Ohio State Basketball: Ranking the 2010-11 Squad Among the Top 10 Buckeyes Teams

On Saturday afternoon, the final unbeaten in college basketball fell.

Ohio State, which started the season 24-0, lost on the road to a formidable Wisconsin team at a venue where virtually no road team wins (amazingly, the Badgers have lost just 11 games in the last 10 seasons at home).

Was it an upset? Yes, but it was an understandable loss against a quality team. The loss does not discount just how good these Buckeyes have been this season despite the loss of last year's Player of the Year Evan Turner to the NBA.

Just how good is this group? Good enough to be regarded as one of the best OSU teams in the program's storied history. Read to find out exactly where it stands at this stage of the season.

10. 1990-91

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19 Dec 1995: Guard Jim Jackson of the Dallas Mavericks moves down the court against the Chicago Bulls during a game played at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls won the game, 114-101. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport

Season: 27-4, 15-3 in the Big Ten

Accomplishments: Big Ten regular season champs, made it to NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

The first of two Randy Ayers-coached teams starts the list. Possessing future NBA players Jim Jackson and Chris Jent, the Buckeyes returned to the second week of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1983.

Jackson was a star for the team as a sophomore, averaging 19 points, five rebounds and four assists while shooting 52 percent from the field.

9. 2009-10

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MILWAUKEE - MARCH 21: Evan Turner #21 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on while taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the second round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Bradley Center on March 21, 2010 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Season: 29-8, 14-4 in the Big Ten

Accomplishments: Big Ten regular season and tournament champions, made it to Sweet 16

I won't spend much time discussing these guys because this team was still intact at this time last year. Player of the Year Evan Turner arguably meant more to his team than any other player in OSU's history.

It's uncertain how this team will be remembered, but Turner's performance during the season will certainly be categorized as one of the greatest seasons in the history of the program.

8. 1967-68

Season: 21-8, 10-4 in the Big Ten

Accomplishments: Big Ten champs, made it to Final Four, winning the third-place game

The last of legendary coach Fred Taylor's great teams occurred in the late '60s behind Bill Hosket Jr. (pictured). There were fewer teams back then (a whopping 23), but that does not diminish the accomplishments of this team.

At this time, UCLA and Lew Alcindor were in the middle of winning title after title. Unfortunately, OSU did not have the opportunity to face the Bruins, as it lost to North Carolina in the national semifinals.

7. 1991-92

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DALLAS - FEBRUARY 21: Jim Jackson #21 of the Houston Rockets gets ready to shoot a free throw during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 21, 2004 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks won 97-88. NOTE TO USER: User ex

Season: 26-6, 15-3 in the Big Ten

Accomplishments: Big Ten regular season champs, made it to Elite Eight

There's that man again. This was Jackson's, and coach Randy Ayers', best team, making it to within a game of the Final Four, as it lost to rival Michigan.

Now, Michigan has been forced to vacate anything having to do with its Fab Five, who were on the roster when it played the Buckeyes, so one could argue OSU would have made the Final Four. I won't.

Jimmy Jackson had one of the best seasons of any OSU player in his third and final season, averaging 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists while shooting over 40 percent from deep and close to 50 percent from the field. It's no wonder he had a long career in the NBA.

6. 2010-11

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GAINESVILLE, FL - NOVEMBER 16: Forward Jared Sullinger #0 of the Ohio State Buckeyes yells after a dunk against the Florida Gators November 16, 2010 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Season (thus far): 24-1, 11-1 in the Big Ten

And here is the current team. For those who may be curious, their loss at Wisconsin had nothing to do with where they are placed. Even if they won, I would not have slotted them any higher.

Make no mistake—the current Buckeyes are a great team, one of the most balanced I've ever seen. However, because we've yet to see exactly what goes down in the conference and national tournaments, it's hard to put them any higher.

I don't view them as the favorite to win it all, but they have an excellent chance of making it to the Final Four because of their talent, length, versatility and leadership. If they make it to the national semis, they'll be higher, but anything less and they stay where they are right now.

5. 1961-62

Season: 26-2, 13-1 in the Big Ten

Accomplishments: Big Ten champs, runner-up finish in NCAA Tournament

The greatest duo in Buckeye history, Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek (pictured), guided this team to a third straight NCAA title game, losing to Cincinnati.

Only two losses for the entire season and a runner-up finish would put this team much higher if we were talking about almost any other D-I program outside of the powerhouses.

4. 1998-99

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20 Mar 1999: James 'Scoonie' Penn #12 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrating during the NCAA Southern Regional game against the St. John's Red Storm at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Buckeyes defeated the Red Storm 77-74. Mandator

Season: 27-9, 11-4 in the Big Ten

Accomplishments: Made it to the Final Four

I'll admit that this team should probably be lower, but this was by far my favorite team to watch.

Flash back to the start of the 1998-99 season: Following an abysmal 8-22 record in coach Jim O'Brien's first season, there were rumblings about a tiny guard named "Scoonie" who transferred from Boston College that had the ability to lead the Buckeyes back to national prominence with the help of rising sophomore Michael Redd (a Columbus native who had an impressive freshman season despite the terrible record).

What followed was the best season in 30 years.

I was 11 years old at the time and did not get into basketball until after Jim Jackson had gone and the Buckeyes were routinely fighting with Northwestern to get out of the cellar of the conference. They accomplished that and much, much more that year.

Now, we're not supposed to remember this team thanks to Boban Savovic's illegal recruitment at the hands of O'Brien much in the way we aren't supposed to remember the Fab Five. Easier said than done.

3. 1960-61

Season: 27-1, 14-0 in the Big Ten

Accomplishments: Big Ten champs, runner-up finish in NCAA Tournament

This was the record start the current Buckeyes were chasing until their slip-up against the Badgers. This team started an incredible 27-0 before finally falling to Cincinnati in the final game.

Once again, it was Lucas (pictured) and Havlicek who dominated the season. Lucas was the National Player of the Year for the first of two straight years (he won it again in 1962), a feat that has yet to occur again at Ohio State.

2. 2006-07

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ATLANTA - MARCH 31: Mike Conley Jr. #1, Ron Lewis #12, Greg Oden #20 and David Lightly #23 all of the Ohio State Buckeyes walk up the court against the Georgetown Hoyas during the National Semifinal game of the NCAA Men's Final Four at the Georgia Dome o

Season: 34-4, 15-1 in the Big Ten

Accomplishments: Big Ten regular season and tournament champs, runner-up in the NCAA Tournament

So far, the best team under coach Thad Matta. Better known as the "Thad Five," the squad was led by freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley.

This team was absolutely dominant from the start, much in the way the current club has been. Oden did not play until the end of non-conference play and couldn't use his right hand for most of the season, but it did not stop the rest of the guys from rolling through the Big Ten before eventually falling to Florida in the title game.

This was by far the most successful modern-day Buckeye squad and set the table for Matta's run of spectacular recruiting classes. Imagine what could have been if Conley or Oden had stayed more than one year...

1. 1959-60

Season: 25-3, 13-1 in the Big Ten

Accomplishments: Big Ten champs, national champs

It should be no surprise for the only national championship team in Buckeye history to top this list. This team started the three-year dynasty of consecutive championship game appearances that has only been topped by UCLA's epic run of championships and Duke's back-to-back titles in the 1990s.

What's surprising is that this was the year Jerry Lucas did NOT win Player of the Year. That honor went to Oscar Robertson.

Now, should the current squad accomplish what this team did, these guys will have to take a step down from the top of the Buckeye tree. Having to go through one-and-dones and 68 teams instead of the 25 the 1960 team went through will be far more impressive.