Men's Basketball
The Buckeye Watch
By Tony GerdemanWhat can you say when you have nothing left to say?
A game for the ages, won by the youths.
But it wasn't just the young guys.
Ron Lewis also had a little bit to say about the outcome. When Bill Raftery talks about "onions", he's talking about Ron Lewis.
Ron Lewis is a walking onion.
That sounds weird.
What I'm trying to say is that this team never quit. And this team never failed to step up, even though they could have.
Sometimes it takes the sight of your own blood to start fighting back.
And fight back they did.
Possession by possession. Minute by minute. The comeback was completed remarkably early.
The comeback was only half of the story, though.
The Buckeyes then had to maintain their level of play...and they did. All of them. They didn't stop once the game was tied. They kept taking the game to the Vols, and the Vols were forced to answer.
And they answered. Repeatedly.
Save for one possession.
The final possession.
Greg Oden blocked a last-ditch attempt and crashed to the ground in half-victory, half-relief.
Ron Lewis was there to pick his teammate up, just as he has done for the rest of his teammates this entire Tournament.
So yes, youth was served.
But so was seniority.
This team is as good as Ron Lewis makes it. And at times, he makes them unbeatable.
I just wish we had an answer for people going Nuclear Crispin on us at times.
Anyway, enough babbling, let's get to the Buckeye Watch...
10:12 This is taking forever. I need another five-minute power nap.
10:18 It is time.
10:19 Thad looks fired up. Is that because the team isn't? Why am I having these thoughts right now?
10:20 I'll never understand Wayne Chism's headband. There's no way that thing keeps the sweat out of his eyes. It may keep the sweat off of the back of his jersey, but no way does it keep it out of his eyes. I didn't even realize back-of-the-jersey sweat was an issue. Good thing we got new jerseys. Thank you, Nike.
10:20:41 Oden double tips it to Tennessee and Jajuan Smith immediately hits a three. Now that's a start!
10:23 Ivan ties it with a three!
10:23:17 Chris Lofton hits a three.
10:23:29 Ron Lewis ties it with a three!
10:23:42 Jajuan Smith hits a three. Enough!! That's four threes in under a minute. This has got to stop! My wee hands can only jot so fast!
10:24 Nice! Oden is just too much muscle. Nice power dunk down low. Feel free to go back to that one.
10:24:32 Oden blocks a Wayne Chism shot, which leads to a Ron Lewis dunk. This is pretty good stuff right here.
10:24 Chris Lofton just hit a three right in Jamar Butler's face. This is worrisome.
10:25 OMG!! Ivan Harris just passed up a three-pointer and dumped it down to Oden. (Greg got fouled.) When things like that happen, you have to think that this may indeed be our day!
10:26 Television timeout. Tennessee leads 14-10 with 15:28 to play in the half. So far the Vols are hitting everything. That can't last. Right?
10:29 The "no offense" lineup is in now (Terwilliger, Hunter, Lighty, Butler and Cook).
10:29:47 Jajuan Smith hits another three. The Vols are 5-6 from three tonight. You mean they missed one?
10:30 Daequan gets it to Terwilliger for a lay up. Vols lead 17-12.
10:30:32 Cook misses a three. I hate this lineup at times.
10:31 Good. Conley and Oden are coming back in.
10:31:22 Cook to the rim for two. Strong move on the wing. Nice job.
10:31:44 Foul on Oden. Somewhere. (That's right, I'm already turning into "Whiny-Baby Man".)
10:32 Chris Lofton just missed a three-pointer! Are you serious!?! He missed a three-pointer? I saw it correctly, right? I mean, it hit the rim and didn't actually go through the rim. That's what I saw. I'll just wait and watch the score and see if they don't give Tennessee the three points anyway, because I can't believe what I just saw.
10:33 Some big white dude just hit a three for Tennessee. I knew that Lofton miss would have to be reckoned with. Stupid balance of nature and whatnot.
10:34 Television timeout. Vols lead 20-14 with 11:40 to play. It's amazing we're not down by double digits. Tennessee can't miss right now.
10:37 Oh crap. Mike Conley just picked up his second foul. On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being "Not good" and 5 being "Sweet!", this would be Antarctic.
10:38 And the hits just keep on getting suckier. Greg Oden picks up his second foul with a little (big) hook move. It was a good call, but a bad foul. This is going to get interesting. The way a fire is interesting when you put your face in it.
10:39 Three-pointer for Ryan Childress. Then a turnover on the in bounds pass and the Vols get a lay up and get fouled. Timeout Thad. What the heck just happened? I feel like I just got punched in the gut, then as I tried to see who punched me, I got hit with a 2x4 in the temple. Then when I tried to find out who did that, Bruce Pearl poked me in the eye and whispered, "Don't ask questions, kid." Tennessee leads 25-14.
10:40 Yeah, I saw the Xavier game, but I don't think we've got enough tonight. This game is only 25% over, but I don't see anything telling me this is going to get better. Tennessee is going to keep hitting threes--especially in the first half--and our two best players are done for the next hour. I can't believe I'm giving up already. This is not my fault.
10:41 Why must the SEC own us so?
10:42 At a deficit of twenty points, I reserve the right to stop taking notes. I also reserve the right to go to bed angry.
10:43 Cook to the basket for two points. Get easy baskets. Please.
10:44 Cook gets called for another carry. When did dribbling become so impossible?
10:46 Bradshaw misses a three-pointer! The sun...the sun...I can almost...almost see it. Television timeout. Vols lead 30-18 with 7:54 to play in the half.
10:50 Conley is coming back in. This is very necessary.
10:52 And now Oden is coming back. Thad feels that it's now or never for the team. Oden and Conley don't come back out unless Matta is afraid of losing the game in the first half.
10:52:34 And Oden immediately gets the block!
10:52:57 Conley gets a steal, goes coast to coast for the lay up. 34-20 Volunteers.
10:53 And then it all comes crashing down. Oden picks up his third foul. He fouled Duke Crews on the drive. Seriously though, what took Tennessee so long to do that?
10:54 David Lighty misses a three. Josh Tabb (who??) hits a three. Tennessee is now up 37-20 with 4:40 to play. So...angry.
10:55 Conley misses a shot in the lane, Tennessee turns it into a fast break and scores. I'm glad somebody is having fun. Actually, I'm not. I wish everybody watching this was as miserable as me.
10:56 Conley hits a lay up and gets fouled. Television timeout.
10:57 People like to say that we're better without Oden. Well, we're about to find out. If Tennessee doesn't get Oden his fourth foul within the first two minutes of the second half, then they're colossal idiots. On par with John L. Smith. That's right, I went there. Sometimes I have to say hurtful things to make myself feel better. You are ugly. (That one only helped a little.)
10:59 Conley alley oop to Othello Hunter! 39-24 with 3:00 to play.
11:00 Ivan Harris hits an open three after a mad scramble!! 39-27 with 2:18 to play! Timeout Tennessee. Very nice sequence there, fellas. 7-0 run for the good guys.
11:02 Othello Hunter picks up another foul. What is that, his seventh?
11:02:49 Missed free throw for Tennessee leads to an offensive rebound and a Chris Lofton three. Terrible breakdown. Terrible. 43-27 Tennessee.
11:03 Tennessee fast break after a Buckeye miss. 47-29 with 1:00 left. I was so happy just three minutes ago.
11:04 Tennessee misses a three and Lofton got the rebound under the basket and put it back up and in. This is insulting. Embarrassing passed us by about six or seven points ago. Seriously? Lofton gets a rebound underneath the basket and puts it back up and in??? And I'm staying up for this? Tell me why. 49-29 Tennessee.
11:05 Lighty gets stuck with the ball as time was winding down and got fouled, making the basket in the process. And he hits the free throw to end the half. The Vols lead 49-32.
11:07 Right now, I don't even want halftime. I just want both teams to come back out and get this stupid thing over with. I'm guessing half of Ohio is going to bed right now. And they're the lucky ones.
11:08 What is it about SEC teams that turn Ohio State teams into bumblers?
11:25 The second half is about to start. I almost can't stand the wait.
11:27 Okay. It is now time to get serious. We aren't out of this one by any stretch.
11:28 I'm pretty convincing, huh?
11:28:33 Oh great. Verne Lundquist didn't care for the body language of the Buckeyes coming out of the half.
11:29 Ron Lewis lay up. The journey of a thousand miles...
11:33 Ivan Harris for three!! Perfect pass from Conley. Buckeyes trail 51-40! (I'm seriously excited about trailing by eleven?)
11:33:37 Ouch! Ivan's hurt. And I think Greg Oden just ate some hardwood. Oden landed on Ivan's leg. He's walking off.
11:35 Conley gets to the rim and gets fouled! Makes both. Vols lead 51-42 with 16:50 to go.
11:36 I am stunned that Tennessee hasn't gone after Oden. Instead they keep firing up terrible threes. Works for me. Keep shooting contested 20-footers, and we'll keep Oden in the game as long as Thad wants him there. This is your own undoing.
11:37 Ron Lewis goes to the rim for two more! 51-44. C'mon, baby!
11:37:30 And we're back to sulking. Mike Conley picks up his third foul. Television timeout. Vols lead 51-44 with 15:43 to play.
11:38 The fact that Tennessee keeps shooting threes and doesn't go at Oden is only helping us right now. (It seems strange to say that the Vols are helping us by shooting threes.)
11:39 We can get to the rim any time we want right now. Tennessee's defense is on its heels. Keep attacking!
11:40 Having fun yet?
11:40:24 The Buckeyes are finally smiling. Me too!
11:41 Oden block! Tennessee gets the loose ball and Lofton hits an open three. Maaaannnnnn. That hurts my heart right there. 54-44.
11:43 Conley to the rim again and gets fouled! Hits both free throws. Keep attacking these guys. It's working! 54-48 with 14:24 to play.
11:45 Oden is now coming out. That was a great 6+ minutes from him. Inexcusable of Tennessee to not go after him once.
11:46 Dane Bradshaw hits a bailout three. Give me a flippin' break. 57-48 12:55 left.
11:46 Onions! Ron Lewis answers with a deeeeeep three. 57-51. This is getting better by the minute!
11:46:31 Chris Lofton misses a wide-open three! Could this actually be happening! I have no idea, but I'm shouting to nobody in particular and speaking what may or may not be English!
11:47 Ron Lewis goes to the rim and gets another easy two. They can't stop us right now. Stay on the attack!! 57-53 Volunteers. 12:08 remaining.
11:47:38 Dang. Bradshaw just drew a foul on Othello Hunter. It's his 14th. Television timeout. Buckeyes still trail 57-53.
11:48 You can't ask for a much better second half than the one we're working on right now.
11:51 Here comes Tennessee's pressure. They get called for holding. We weren't ready for that at all. Lewis hits two free throws. 59-55 11:50 to play.
11:53 Oh my! Othello gets the block, which leads to a Conley to Lewis alley oop!! Buckeyes trail 59-57!!
11:53:24 Lofton misses another three! Dang. Chism gets the rebound and takes it back up. Hunter fouls him. It's his 22nd. Chism makes one of two.
11:54 The Buckeyes push through the press and Oden dunks it home. That's how you break that.
11:55 Weak!!! Weak!!! Oden just picked up his fourth foul on a weak call. One of those rascally Vols ran into Oden and got knocked over because he wasn't watching where he was going. That is terrible. Shameful. Oden's done for a while.
11:56 Timeout Buckeyes. Couldn't get the ball in. We can't let this full court press get to us. That's why we have two point guards on the court at the same time!
11:56:51 Lighty gets fouled breaking the press. At least make one of these free throws, Dave. Makes his first. Misses the second, but Terwilliger tips it out.
11:57 Lewis gets the ball down in the post and scores. 64-62 Tennessee with 9:40 remaining! C'mon, fellas.
11:58 Conley gets tripped up and he's going to the line for a chance to tie this thing up. Why did I have to go and say that?? First one is good. Second...good! This thing is tied! Unbelievable. What makes me feel even better about this is that I never gave up hope! (We probably have different definitions of the term "hope".)
11:59 Shot clock violation for Tennessee!! Everything's coming up Milhouse!
12:00 Has the clock struck midnight on Cinderella? Actually, I think it's only like 10 pm in San Antonio. I am NOT sticking around for another two hours.
12:00:27 Great ball movement by the Buckeyes. Terwilliger gets fouled! Shooting two. First is good!! The lead is now back out of the hands of evil. The second is good! Buckeyes lead 66-64 with 8:30 to play. I believe in miracles! (Provided they STAY miracles.)
12:02 Conley hits a floater! Buckeyes lead 68-65! This is getting easy.
12:02:28 %*&#@! Lofton. He hits an impossible three. Just like he does. Tie ball game. 68-68 with 7:30 to play. It's not like you can tell Butler and Co. to stay closer to Lofton, they're so close to him some of their tattoos are smudging together.
12:03 Duke Crews fouls Terwilliger. Television timeout. C'mon Matt, we need these free throws. No pressure, baby! Time to break out the onions!
12:05 I don't care what the capital of Djibouti is.
12:06 Has too much energy been expended in this comeback? It doesn't feel like it. It's not like we've had to claw and bite to get back to this point. We've just let Tennessee miss three-pointers, and then drive to the basket because we're OMG unguardable!
12:06:22 Terwilliger hits the first! Matt yawns. C'mon, dude! These are pretty important shots here! He misses the second. Buckeyes lead 69-68 with 7:20 left. Oh man, no sleep till Brooklyn tonight.
12:07 Lofton misses another three!
12:07:30 And Butler answers with a baseline three!! Buckeyes lead 72-68 with 6:45 to play. This might really be happening!
12:08 Aggghhhhh!! Ron Lewis just rimmed out a three. I may have shrieked if that one had gone in.
12:09 Crap. Childress hits a deep three. 72-71 Buckeyes.
12:09:27 Oh come on! Jajuan Smith hits a three on the break. Vols lead 74-72 with 5:08 to play. This game used to be cool.
12:09:51 Conley to the rim...AND ONE!! Amazing!! Dang. Misses the free throw. Game tied at 74 with 5:08 left.
12:10 Will we see Oden soon?
12:10:20 Childress hits another contested three. Come on. I'm trying to convince myself that we've got this game, but it's awfully hard when Lurch is nailing threes like he's Chris Lofton on HGH.
12:11 Ron Lewis misses a three. Easy, fellas. Let's be careful here. Oden's coming back in. Good timing.
12:12 Childress fouls Oden. Television timeout. Volunteers lead 77-74 with 3:59 to play. Per usual, we need these free throws, Greg. Especially since Tennessee has refound their suck.
12:14 Tennessee has gone on a 9-2 run. Fatigue? Happenstance? Lucky luckness???
12:15 Oden hits both free throws! Clutch. 77-76 Tennessee with 3:59 still left to play.
12:16 Jajuan Smith fouls Conley on the drive. Conley misses both free throws. Out of gas? (Please say no.)
12:17 David Lighty! David Lighty hits a three!! 79-79 with 2:40 to play! David Lighty for three! I don't believe it! But I just saw it, so it must have actually happened!!! He didn't even hesitate. He caught the ball, and went right up. It's great to see...when it goes in. Tennessee calls a timeout.
12:18 I want to talk about David Lighty right now, but I don't want to say anything that will come back to haunt me later.
12:20 Come on, fellas. Come on.
12:21 Conley steals it! He steals the ball! Timeout Thad. 2:30 left to play! This is crazy. Oden will come in now. They'll look to him and he and Conley will play a two-man game. Or not. I don't really care--just score!
12:23 Ron Freaking Lewis for three!! EARLY ONIONS! I'm stunned! Buckeyes lead 82-79!!
12:23:32 Stupid freaking Lofton ties it with a three. 82-82 with 1:45 left. Is it possible to have an arch enemy if your enemy doesn't even know you exist?
12:24 Oden gets fouled during the shot. Two big free throws here. First is good. Second is better! Buckeyes lead 84-82 with 1:38 to play. Oden goes out, Lighty comes in. Is this the first time Oden's ever been an offensive substitute instead of a defensive substitute?
12:24:41 Oh! Big block by Ron Lewis, but they call a foul on Ivan Harris. Chism will shoot two. Rebound, Buckeyes! Chism misses the first. Oden comes in.
12:25 There's blood on Oden's jersey. But it's okay, it's animal blood. Huh?
12:25:22 Chism makes the second free throw. Buckeyes lead 84-83 with 1:18 left.
12:27 Common sense says that Conley should drive here and make something happen. However, Ron Lewis can also drive. Again, I don't really care how it gets done--just get it done.
12:27:40 Ron Lewis leaves a deep three short.
12:28 No way! That's not a foul! Terrible call. Ramar Smith goes to the line for two, down one with 38.7 left to play. He misses the first! Hits the second.
12:28:47 One shot. Run it. No timeout. There's a three-second difference between the game clock and shot clock. Take it down to the end and let Conley win this thing.
12:29 Conley drives...he gets fouled with 6.5 seconds left! He's fouled! Come on, Mike. No pressure. Pressure is a figment of the imagination, like yellow traffic lights. Conley has missed three straight free throws. He hits the first!!! Buckeyes lead 85-84. Timeout Tennessee.
12:30 Defense wins now, fellas. Defense. Just hold on. Please, just hold on.
12:31 Here's Conley’s' second...he misses...Ramar Smith rebounds...he's going coast to coast...Oden blocks it!! Game over!! OMG!! What a game!! Never a doubt! Awesome. Simply amazing. That may have been the best single half of basketball I've ever seen. Unbelievable!
12:32 How am I supposed to sleep tonight? Hammer to the head?
12:35 What an amazing win. I am speechless. I am without speech.
12:39 I wonder if I would have stopped watching at the half if I didn’t have to take notes. I’m going to say that I would have kept watching because I don’t want to admit that I wouldn’t have. Now I’m rambling. But I don’t mind. It’s a good ramble, not a hateful ramble. Sometimes we witness something that just makes us talk, and it doesn’t even matter what we say. Blah blah blah. See? Talk talk talk.
12:42 Man, this has to be a heartbreaker for Tennessee. Live by the three…so on and so forth.
12:48 I really need to get to bed, but I know I'm just going to watch highlights and talking heads.
1:01 Yeah, I'm going to bed. The alarm is going to be angry in the morning.
1:02 Unbelievable.
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