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Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Draw Tough Seed in Midwest Bracket
By Brandon CastelINDIANAPOLIS – Moments after trouncing Minnesota 90-61 in the Big Ten Tournament title game, the Ohio State players and coaches gathered in their locker room at Conseco Fieldhouse to watch the 2010 NCAA Tournament Selection Show.
After seeing the names Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Syracuse pop up on the screen as the four No. 1 seeds in the tournament (with the Jayhawks getting the top overall seed); the fifth-ranked Buckeyes (27-7) learned they would have to settle for the No. 2 seed in the Midwest bracket.
That means they will be playing in Milwaukee, Wisc. on Friday and they will take on No. 15-seed UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos (20-9) are coming off a Big West Tournament Championship run in which they knocked off Long Beach State 69-64 in the title game.
“We’re just happy to be in the situation we are,” junior Jon Diebler said when asked if he was disappointed about not getting a 1-seed.
“Obviously the No. 1 seeds are well deserved. They had great seasons. Their RPI and strength of schedule put them right there, we’re just happy to be where we are right now and have a 2-seed.”
There was some sentiment that a Big Ten Tournament Championship to follow their regular season conference title might be enough to push the Buckeyes over the top. They took care of business, beating Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota on consecutive days, but it wasn’t enough to help them overtake Duke, who knocked off Georgia Tech for the ACC Tournament title or Syracuse, who bowed out early in the Big East Tournament.
“It is what is it is. I knew pretty much they weren’t going to give us a 1-seed anyways, so I’m really not too disappointed,” sophomore William Buford said.
While the players would certainly have liked to see Ohio State get a 1-seed after pummeling the Gophers Sunday, it’s hard to be disappointed with a 2-seed considering they were an 8-seed in last year’s tournament.
If anything, the Buckeyes should feel slighted not by their own seeding, but by the level of competition in the rest of the Midwest bracket. Headlined by No. 1 overall seed Kansas, the Midwest figures to be one of the toughest paths to the final four in this year’s tournament. After Kansas and OSU, the bracket also includes No. 3 seed Georgetown, 4-seed Maryland, 5-seed Michigan State and 6-seed Tennessee.
“It didn’t really matter because every team in the tournament is good. That’s why they’re in the tournament,” Diebler said.
“So I think just having the mindset of we have to come out focused on one game at a time. We can’t take anybody lightly. We slipped up last year, so we have to learn from that.”
Assuming the Buckeyes get by UC Santa Barbara, which is a bold assumption considering they were bounced by Siena in the first round of last year’s tournament, they would face the winner of the 7-10 game between Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets in particular would pose a tough test for the Buckeyes because of the low-post presence of 6-10 freshman Derrick Favors.
They could also face the likes of 6-9 power forward Greg Monroe on their way to the Elite Eight, but first they’ve got to worry about the Gauchos, who are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.
“We’ve got Santa Barbara tape here with us and we’ll take a look at that on the way back,” OSU Head Coach Thad Matta said.
“We’ll probably get together tomorrow night and watch some film, but they need a little bit of rest and I need some rest.”
What he will see is a UC Santa Barbara team led by sophomore Orlando Johnson. The 6-foot-7 California native is coming off a 20-point performance in the Big West title game, and he leads the team in scoring at 17.9 points per game.
But the NCAA Tournament is as much about location, location, location as it is matchups, and the Buckeyes aren’t complaining about their upcoming trip to Milwaukee.
“I think it’s going to work out really great,” said Turner, a native of Chicago.
“I think it’s a good regional and I think a lot of our fans are going to come out. I think as long as we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be fine.”
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