A key player tonight for Tennesse was, without a doubt, Wayne Chism. He finished with 22 points onlyfour in the second half, and 11 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Volunteers (28-8), who pulled out a back-and-forth tussle in the Midwest Regional semifinals. Evan Turner played fairly well, but it wasn't enough for the Player of the Year, even though he finished with 31 points, leading all scorers. Turner single-handedly carried the Buckeyes in the second half, much to the frustration of Thad Matta and the rest of Buckeye Nation. The first half belonged to the rest of the Buckeye players, while Turner was down. In the second, though, the rest of the team was slow, and Turner turned hot. Many spectualte that Turner could come back next season due to the extra early exit by the Buckeyes.
"I can't give a percentage right now," Turner said, his eyes red and his voice catching, when asked if he'll return to Ohio State for his senior year. "I really don't want to go out like this."
That has to give some people hope, as everyone knows that Jared Sullinger and company would almost certainly make a Final Four apperance next year. If Turner comes back, though, I could see a National Championship in the mix. For the rest of the team, they had to feel pretty bad, as the path to the Final Four became much easier when Georgetown and Kansas got upset by Ohio and Northern Iowa. William Buford (15) was the only other scorer in double figures. Jon Diebler, so big for Ohio State in the first two rounds, shot 1 of 7 from 3-point range. Ohio State thought they could get lucky again by giving the ball to Turner at the end, but unlike Michigan, Tennessee plays defense, and are not stupid.
The ball represents the Elite Eight. The fight was on.
The rest of the tournament will sure be interesting, and I'm going to be rooting for Nortern Iowa all the way, but then Kentucky to win it all. Northern Iowa has to face Michigan State, and then Tennessee just to make it to the Final Four. Some peoples brackets are totally shot now..gladly, but sadly at the same time, I had Ohio State losing here anyway, but to G-Town instead. We will keep you posted on what Turner has to say about returning for his Senior year or not.
