In its National Invitation Tournament semifinal game with Ole Miss Tuesday night, Ohio State (23-13) came out of the gates with great shooting, a lockdown half-court defense and tremendous energy to account for a 44-20 halftime lead.
But at halftime, Rebels coach Andy Kennedy laid it down on his 24-11 squad and made sure they knew just how embarrassing his team looked. As a result, they stormed out and overcame a 24-point deficit to turn the potential blowout into quite a battle.
After shooting just 28.6 percent from the floor in the opening stanza, Ole Miss went on to drain 53.1 percent of their shots in the second. They would end up outscoring the Buckeyes by 12 in the final half, but the early 24-point hole was too large to dig out of as they fell 81-69.
"It was just us, like coach said. We just didn't come with the intensity and the focus that we had in the first half," OSU's David Lighty said.
Needless to say, the Buckeyes will return to the NIT Championship for the first time since 1986. It will also mark their second NIT title game this season, as they fell to Texas A&M in the Preseason NIT Championship.
The Buckeyes are 17-3 this season when leading at the half, a trend they would like to continue against UMass (25-10) in tonight's NIT Championship game at 7 p.m. OSU has also amassed a 14-1 record when scoring 70 or more points.
Seeing doubles In a college basketball postseason highlighted by tremendous individual performances throughout March Madness, the Ohio State Buckeyes have relied heavily on each other during their run to the NIT Championship.
In Tuesday's win over the Rebels, the Buckeyes had four players reach double figures - and another one point shy.
Both senior Jamar Butler and freshman Evan Turner drained 17 points, while sophomore Lighty and freshman Kosta Koufos each had 16 points. Junior Othello Hunter finished with nine.
Through four games this tournament, the Buckeyes have four players averaging double figures: Butler (17.5 points per game), Koufos (17.3 ppg), Lighty (11.5 ppg) and Hunter (10.3 ppg).
"We are probably ranked more toward the lower echelon of the Big Ten as far as toughness, which we like," said Matta, who was asked about his team's make-up. "We want to be the team you can't grab and hold, which you can't catch. We're probably playing more aggressive now than we have throughout the course of the season."
In addition, Kofous has also shot a remarkable 70 percent from the field during the same span. He has nailed 32 of his 46 shots from the floor, and hauled in 5.5 rebounds per game.
NIT veterans With wins over UNC Ashville (84-66), California (73-56), Dayton (74-63) and Ole Miss (81-69), OSU needs just one more win to clinch its second NIT title.
The Buckeyes have played in two NIT Championships, the most recent in 1988 when they fell 72-67 to Connecticut. They won the tournament two years prior to that loss with a 73-63 win over Wyoming. Overall, OSU is now 17-7 in NIT games.
Despite failing to earn an at-large bid in this year's NCAA Tournament, Ohio State has made the most of its opportunity in the NIT and has strung together a four-game stretch that has featured some of its best basketball this season.
The Buckeyes have averaged 78 points in their four wins, while at the same time holding its opponents to 63.5 points per game. They have also shot 51 percent from the field and lead all opponents in assists (62-52), blocks (23-10) and steals (34-22).
"We have the chance for two years in a row to end our season on a winning note," Matta said. "As I told these guys, the fact we're still playing in April is astonishing."
Butler continues to rule the arc For the first time in OSU history a Buckeye connected on more than 100 3-pointers in a single season.
It should come as no surprise who accomplished the feat, as Butler's four treys in the win over Ole Miss gave him 101 on the season. He already set the record for three-pointers in a single season earlier this season when he passed Scoonie Penn's 88 treys set back in 1999.
Among his many accolades, Butler has also played in an OSU-record 138 games. His 38-consecutive free throws earlier this season is also a record, as are his 572 career assists. His 212 assists this season are second only to the 238 Mike Conley dished out last year.
Matt Gottfried can be reached at gottfried.35@osu.edu.
Be the first to comment on this article!