Tuesday's Buckeye Bits

Good Morning Buckeye fans. Hopefully the disappointment from Saturday is starting to wear off. I'm not the biggest basketball fan on earth but really took that loss to Kansas hard. OSU had more than enough chances to seal the deal and let it slip away in the last minute.

A final four appearance is nothing to laugh at but the thought of "what could have been" will be sticking around for awhile. Anyway, off to the bits.

Matta feels the heat- This story in the dispatch gave a clear indication of the disappointment in Thad Matta and the Buckeye's. I think that Thad is starting to feel a little pressure concerning his difficulties in the NCAA tournament. By no means is his job in jeopardy but the masses are getting a little restless. It will be interesting to see how is squad handles a virtually brand new team next season.

More sorrow- This was a well written article but lets face it. It was like twisting the knife in my heart even more. When OSU loses on the gridiron, I tend to go into "media blackout" mode for a few days. For whatever reason, I was seeking out stories today for the basketball bucks. I don't know why. I'm a glutton for punishment apparently.

Buckeyes Fall In Final Four To Kansas

Buckeyes lost after giving up a 13 point lead

The Ozone - At times during the 2011-12 season the Ohio State men’s basketball team was admittedly bi-polar. On Saturday night, the Buckeyes’ split personality cost them a shot at the national championship.

OSU followed up a first half in which it led by as many as 13 points with one of its worst shooting halves of the season and watched its season slip away at the foul line in a 64-62 loss to Kansas in college basketball’s national semifinals.

After taking a nine-point lead into halftime, the Buckeyes only made eight of their 33 field goal attempts in the second half, and allowed a late 6-0 Jayhawks run to put Kansas on top and into Monday night’s national championship game where it’ll face Kentucky.

"Well, I thought we played the first half very effectively. Second half obviously we didn't shoot the ball to the level we needed to. I thought Kansas was much more active defensively, using their athleticism," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta.

Trailing by two points with two seconds remaining, OSU Aaron Craft attempted to send the game into overtime by purposely missing the second of two free throws, but was whistled for a lane violation before attempting the would-have-been game-tying lay-up.

Craft’s ill-fated attempt was too little too late for a Buckeye team that was outscored 39-28 over the course of a second half that saw OSU forward Deshaun Thomas’ minutes limited after he picked up his third foul with 17:34 remaining in the game, and his fourth with 11:30 left.

OSU’s disaster second half was hardly predictable after a first half that saw the Buckeyes hold Kansas to just 13 points over the course of the game’s first 15 minutes and consistently lead by double-digits until a Travis Releford lay-up cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 34-25 heading into halftime.

Basketball Preview: #2 Ohio State vs. #2 Kansas

The time has come. Will OSU pull out a win?

Welcome to "The Other Game" at the Final Four.

OK, so, the Ohio State-Kansas matchup may not have the fantastic freshmen, the outspoken coaches or blood-feud story line of the opening semifinal between Kentucky and Louisville. But this one still should be worth a two-hour investment in front of the TV set Saturday night.

Besides the chance to watch two top-line teams play for a spot in the national title game, the Buckeyes-Jayhawks game offers a rare opportunity to see two All-Americans going at it with everything on the line.

Ohio State is led by Jared Sullinger, the sophomore forward who missed the first matchup between these teams with a bad back. Kansas' best player is Thomas Robinson, who had 21 points and seven rebounds in the Jayhawks' 78-67 win on Dec. 10.

"In my eyes, he's the college player of the year," Sullinger said of Robinson. "I know some think different. But with his season, the way he took his team to the top, you've just got to give it to him."

In fact, it's Kentucky's Anthony Davis who took player of the year awards from The Associated Press and college basketball writers Friday. But while Davis is a story of an ultra-talented freshman trying to lead his team to a championship in what likely will be his only year with the Wildcats, Sullinger and Robinson approach college in a different way.

At one point last season, Sullinger was viewed as a surefire lottery pick, a one-and-done prospect with nothing much left to prove in college. He never saw it that way, however, and when Ohio State was eliminated from last year's tournament as a No. 1 seed, the 6-foot-9 forward committed to staying in college.

"I wanted to make a statement, that not everybody is using college basketball as a pit stop to go the next level," he said. "That there's more than money and endorsements. There's championships that you've got to win at every level. That's what I pride myself on. I've won a championship all the way from elementary to now. I pride myself on winning. That's the biggest thing. That's why I came back."

"Pride," was also one of the first words Robinson used when asked about his decision to return for his junior year.

He spent most of his first two seasons playing limited minutes behind the Morris twins, Markieff and Marcus. NBA scouts were telling Robinson he could be a first-round draft pick if he left.

"It was a pride issue," Robinson said. "I didn't want people to guess and be like, `I think he can play. We've seen glimpses.' I wanted to come back and prove to everybody that I'm a good player."

He did. Widely viewed in the preseason as a player who might nudge his way onto some All-America lists, Robinson outperformed the predictions. He averages 17.7 points and 11.8 rebounds a game and is learning the difference between coming off the bench as a role player and leading a team.

Buckeye Seniors Take Their Last Fall

When Brandon Knight let the ball go from his hands, with less than 10 seconds in the game, Buckeye fans shuddered with the possibility of a loss to our beloved Buckeyes. Aaron Craft would be guarding, so we knew we could trust him to try and make a play. So when Knight let the ball go, and the ball made that dreadful "swoosh" noise, we all knew, truly, that our season was done. 


Of course, when bad things like that happen, there is always that small glimmer of hope. So when we inbounded it with about 6 seconds left in the game, we all were thinking the same thing "Please let some Madness magic come to this team". Buford was 2 for 19 on the night. He ended up taking the shot that would careen off the rim, and be knocked away before anyone else could try and make a put-back.


Ohio State's Jon Diebler hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 60 with 21 seconds remaining, but rather than call timeout Kentucky coach John Calipari opted to trust his players.

Knight, who knocked down a winner in Kentucky's second-round victory over Princeton, drove to his right then hit a silky 15-foot jumper. Ohio State coach Thad Matta has called this team a special one capable of getting the program back to the Final Four for the first time since 2007. Yet it ended with the Buckeyes trudging off the floor in disbelief. Sullinger led Ohio State (34-3) with 21 points and 16 rebounds, but the Buckeyes fell in the regional semifinals for a second straight season. Sullinger said in the aftermath he expects to return for his sophomore year, if only to wash out the taste of a bitter end to an otherwise spectacular season.

"I'm definitely coming back next year," Sullinger said. "I need to work on a lot of things. I have to come back. I'm coming back to win."

Bowl Break, NFL

If your a Bengals fan, your probably reading the right post. I myself love the Bengals, and are ready to watch them clinch their divison, and earn a play-off spot! I want to see what Marvin Lewis does, does he go full strength? If it starts gettting out of hand, let the back-ups play. Honestly, I´m pretty excited, if the Bengals win today, it will be the first time since 2005 that they´ve been to the playoffs.

The last bowl game this week features the first SEC team, in Kentucky, facing a battle tested Clemson team led by C.J. Spiller. (20th win)? Afterwards, Bowl Week 3 will be posted. Stick around folks!