COLUMBUS — A year ago, not even the Ohio State Buckeyes truly believed in their ability to win. This year, everybody does.
With that belief come expectations. And pressure.
Coming off a 27-9 season and their first Final Four appearance in 30 years, the Buckeyes, who opened against Notre Dame Tuesday night, are expected to be one of the nation’s best teams this season, ranked No. 5 in the preseason Associated Press poll. That’s light years from where they began 1998 after going 8-22 in coach Jim O’Brien’s first season in Columbus.
Their view of the world may have changed, but the job remains the same. The pressure, the Buckeyes say, is just more motivation.
‘‘No matter how people perceive you, no matter what the expectations are, you have to go out and play,’’ said guard Michael Redd, Ohio State’s key scorer. ‘‘We’ve got to be hungrier than we were last year.
‘‘Last year, we just wanted to go out and win more games than we did the year before. The goal this year is to compete for the Big Ten championship and make it to the (NCAA) Tournament. It’s going to be tough, but if we play to the best of our abilities, we can do it.’’
The Buckeyes also enter this season with something else they didn’t have at last season’s dawn: the swagger and confidence of knowing how to win. Senior point guard Scoonie Penn explained it as the ability to take control of a game late, to know they can pull out a win in the final minutes.
‘‘It’s something that’s inside of you, doing what you have to do to go out and win the game,’’ said Penn, who is credited with bringing that attitude to Ohio State after transfering from Boston College.
But confidence has to be developed, as it was last season. It started, Penn said, when the Buckeyes won the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico in December and grew as the season wore on, culminating in the NCAA Tournament win over St.John’s that sent the Buckeyes to the Final Four.
‘‘Knowing how to win is just as important as talent,’’ Penn said. ‘‘Sometimes you can have great talent, but it doesn’t do anything for you. A lot of times in the last five minutes, ability gets thrown out the window. That’s when knowing how to win really comes into play.’’
But will the Buckeyes be mature enough not to take winning for granted? Penn believes so, because all the returning players — four of the five starters are back — have experienced life both on the top and on the bottom.
‘‘This team has maturity, with all we went through last year,’’ Penn said. ‘‘The coaches won’t let us take anything for granted. I think we’ll keep a level head.’’
There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness, and O’Brien reminds his players of that every chance he gets. But he likes what he calls ‘‘the air of confidence’’ he has seen around the Buckeyes this preseason. It’s a marked contrast from the uncertainty he saw last November.
‘‘They understand. It’s not cockiness. There’s a big difference,’’ O’Brien said. ‘‘These guys think they can go into any place and win some games. I think that’s a really healthy thing.
‘‘Real early last year, we’d go into games saying, ‘Well, maybe we’ll get lucky at the end and get this one.’ I think this season, these guys feel we have a chance to win all the games we play.’’
