Ohio State Buckeyes Tournament Update:
William Buford was having a bad day. The usually reliable junior guard had only nine points and was two of sixteen from the floor. So when Kentucky’s Brandon “ice water in the veins” Knight stuck a jumper with five seconds left to give the Wildcats a 62-60 lead, Ohio State pushed the ball up the court. Call a time out? Coach Thad Matta was not interested. He wanted to see what his team could do with the season on the line. The ball was advanced to Buford who released a three from the elbow that would have sent the Buckeyes to an Elite Eight date with the North Carolina Tarheels. The ball is up….up…..coming down…..decent approach…. Clang. The ball bounced off the rim and the Bucks were bounced from the tournament at the hands of the freshmen-heavy Kentucky Wildcats by a final score of 62-60.
The saying goes that defense wins championships. In Newark on Friday night, Kentucky’s defense just played better. They were able to hold an Ohio State club that shot 49.4% from the field during the season to a mere 32.8% in New Jersey. The Wildcats were credited with 11 blocks on the night to complement forcing 7 turnovers. The game was very even; neither team built a lead of more than seven points and there were a dozen or so lead changes during the contest. Ultimately what ended Ohio State’s season was failure to execute scoring opportunities. Little things like a missed technical free throw, firing long on a layup, and failing to pull down a rebound proved to be the Buckeyes’ undoing.
This is the second consecutive year that Ohio State could not endure beyond the Sweet 16, and it is a bitter end for some of the upperclassmen. Seniors Dallas Lauderdale, Jon Diebler, and David Lighty have all played their final game wearing Scarlet and Gray. It will be interesting to see how the team fares next year considering Jared Sullinger has verbally expressed his desire to return for his sophomore year, quelling some concern that he would be another one-and-done big man. Assuming William Buford does not exit early for an NBA paycheck, the club’s starters may be Sullinger, Aaron Craft, Buford, DeShaun Thomas, and perhaps Jordan Sibert. Hopefully this year’s tournament experience will benefit some of the younger players as they will have to step up and fill in where the seniors left off. Buford will have more chances to make up for his bad day.
Columbus Crew Week in Review:
The New York Red Bulls came to Ohio on Saturday missing seven of their regular players to either the national team or injury. The Crew had the chance to get three points against the depleted squad. They would have to settle for one. Columbus and New York played to a disappointing nil-nil standstill for the first home match of the MLS season. All the pieces were in place for a Black and Gold victory. New York was without French import Thierry Henry and starting goalkeeper Greg Sutton. Between the pipes for the Red Bulls was rookie Alex Horwath who made his MLS debut with a five save shutout.
Both teams had their opportunities to score. A New York header in the 31st minute flew over the bar followed by a Hesmer save a few minutes later from a ball struck by Tony Tchani. Columbus had decent looks at the net as well. In the 39th minute an Emmanuel Ekpo shot was denied by a hustle play by Horwath. The Crew kept the pressure on late in the game with a solid attempt by Tom Heinemann in the 81st minute sailing past the bar. The Crew will return to action next Friday seeking their first win of the year in a 7:30 home contest against FC Dallas.
Columbus Blue Jackets Week in Review:
Ladies and gentlemen, we have officially reached the “just playing it out” portion of the Columbus Blue Jackets calendar. In three contests this past week, the Pride of Nationwide mustered just one total point. The week featured an overtime loss to the Avalanche in Colorado followed by a pair of losses at Phoenix and home versus the Vancouver Canucks. They were outscored 12-6 on the week. Each of the losses was different but all were equally unenjoyable.
Only slightly more difficult than the come-from-behind victory is the come-from-ahead defeat. Columbus managed this feat in a disappointing 5-4 overtime loss in Denver. Colorado’s Daniel Winnick netted a power play equalizing goal with only three seconds left in regulation to force an extra period. After five scoreless minutes, only the Avalanche’s Milan Hejduk bested a keeper in the shootout to secure a victory for the home team. CBJ allowed three goals in the final period to open the door for the Colorado victory. This turned out to be the best game of the week for Columbus who were shut out by the Coyotes and overmatched by the Canucks.
In their games against Phoenix and Vancouver, one thing was consistent for the Jackets: underwhelming play. Finding motivation late in the year when you know Stanley is just not that into you is often difficult and recently the Jackets have been playing uninspired hockey. There are only seven games left in the year and these contests afford an opportunity for young guns to come up and impress the front office. This team still has talent; this just was not their year.
Corey Barnes is a third year at The Ohio State University studying business. He hails from Cleveland, Ohio and has a profound understanding of sports suffering and mediocrity. In addition to this column, he also writes sports things at buckeyenerd.tumblr.com and can be followed on The Twitter @Corey_Barnes.
Crew Photography was provided by Matt Ellis at Three-Songs Photography.
Blue Jackets game photos from bluejackets.nhl.com.
