Ohio State

Reigning national champion Loyola has won seven of its first nine contests this season, but both of the team's losses have occurred against ranked opponents. The No. 15 Greyhounds (7-2 overall and 3-0 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference) get a chance to change that trend when they pay a visit to No. 8 and league rival Ohio State (6-2, 1-1) this Saturday. The showdown with the Buckeyes will kick off a three-game stretch in which Loyola will meet conference foes in Ohio State, Fairfield (6-3, 2-0)

Miami, Ohio State Brian Hamilton Chicago Tribune Form held in the East, and each of the top seeds had its crawl-over-broken-glass win. So there's no one primed for a fall. That should make Indiana the most dangerous team, but Syracuse's length could nudge the Hoosiers out of their comfort zone. We'll stick with the original pick: Jim Larranaga working Final Four magic with a defensive-oriented Miami team that can control tempo and take down Marquette and the Hoosiers.

A 10-3 thrashing of Michigan on Saturday helped Loyola improve to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference this season. But the No. 15 Greyhounds are in this position despite not having played with a full deck of cards. The reigning national champion played the first seven games of the season without senior short-stick defensive midfielder Josh Hawkins, who served a suspension for violating an unspecified team rule. Undisclosed injuries forced Loyola to play without senior attackman and 2012 Tewaaraton Award finalist Mike Sawyer for two contests, senior midfielder Davis Butts in Wednesday's 13-8 victory over Georgetown, and senior midfielder Chris Layne and senior defenseman Reid Acton on Saturday.

FRIDAY'S GAMES Albany (N.Y.) vs. Duke 13, 9Noon Mississippi vs. Wisconsin TRUTV12:30 Temple vs. North Carolina State TBS1:30 Pacific vs. Miami TNT2 Cincinnati vs. Creighton 13, 92:30 La Salle vs. Kansas State TRUTV3 James Madison vs. Indiana TBS4 Colorado vs. Illinois TNT4:30 Florida Gulf Coast vs. Georgetown TBS6:45 Iona vs. Ohio State...

The host No. 5 Notre Dame men's lacrosse team beat a higher-ranked men's lacrosse opponent for a second consecutive game, downing No. 3 Ohio State, 9-4, on Wednesday. Notre Dame, then No. 8, defeated host Denver, then No. 3, 13-12, in overtime, at the Whitman's Sampler Mile High Classic on Saturday. After trading goals in the opening 12:14 of the game, the Fighting Irish (5-1) reeled off five straight and held the Buckeyes (5-2) scoreless in the second and third quarters. Matt Kavanagh and Sean Rogers each scored twice and Conor Doyle (Gilman)

Margaret Smith (McDonogh) scored a natural hat trick over a three-minute span in the first half and No. 7 Notre Dame beat visiting No. 18 Ohio State, 13-8, in women's lacrosse Wednesday night. Smith, who finished with a game-high four goals, tied the score at 4 with 7:16 left in the first half. The next two, at 6:18 and 4:37, pushed the lead up to 6-4. The Buckeyes (2-2) trailed 7-5 at halftime. Ohio State freshman Cian Dabrowski had three goals for the second consecutive game.

Editor's note: Each week, InsideMdSports.com provides this blog with a Maryland recruiting feature that previously appeared as premium content on its site. When Taivon Jacobs committed to Ohio State on July 19, he had no reservations or worries about his decision. He had envisioned playing inside Ohio Stadium as a kid, so picking the Buckeyes was like a dream come true. But two weeks before National Signing Day, Jacobs began to have second thoughts. With Columbus, Ohio, more than 400 miles away from his hometown of District Heights, Jacobs thought of his family - especially his 1-year-old daughter, Bailey - and pondered whether spending the next four years of his life away from home was such a good idea.

Ohio State has best shot Matt Murschel Orlando Sentinel Coach Urban Meyer and Ohio State have the best shot at ending Alabama coach Nick Saban's grip on the BCS title. And Meyer's Buckeyes also would give the Big Ten a much-needed boost, snapping the SEC's seven-year reign. Meyer brings back a good squad that went undefeated in 2012 but was banned from the postseason by the NCAA because of previous rule violations. Quarterback Braxton Miller returns to lead the Buckeyes' dynamic offense.

Irish battle tested Matt Murschel Orlando Sentinel The Buckeyes have one of the more dynamic players in college football in Braxton Miller, a dual-threat quarterback who was second in the Big Ten in total offense this season. His play helped make Ohio State the No. 1 scoring offense in the league. Miller would face his toughest challenge of the season in Notre Dame, which ranks sixth in the nation in total defense and is led by Heisman Trophy runner-up linebacker Manti Te'o.

While I deplore the Maryland decision to go to the Big Ten (they cannot even count in that conference) on traditions alone, I find the economic arguments totally without merit ("UM to leave ACC for Big Ten in '14," Nov. 20). One quote was that Maryland would make more money, estimated at $24 million instead of $17 million per year. After paying the penalty of $50 million, it will take seven years to break even. What makes anyone think the economics seven years from now are going to be the same?