NCAA Basketball Tournament Archives - Columbus Wired

NCAA Basketball Tournament

Craft’s heroics lifts Ohio State over Iowa State

March 24, 2013 at 5:27 pm

DAYTON, Ohio – It was a jumper for the ages.

No. 10 seed Iowa State had the second-seed Ohio State Buckeyes on the ropes in a quasi-home game in UD Arena for the Buckeyes. After weathering a 13-0 Cyclones run, Aaron Craft lifted the Buckeyes with a 3-pointer from 21 feet to give Ohio State a 78-75 win Sunday.

The shot prevented overtime and more importantly, preserved Ohio State’s successful season where it won a Big Ten title.

Ohio State got the ball [...]
Iowa State advances to face Ohio State

March 23, 2013 at 1:20 am

DAYTON, Ohio – Led by a 19-point effort by Georges Niang, the No. 10-seed Iowa State Cyclones defeated the No. 7-seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish 76-58 for the right to place Ohio State Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in UD Arena.

Iowa State left little doubt in this contest as the Cyclones led the Irish by 12 at halftime. Notre Dame never cut the Iowa State’s lead before double digits in the second half.

Turnovers were a key to the Cyclones’ win. Iowa [...]
Craft, Thompson energizes Buckeyes in NCAA opener

March 23, 2013 at 12:57 am

DAYTON, Ohio – No upset here.

The No. 2-seed Ohio State Buckeyes staved off the upset bug with an impressive team performance by defeating the No. 15-seed Iona Gaels 97-70 in the University of Dayton Arena Friday evening in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes are only one of two of the top five seeds in the West Region remaining through second-round play.

On Sunday, Ohio State will face No. 10 seed Iowa State who beat Notre Dame Friday [...]
Winning in Dayton not a slam dunk for Buckeyes

March 21, 2013 at 11:42 pm

DAYTON, Ohio – The NCAA Tournament is all about the thrill of an upset. Whenever David beats Goliath, everyone takes notice. Ohio State coach Thad Matta hopes his locker room took notice of recent history to prevent becoming the latest Goliath to fall.

Last season, two No. 15 seeds pulled off upsets over No. 2 seeds. Ohio State was a second-seed last year and avoided the upset bug in a run all the way to the Final Four. Fellow second-seeds Duke [...]
Ohio State wins Big Ten Tournament, clinches No. 2 seed in Dayton

March 17, 2013 at 7:50 pm

DAYTON, Ohio – Winning the Big Ten Tournament is an incredible feat in a season like this. With as many as five contenders for the Final Four leading the field, the challenge was present for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

They were up for the challenge.

After knocking off No. 10 seed Nebraska on Friday and No. 3 seed Michigan State on Saturday, Ohio State bested the No. 2-seed Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 50-43 in front of a sold out United [...]
NCAA: Spartans hold off Billikens to advance

March 18, 2012 at 8:06 pm

Keith Appling hit four free throws in the final minute to preserve a trip to the Sweet 16 for top-ranked Michigan State, who had to hold off No. 9 St. Louis 65-61 in an NCAA third round game in front of 17,425 in Nationwide Arena Sunday.

The Spartans led by eight with 37 seconds remaining, but the Billikens’ Cody Ellis and Mike McCall Jr. hit a pair of three-pointers to cut the lead to three. Austin Thronton hit a free throw [...]
NCAA: Wolfpack returns to Sweet 16 with upset of Hoyas

March 18, 2012 at 4:18 pm

North Carolina State brushed off a slow start to stun No. 3 Gorgetown 66-63 in a NCAA third round game in Nationwide Arena Sunday.

The Wolfpack, the 11th seed, trailed most of the first half, but the Hoyas went cold from the field and could not recover.

“It’s a great win for our program,” NC State coach Mark Gottfried said. “But, you know, really when you just look at this group of guys, to me what stands out is how they have gotten [...]
Craft’s double-double rallies Buckeyes over Bulldogs

March 17, 2012 at 6:33 pm

PITTSBURGH – The Ohio State Buckeyes had a few scary moments in Saturday’s contest against the Gonzaga Bulldogs yet the Buckeyes persevered over the Bulldogs 73-66 in the third round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.

Ohio State advances to the Sweet 16 three straight years for the first time in team history.

Ohio State started the game struggling to grab rebounds. Gonzaga had 13 points off second-chance opportunities in the first half. Ohio State’s top rebounder and forward Jared Sullinger left [...]
Bench leads Syracuse back to the Sweet 16

March 17, 2012 at 4:01 pm

PITTSBURGH – The Syracuse Orange’s bench once again stepped up in a big way as James Southerland and Dion Waiers combined for 33 points to lead the No. 1 seed Orange over the eight seeded Kansas State Wildcats 75-59 Saturday.

“You know, we’ve said all year, we think we’ve got seven guys that can start,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “Certainly the way James is playing now, and Dion is playing, they’re arguably as good as most starters on most teams.”

Waiters [...]
NCAA: Green’s triple-double leads Spartans past LIU Brooklyn

March 17, 2012 at 12:57 am

Draymond Green scored 24 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished 10 assists to lead top-seed Michigan State past No. 16 LIU Brooklyn 89-67 in a second round NCAA Tournament game in Nationwide Arena.

“At the end of the day I’d much rather have a win than a triple‑double, because when you look at those record books it’s going to say Draymond Green stats triple‑double and then it’s going to say the score of the game,” Green said. “And the last one [...]
NCAA: St. Louis edges Memphis

March 16, 2012 at 10:40 pm

Brian Conklin hit nine of his 10 free throws and Jordair Jett hit four late to rally No. 9 St Louis past No. 8 Memphis 61-54 in a second round NCAA Tournament game at Nationwide Arena Friday.

The game featured six ties and six lead changes and both teams never lead by more than eight points, but the Billikens hit 10-of-11 free throws down the stretch to hold off the Tigers and advance to the third round where they will face [...]
NCAA: NC State, Georgetown advance (updated)

March 16, 2012 at 6:56 pm

In a closely contested battle, No. 11 North Carolina State was able to pull away in the second half and defeat No. 6 seed San Diego State 79-65 in a second round NCAA Tournament game in Nationwide Arena Friday.

Richard Howell scored 22 points to lead NC State, who shot 58 percent from the field on 31-of-53 from the field. Lorenzo Brown added 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The Wolfpack outrebounded the Aztecs 38-29. Howell said his coach, Mark [...]
Ohio State Preview: Gonzaga Bulldogs

March 16, 2012 at 6:08 pm

PITTSBURGH – The Ohio State Buckeyes faced their “wake-up” call Thursday evening against the Loyola Greyhounds in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Earlier in the evening, the Gonzaga Bulldogs easily downed the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Ohio State and Gonzaga battle at 2:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon in CONSOL Energy Center in the third round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.

“I think we’ve got to do a great job defensively because they execute well,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta [...]
NCAA Tournament Notebook: Rodriquez responds to slurs

March 16, 2012 at 6:03 pm

PITTSBURGH – One day after the band from Southern Miss shouted ethnic slurs at Kansas State guard Angel Rodriquez in an NCAA Tournament game at CONSOL Energy Center, Rodriquez and his coach, Frank Martin took the verbal abuse in stride.

The band chanted “where’s your green card” at the Puerto Rican native. Since Puerto Rico is a part of the United States, Rodriquez is considered an American citizen and needs no green card.

The incident took place late in the first half [...]
Buckeyes advance despite Greyhounds wake-up call

March 16, 2012 at 1:23 am

PITTSBURGH – Despite Ohio State’s poor start shooting the basketball, the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes rode the coattails of Deshaun Thomas en route to a 78-59 victory over the Loyola Greyhounds in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Thursday evening in CONSOL Energy Center.

Ohio State will meet Gonzaga at 2:45 p.m. in Saturday’s third round.

Thomas scored a career high 31 points and added 12 rebounds. Jared Sullinger had his 33rd career double-double with 12 points [...]
Gonzaga advances; awaits Ohio State

March 15, 2012 at 10:48 pm

PITTSBURGH – The West Virginia Mountaineers came into CONSOL Energy Center Thursday evening against the Gonzaga Bulldogs with an inherent home court advantage. Yet the Mountaineers could not take advantage of the Gonzaga Bulldogs who traveled over 2,000 miles as the Bulldogs advanced to the next round with a 77-54 win Thursday evening.

“I thought that was just a great opening game for under the circumstances,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “You know, these opening games, they’re hard. There’s a lot [...]
Without Melo, Syracuse struggles to advance

March 15, 2012 at 8:10 pm

PITTSBURGH – The UNC Asheville Bulldogs gave top seeded Syracuse all it could handle as the Bulldogs led the Orange for much of the game but fell short 72-65 Thursday afternoon.

Asheville was minutes away from becoming the first ever No. 16 seed to knock off a one seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The Bulldogs held a 34-30 lead at halftime. James Southerland came off to bench to score 13 of his 15 points in the second half to [...]
Making a name

March 15, 2012 at 12:52 am

PITTSBURGH – It is no secret the Ohio State Buckeyes’ football program had a down year going 6-7 and having their first losing record since 1988. It is also no secret that Ohio State men’s basketball coach Thad Matta’s program will always play second fiddle to the football program.

Matta’s programs have had the firepower to win NCAA titles, but will this be the year the Buckeyes can get over the proverbial hump and win Ohio State’s first basketball title since [...]
Ohio State Preview: Loyola Greyhounds

March 13, 2012 at 10:31 pm

It would be easy for the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes to look past the No. 15 Loyola (MD.) Greyhounds as Ohio State became the new favorite in the East region. But the Greyhounds are looking to cause the Buckeyes to stumble early in the 2012 tournament.

The Buckeyes will take on the Greyhounds in Pittsburgh’s CONSOL Energy Center after the Greyhounds won this year’s MAAC Tournament.

Ohio State’s recent NCAA tournament success has been limited. The Buckeyes have made two [...]