out. If OSU gets another effort like that, the Buckeyes should be in decent shape.
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