Written by David Regimbal

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What a collapse.

The Ohio State Buckeyes had full command of the game in the first half -- leading at one point by 13 with all the momentum on their side. Even late in the game -- after a huge rally by Kansas -- the Buckeyes were able to push the lead back to six with five minutes to go.

They couldn’t hang on.

Too many bad shots down the stretch combined with too many easy baskets given up on defense allowed the Kansas Jayhawks to come from behind for a 64-62 victory.

“Down the stretch as this tournament goes, it comes down to making some plays,” Ohio State coach That Matta said. “Give them credit, they did a great job of finishing -- where we had the ball, had some great shots, and wasn't able to go in for us.”

For Kansas coach Bill Self, his goal was to keep his team focused on what they needed to do, "It's a 40-minute game," Self said. "There's no 13-point plays. You have to grind it and get one stop at a time."

The Buckeyes came out with the intensity required to win a game like this. After Kansas’ Thomas Robinson connected on the first jumper of the game, Ohio State tightened on defense and forced the Jayhawks to miss seven straight shots. The Buckeyes were shooting the ball well and hit five of their 10 3-pointers in the first half. Every strength the Buckeyes had was on full display as they built a 32-19 lead in the closing minute of the first half.

Then the momentum swung. The Jayhawks scored six quick points to close out the half -- including a last second layup created by a poor decision by Aaron Craft -- and cut the deficit to nine going into the locker room at halftime.

Kansas’ surge continued in the second half. The Buckeyes couldn’t find their groove offensively and missed their first eight shots from the field. Things went from bad to worse when Deshaun Thomas was forced to the bench for most of the second half with foul trouble, and the struggling Buckeyes did all they could to hold off the red hot Jayhawks. It took less than six minutes for Kansas to tie the game at 38 as Elijah Johnson capped a 17-4 run with an easy drive and layup.

Ohio State regained their bearings a bit, pushing the lead back out to six points as William Buford, Jared Sullinger and Lenzelle Smith Jr. got things going on offense. But every time Ohio State gained a lead, Kansas answered. The last 12 minutes of the game was played in a six point bubble with the Buckeyes leading most of the way. Kansas took a one point lead with just under three minutes to play, but four quick points by Ohio State gave the Buckeyes a 59-56 lead. Unfortunately for Ohio State, that lead was short lived.

Kansas scored six points in 71 seconds as Ohio State unraveled on both ends of the court. The Buckeyes were giving up easy driving lanes to Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford on defense. They committed costly turnovers and got bad looks at the basket on offense. Combining those two allowed Kansas to close out the game on a 13-4 run.

Thomas Robinson talked about the comeback, "It's just been our thing all year, coming back. I don't like doing it, but for some reason my team is pretty good when we're down."
Sullinger gave Kansas credit, “We still had a chance to win this game. We just didn't execute. You got to give all the credit to Kansas. They came out and they played hard, they never gave up. I mean, it was a great game.”

(Photo credit - Jim Davidson - TheOzone.net)

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