Sweet Sixteen Turns Bitter for Buckeyes

Written by David Regimbal

I didn't watch Sports Center once this weekend. I didn't read one article. I couldn't even watch any of the other tournament games. These are all the symptoms of an Ohio State loss. As you most likely know, the Buckeyes fell to the Tennessee Volunteers in their Sweet 16 match up last Friday night. What you may not know is the fact that I developed a nervous twitch in my right eye over the weekend. Ah, to be a sports fan.

Some losses are harder to swallow than others. This one feels like trying to swallow a baseball. Unfortunately, I'm obligated to write about this catastrophe, so let's get it over with...

The Buckeyes started out hot against the Volunteers, racing to a 13-7 lead. William Buford was shooting the ball extremely well in the first half, hitting four of his first five shots (and scoring nine of Ohio State's first 13 points). The Buckeyes were moving the ball well offensively, and the back door/baseline cuts were extremely effective against the Vols early on.

One of the biggest factors of the game was Ohio State's inability to secure defensive rebounds. Tennessee absolutely feasted on offensive boards, gathering 18 of them. Wayne Chism was a monster inside, grabbing five offensive rebounds himself. It created multiple second chance opportunities for the Vols, and on most occasions, they were able to take advantage. I lost count of how many put-back jams the Volunteers had, and Tennessee was able to show off why they led the country in inspired and loud screams after dunks (which Diebler did not appreciate).

Now, here's the part of the article where the writer says he's not a coach, but this random factor of the game didn't make sense to him... I'm not a coach, but I don't understand why Ohio State played a defensive zone that focused more on guarding the perimeter than securing the inside. I grew more and more frustrated as I saw three or four Buckeyes guarding two perimeter Volunteer players and constantly giving up those offensive boards. It made about as much sense as old people who don't understand how to use Facebook, but try anyway. You know what I'm talking about -- when you see a friend request from one of your friend's dad, and you begrudgingly accept it because you don't want to offend him. Then these kinds of status updates start showing up on your home page:

Joe Smith Sr.-- You have a 4:00 meeting with the Hendersons', and don't forget to pick up the dry cleaning from Blaire's.

And then you see your friend, who is embarrassed by his father’s update, start this conversation in the thread:

Joe Smith Jr. – omg dad, facebook isn’t an online planner/scheduler, you’re doing it wrong!

Joe Smith Sr. – don’t use that tone with me, son. Respect your elders.

Joe Smith Jr. – Your status updates are annoying!

David Regimbal – You two are ruining Facebook.

Joe Smith Sr. – David, your parents will be hearing about this.

You see? All I'm trying to get at is this -- Ohio State's defensive strategy didn't make sense.

With Ohio State starting the second half with a 42-39 lead, things were actually looking good. Buford had cooled off shooting the ball and John Diebler was being absolutely harassed on offense (finishing with three points on 1/8 shooting), but Evan Turner was heating up. Turner scored Ohio State's first 14 points of the second half as the Buckeyes built a five point lead with 10 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, Evan Turner continued to struggle with turnovers (as he had throughout the Big Ten Tournament and the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament), giving the ball up 6 times against the Vols. Combining that with the poor defensive rebounding will yield all the ingredients you need for a delicious soul-crushing-loss-to-an-inferior-team... cake.

Yes, Tennessee played pretty good defense against the Buckeyes. Yes, Tennessee was able to dominate the paint both rebounding and scoring the ball. Yes, Tennessee had uglier jersey's. But one thing you won't be able to convince me of is the fact that the better team won. And that's why the outcome of this game is so hard to accept. When it came down to the end -- with two minutes left and the game tied at 70, Ohio State turned the ball over on three of their last five possessions. The Vols sealed the win at the buzzer by blocking an Evan Turner three point attempt. 76-73. Ugh.

I have more thoughts, analysis and misdirected anger that I could share here, but I think it's a good idea to end on a positive note. Earlier this year, when Turner was asked if he would forgo his senior season and enter the NBA draft, he said it would depend on varying factors, one of them being how far Ohio State made it in the tournament. Maybe a third round exit was too early for our player of the year, and Evan Turner wants to come back and join what would easily be the best team in the country next year for a run at the National Title.

Let me dream, people. Let me dream.

Posted by David Regimbal Mar 29, 2010 8:05 AM Last Updated: Mar 29, 2010

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