A white-clad mass of jubilation. ESPN’s College GameDay making its debut on Big Ten soil. Jim Tressel, curiously donning an ill-fitting white No. 20 Ohio State football jersey, emerging from his post-title game isolation.
Saturday night’s Schottenstein Center atmosphere, one described as “awesome” by coach Thad Matta, offered perhaps as memorable and earsplitting a spectacle the arena has ever seen.
This was the big time alright.
And the Buckeyes delivered. Well, kind of.
No. 5 OSU topped Michigan State, 66-64, but only after nearly blowing a 20-point halftime lead and tensely watching Maurice Joseph’s last-second three clang off the rim.
Even tossing out this final moment, the Buckeyes must be considered fortunate. Though they did make some plays down a decidedly shoddy stretch, the win more than anything seemed a product of time simply running out on Spartans virtuoso Drew Neitzel.
The 6-foot junior point guard scored 24 of his game-high 29 points in a second half showing MSU coach Tom Izzo dubbed as both “heroic” and historic.
Always the smallest man on the floor, the perpetually on-the-move point guard was irrepressible, kindling MSU’s comeback in shooting 8-of-10 to start the half.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a guy catch fire like that,” Matta said. “It seemed like everything he threw up there was going in… He got into that zone people talk about.”
But the Buckeyes just had too great a start, and in the end, OSU (18-3, 6-1 Big Ten) won their fifth straight and snapped the Spartans four-game winning streak in Columbus.
Yet, for as much joy as the finish surely provided fans, the finale brought together the rare confluence of events that likely sentenced both coaches to a sleepless Saturday night.
For Izzo, the reason was obvious. Proud, yet visibly upset, Izzo very well knew how rare such fantastic comebacks are. Oh, what could have been, he wondered aloud.
“The sad part is, let’s face it, they’re a better basketball team. And when you get a shot to beat them, you want to beat them,” Izzo said in an emotional post-game news conference. “Because (OSU) is definitely going to be a team that’s going to go a long ways.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever had a team that left more on the floor,” Izzo continued.
For Matta and OSU, the cause came in the form of a second half that saw OSU outscored, 41-23.
For as brilliantly as the Buckeyes played in the first half – they were 6-of-10 from beyond the arc and shot 15-of-24 overall – they were equally pitiful after the break.
OSU made just five field goals, had eight turnovers and Greg Oden, who had his way early, was entirely stifled. The 7-footer, who finished with 19 points, was 0-of-6 in the second half, his forced hook shots mirroring the stalled offense.
“It was a tale of two halves,” Matta said. “You watch enough basketball, they’re going to be crazy games like this.”
As poorly as OSU played, the semi-collapse could have the unintended benefit of exposing OSU’s youth to a taut ending in a frenzied environment.
“A game like this is like the tournament. It had a tournament atmosphere,” said senior guard Jamar Butler, who finished with 12 points. “It helps to prepare us for March.”
And hey, thrillers like Saturday give ESPN good reason to come back.
As Matta joked before the game, “The only time ESPN was here when we showed up was to report bad news.”
No more. And as the Buckeyes arrived on this unfamiliar grand stage, Columbus showed it was more than ready to bring in a new era.
“Give credit to the fans. They really stepped up to the plate,” Matta said. “I’m just thankful they got to see a W.”
David Briggs can be reached at [email protected].
