Poor shooting brings an end to Ohio State's hopes of winning its first men's basketball title in 51 years.
NEWARK, N.J. -- The shots hadn't fallen all night -- the balanced offense that had carried Ohio State to the No. 1 ranking in the nation and into the Sweet 16 failing the Buckeyes.
And now the ball was in the air again, with the hopes of continuing the drive for Ohio State's first national title in 51 years on the line. On other nights, William Buford's 3-pointer in the final seconds might have gone down.
On this night against the Kentucky Wildcats, it hit the front rim with 0.9 seconds on the clock, and the Buckeyes were done.
No. 4 seed Kentucky upset the No. 1 Buckeyes, 62-60, in an East Regional semifinal on Friday night as Ohio State suffered through one of its worst shooting nights of the season, the Buckeyes making just 19 of 58 shots, 32.8 percent from the field. Their only worse offensive games this season came against Florida State and Northwestern, when they shot 32.2 percent, but still found a way to win.
Kentucky (28-8) was too good for that.
"With how we've been shooting lately, this is especially frustrating," OSU senior Jon Diebler said. "It hurts when you lose by two points, because you can go back to any possession through the game. And then you just kind of feel that emptiness inside, because everything you worked for to get to this point, it didn't end the way we wanted it to, or the way we believed it could."
The Wildcats took the lead with 5.4 seconds to play on a jumper by guard Brandon Knight, and the Buckeyes never hesitated before racing up the court without calling a timeout. Diebler, who made a 3-pointer off the dribble with 21.2 seconds to play to tie the game at 60, clearly had the look of a man who wanted the ball, who wanted the last shot.
But the ball wound up in the hands of Buford, who suffered through one of the worst nights of his three-year career. When the last shot was short from the left side of the top of the key, he finished 2-of-16 from the field with just nine points.
It was the shot the Buckeyes wanted. OSU coach Thad Matta said after the game that the chances of scoring are lowered when a team calls a timeout in that situation. And though Buford was so cold, the Buckeyes would take that shot again.
"Aaron [Craft] got the ball and pushed it up, gave me the ball and I just didn't knock it down," Buford said. "We had great expectations for ourselves, and last year we got put out early and we didn't want to get put out early this year. It doesn't feel good."
The final result was too similar. The Buckeyes (34-3) once again fell short against a team from the Southeastern Conference. They were eliminated in St. Louis last season, losing a regional semifinal to Tennessee, 76-73.
But that Buckeyes team was a No. 2 seed and had most of its players coming back, with a great freshman class led by forward Jared Sullinger and Craft. This was much different. Diebler, Buford, center Dallas Lauderdale (Solon) and fifth-year senior David Lighty (Villa Angela-St. Joseph) played their last games as Buckeyes.
The game contained 11 ties and nine lead changes, with big man Josh Harrellson leading the Wildcats with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while guard DeAndre Liggins added 15. Sullinger led the Buckeyes with 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Diebler had 16 and Lighty 12.
After a 30-30 tie at the half, Ohio State eased to a 36-32 lead before the Buckeyes started missing shots they made most of the season. Buford missed a runner, the Buckeyes turned it over, Sullinger threw down a dunk after an offensive rebound on a Lighty miss, and two possessions later, Lighty missed a double-pump layup on a 3-on-2 fast break when the Buckeyes needed points with the game tied at 41.
The lead changed hands four times before another tie was forged at 47, with the Buckeyes shooting less than 30 percent as a team.
Then Sullinger scored in the post to put the Buckeyes up by two, and Kentucky forward Terrence Jones answered with a 3.
Lighty hit a jumper in the lane for another lead, Harrellson came back with a 3-point play, leaning in for a layup as he drew a blocking foul on Craft.
Craft came back with two free throws to tie it at 53 with 5:38 to play, but the Wildcats grabbed another lead on a Knight 3-pointer after some great ball movement.
Ohio State had to answer with its go-to move on this night -- letting Sullinger go to the offensive glass, which he did after Craft air balled a 3-pointer. Sullinger grabbed it and laid it in to cut the Kentucky lead to one. Ohio State then grabbed its first lead in almost five minutes as Lighty drove to the basket for a layup with 2:10 to play, putting Ohio State ahead, 57-56.
But the Buckeyes couldn't get the defensive stops they needed, Matta saying he kept waiting for two big stops in a row.
Though Sullinger saved the Buckeyes on the glass, grabbing eight offensive rebounds, Harrellson was a star for Kentucky.
Harrellson more than held his own inside, putting up 12 points and seven rebounds in the first half compared to 10 and seven for Sullinger. The OSU freshman didn't dominate in the post, though Harrellson often covered him one-on-one. With 3:33 left in the half, Harrellson jumped and saved a ball heading out of bounds, firing it off Sullinger's chest.
The sound echoed across the court as Sullinger looked down at his chest and wrinkled up his face. In the ensuing timeout, Sullinger put his elbows on his knees, folded his hands together and stared out into space, thinking about something.
Now all the Buckeyes have a long time to think, and a lot to think about.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dlesmerises@plaind.com, 216-999-4479
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2011/03/ohio_state_mens_basketball_tea_7.html
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