white noise

I finally know what it’s like to see an NCAA tournament game first hand. Unfortunately, I also know what it’s like to pay a bunch of dough to see the Buckeyes lose (yet another) heartbreaker on the national stage.

Friday, D and I headed up to Dayton to see a couple first round NCAA games. Our seats were awesome, in the lowest section, just nine rows from the floor. The first was the overall #1 seed Louisville up against the #16 play-in winner Morehead State. Morehead gave the bigger and faster L’ville a good run in the first half and actually took the lead for a bit. The arena went crazy thinking this could be history in the making (a #16 beating a #1 for the first time ever).

But of course it didn’t last. In the second half, Pitino woke his team up and UofL finished the game up by 20 points. For a bit of the Louisville game, some of the Ohio State payers came in and sat across the aisle from us, no doubt scouting what Louisville would hold in store for them in the second round. Only it wouldn’t matter.

Game two was Ohio State versus the Siena Saints from upstate New York. Even though it was a 8-9 seeded matchup, the schools couldn’t be more different. Enrollment at OSU is over 50,000; at Siena, under 3,000. The University of Dayton arena is only an hour from Columbus, so essentially it was a home game for the Bucks, and the sea of scarlet in the stands showed it.

Things started well for the Buckeyes, gradually building a lead through the first half. Five minutes into the second half the lead had grown to eleven and fans were breathing easy. Then suddenly Siena came roaring back, scoring nine unanswered points to pull them back. The Bucks were visibly shaken. Their outside shooting was cold, and their inside players players were getting beat by the smaller Saints. The rest of the game is one, big, painful blur. The Saints pushed the game into overtime with a 3-pointer under the one minute mark.
And then hit another 3 with under 4 seconds left to force a second overtime.
And then hit another 3 again under 4 seconds to take a final two point lead.

It was the most incredible game I wish I never saw.

D and I shot over to Indy last Saturday to watch a doubleheader of Men’s Basketball – the first basketball games to ever be played in Lucas Oil Stadium. Lucas Oil will be the site of the Midwest Regional NCAA finals later this season and the site of the Final Four in 2010, so it was kind of cool to get a sneak peak at what they may be like.

The first game was 5th ranked Gonzaga versus Indiana. IU, working with a new coach and nearly entirely new roster, kept it close in the first half. IU stayed within 10 most of the second half, but as soon as they’d crack into the single digit deficit, Gonzaga pulled out a three point play. IU sealed their fate with 24 turnovers and the Zags went on to win by 16 in front of the large Hoosier crowd.

The second game was 7th ranked Notre Dame taking on Ohio State. The Irish have a powerhouse on the team in the 6-8 freshman Luke Harangody. As expected, Luke had a strong game, but he also made their team fairly one dimensional. On the other side on the court, the Buckeyes’ Evan Turner surpassed Harangody’s 25 points with 28 of his own (a career high). Turner’s double-double made up for OSU’s horrible three point shooting (3-16) and the Bucks upset ND by five points.

After the game we headed over to Dave and Christian’s for a tree trimming party in which every guest brings the hosts a Christmas ornament, and in return, the hosts give the guests many drinks. In typical, inappropriate fashion, D and I gave them a full size zombie head (from Halloween a couple years ago) with a metal hook attached on top. It’s definitely an attention grabber on the tree and actually not the most inappropriate ornament they’ve gotten.

Holy Crap! With tonight’s 92-85 win in the NIT Championship game, perhaps the OSU men’s basketball team has finally broken the collective curse of Maurice Clarett, Jim O’Brien, Bo Schembechler, Willis McGahee’s knee, Ted Ginn’s ankle, NBA draft rules, or whatever else it was that put our teams in Karma’s outhouse. I’m not about to start bragging about it, but at least now maybe I can watch a Buckeye sporting event without feeling like I’m waiting for a swift punch to the junk.

Nicely done Scarlet and Gray sirs!

OK, yes, it’s not the tournament that anyone cares about. Yes, it’s not the tournament that determines the national champ. At best, maybe it’s the tournament that crowns the best of the worst. None the less, Ohio State will be playing in the NIT Championship game on Thursday night.

The Buckeyes have cruised to wins over every team in the NIT so far. Maybe convincingly enough to make the selection committee second guess leaving them out. But all in all missing the NCAA tournament was probably the best thing for the team. Instead of getting the quick first round (or a very unlikely second round) boot in the Big Dance, they will play five tournament games giving the young guys more much needed experience. The Bucks will lose a couple guys going into next year – most notably the under-rated senior point guard, Jamar Butler – but the sophomore class will be increasing impressive and there will be some key freshmen coming in.

Ohio State will face UMass for the NIT title. It’s not the Florida rematch every OSU fan (and sportswriter) was desperately craving, but it’s almost more satisfying to the Gators drop out before reaching the final. If you’re up for watching some ball on the big screen, come on over around 7 on Thurs.