If you watched last night’s exciting Regional Semi between the top seeded Ohio State Buckeyes and No.5 seeded Tennessee Volunteers, then you got to see another unpredictable game with a riveting conclusion in favor of Thad Matta’s Luckeyes. We kid here because for the second consecutive game, they got off the ropes and to come from behind and pull one out- edging Tennessee 85-84 to advance to an Elite 8 showdown with the No.2 seeded Memphis Tigers.
Playing about as miserable a first half while Bruce Pearl’s Volunteers shot the lights out from the outside, the Buckeyes looked like an overrated pretender against a team they beat by only two points on their home court two months earlier.
While superhyped freshman big man Greg Oden got into foul trouble, Tennessee was on fire making over half their 16 treys (16-for-31) in a sizzling opening first half which saw them build a 20-point lead. Leading the way was star junior and SEC Player of the Year Chris Lofton, who paced the Vols with 24 including a game best 6-of-13 from beyond the arc. JaJuan Smith and sophomore Ryan Childress each chipped in with four three’s to give Lofton plenty of support. But a key three-point play at the buzzer by Ohio State’s David Lighty cut the deficit to 17 as the teams headed for the locker room, giving the Buckeyes a little momentum.
So what ultimately turned it around for Ohio State? Senior Ron Lewis, who once again made clutch shot after clutch shot en route to a game high 25 noticed something about their opponents after helping his team outscore Tennessee 53-35 in the second half:
“Their body language was like they already had the game won.“
If you watched the way the first half played out, it wasn’t hard to disagree. Could Pearl’s Vols really fall apart at the seams with such a big lead? One of the reasons I never believed the game was fully over was because you knew that Tennessee wasn’t going to be as deadly accurate from the perimeter. No team can stay that hot. The other reason was quite simple. The Buckeyes had showed tremendous heart in coming back to beat Xavier last weekend when their season should’ve ended. Those two factors were pivotal in their comeback Thursday night in San Antonio.
Aside from Matta’s squad buckling down and playing much more aggressive perimeter defense, why did Tennessee ultimately come undone? It can be chalked up pretty easily. Offensively, they stopped being aggressive. Aside from the barage of three’s they made in the first half, they also were deadly in transition making the Buckeyes pay with quite several uncontested layups. The quicker pace favored them. For whatever reason only known to them, that didn’t materialize in the second half.
The other problem as we saw it was the lack of attacking the basket. Especially when Oden picked up his fourth foul fairly early in the half, forcing the big man to the bench. Instead, the Vols began forcing up contested three’s which had little chance. The misses made it much easier for a much more efficient Ohio St. team to get back into the game.
While the Vols’ offense struggled, the rest of it was summed up well by a couple of players afterwards:
“We knew they were going to make runs. We didn’t have the urgency on defense in the second half.“-Chris Lofton
“We never got overconfident. Just, defensively, we didn’t have that sense of urgency. That’s what makes it worse.“-Dane Bradshaw
Pretty telling stuff. Just to tell you how inept their defensive effort was, Ohio St. was already in the bonus before the halfway mark.
What’s most amazing is that while Lewis and talented freshman guard Mike Conley, Jr. (scored nine of 17 from free throw line) were taking apart the Vols in slicing a 17-point deficit quickly down to six with a 16-5 run, Tennessee somehow stayed afloat by making enough shots. And even though Ohio State went ahead a few times, the game would go down to the wire.
One sequence saw Lewis drain a deep three from about the same distance he forced overtime against Xavier to put the Buckeyes up three. But only seconds later, he was matched by Lofton, who made an equally difficult trifecta from similar range to knot it at 82. That’s how riveting the conclusion was.
With the game tied, the foul prone Oden would make two free throws to put his team
back up two. Ramar Smith and Wayne Chism each split a pair of free throws to tie it at 84. But Conley, Jr. drove the lane and drew a foul, sinking one of two from the line to give his team a one-point lead with 6.5 seconds left. Smith’s desperation runner was blocked by Oden as time expired. Whether or not he got off on time we’ll never really know. But it concluded another nailbiter for Matta’s Buckeyes, who will take on Memphis tomorrow with a trip to Atlanta on the line.
Another Buckeye who deserves mention for their comeback triumph was three-point specialist Ivan Harris. He made all four of his field goals including three-for-three from downtown to finish with 11.
One other reason the Volunteers fell short in their upset bid was the free throw discrepancy. Ohio St. went to the charity stripe 18 more times. And while they didn’t make a high percentage finishing 23-of-35, it was far better than the 8-for-17 Tennessee shot. If either Smith or Chism make both near the end, maybe the Volunteers prevail. When the combo of Conley and Oden combine to go 14-for-20, it really puts into perspective how big a difference free throws were.
Our final thoughts on this thrilling contest have to do with the trio of Conley, Lewis and Oden:
While all the hype surrounded Oden, it’s been his teammates who have shined most in leading them back the past two games. Lewis should be tagged “The Truth” for how clutch he’s been. All the senior guard does is make big shots. Nobody wants the ball more with the game on the line. As for Conley, the floor general also added seven rebounds and six assists in a solid all around performance. He really is lightning fast and can get to the basket anytime he desires. His stock has definitely risen during the last week.
As for Oden, the center is a beast and gives the Buckeyes a huge advantage. But while his defensive game is rock solid when it comes to rebounding and blocking shots, the freshman still needs a lot of work on his offensive game. Outside of a couple of power dunks last night which were his only two field goal attempts, he was nonexistant in 18 minutes. His low post game will need to improve if he’s to become the impact NBA player most believe he’ll evolve into. One area defensively where it looks like he can be exploited is off the dribble. As both Xavier’s Justin Cage and Tennessee proved last night, if you force him to guard outside, you can take it to the basket and get Oden in foul trouble. Look for Memphis to apply this same aggressive strategy tomorrow in the Regional Final.
