Men's Basketball
Buckeyes End Season with NIT Championship
By John Porentas

(NEW, YORK, NY) "That's what happens when you put an NCAA tournament team in the NIT. They walk through it. Send that to the committee. Write that." ----OSU senior point guard Jamar Butler to the-Ozone after OSU cut down the nets in New York as the NIT champions.

Ohio State senior point guard was all smiles after OSU's 92-85 win over UMass to claim the NIT championship. According to Butler, the win showed that the Buckeyes were left out of the Big Dance when in fact they belonged. After the way OSU played in the NIT it's hard to argue with him.

"I think we proved that we were an NCAA tournament team," said Butler.

"Once we got on a roll and beat Michigan State and Purdue in the same week I think that proved that we should have been in there.

"We wanted to prove that we should have been in there and I think we did."

The Buckeyes made their point by rattling off five-straight wins to finish their season at 24-13 and on a roll. Their final win against UMass may have been one of the more entertaining of the season. It was a game that had just about everything, from up and down action and ebb and flow to near-heroic performances by players on both teams.

In the opening moments of the championship game it looked like it would be a UMass blowout of the Buckeyes. The Minutemen started the game with an 8-2 run that forced OSU Head Coach Thad Matta to ask for a timeout just 2 minutes and 29 seconds into the game. His team had already committed three turnovers and looked like they were rattled by the fast pace of play the Minutemen were able to impose on them.

"We calmly talked to them about a couple of things," said Matta with a wry smile on his face of the topic of conversation during the timeout.

UMass went up 10-2, but the Buckeyes got their legs under them and went on a run o their own to take a lead at 15-12. Butler made two threes in that OSU run as did senior forward Matt Terwilliger.

The game evened up until the 7:09 mark. With OSU trailing by only two at 29-27 the Minutemen went on a 8-0 that had OSU down 37-27 with 3:54 remaining in the half. The Buckeyes appeared to be teetering on the bring of collapse under the weight of the frenetic pace being imposed on them by UMass, but got things turned around when Evan Turner made three-point field goals on consecutive possessions to cut the UMass lead back t just four. Turner has not made three since February 26 vs. Indiana, but knocked down two in a row at a critical moment to keep the Buckeyes in the game. The half ended with OSU trailing by five at 41-36. Matta and his coaching staff went to the locker room impressed with the way UMass had played.

"We talked at halftime, we said 'Wow, if they can play better than this,' because we were fortunate to knock down those three threes because we could have been down big.

Matta's message to his team at the half was simple.

"We said lets play fast, but under control," said Matta whose team was plagued by 11 first-half turnovers.

"The turnovers we had in the first half were in the 3-2, 4-3 (OSU fast break opportunities) and converting those was one of the major things we needed to do."

His team seemed to listen, because the Buckeyes opened the second half with an 11-2 run that not only erased the UMass lead but suddenly put OSU in control of the game.

"The biggest thing was regaining our composure and our concentration and coming out in the 11-2 run. I thought what was big," said Matta.

The Buckeyes never relinquished the lead after that, but don't think for a minute that the Minutemen went away. The Buckeyes got up by as many as nine at 64-55 with 9:26 left on the clock, but UMass made a determined run behind some amazing shooting UMass guard Ricky Harris who hit three threes in 13-4 run that tied the game at 68 all. Harris ended the game with a game-high 27 points, but it was tournament Most Outstanding Player Kosta Koufos who finally had an answer for OSU when the big man knocked down a three to put OSU back up at 71-68 with 6:03 left to play. Koufos finished the game with 22 points, 20 of them in the second half.

OSU managed to maintain the lead the rest of the way, but it was a very interesting last six minutes. The Minutemen pressed the Buckeyes and once again imposed a fast pace. This time, however, the Buckeyes were able to handle it.

"That last seven minutes, that was some of the fastest basketball I had ever seen," said Matta.

"I was having the time of my life as a coach watching that. and our guys did a great job of finishing strong. I think our conditioning and strength training that they do really 365 days a year paid off for us."

UMass Head Coach Travis Ford agreed.

"You have to give Ohio State credit," said Ford, whose teams are known to be able to wear out the opposition with their fast play. "I thought a couple of times we had them. I thought a couple of times our press and style of play were going to kick in. Both teams played well. You have to give them credit. They had a little bit left in the tank.

OSU weathered the storm of the UMass press, but came away impressed with it.

"It was tough," said Butler. "It seemed like they had six guards out there," Butler said.

Koufos ended up OSU leading scorer, but the Buckeyes got contributions from nearly everyone who saw action. Turner ended the game with 20, Butler 19, and Othello Hunter 17. David Lighty added eight

The Buckeyes blocked 12 shots in the game and came up with eight steals. OSU shot extremely well knocking down just over 56 percent from the field and 52 percent from three point range.

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