It was closer than it should’ve been, but the Buckeyes beat Xavier in overtime to make it to the next round of the NCAA Tournament:
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Ohio State thought Greg Oden was its best shot at a national championship. Turns out it was Ron Lewis, and in the nick of time. Lewis capped a furious rally by hitting a long-range 3-pointer with two seconds left to force overtime, and the top-seeded Buckeyes beat Xavier 78-71 Saturday in a second-round South Regional game.
Ohio State trailed 55-44 with 7 1/2 minutes left, and was still down 61-52 with 2:54 left. When Oden fouled out with a hard shove after the Buckeyes kept missing in the last 10 seconds, they looked lost.
Xavier’s Justin Cage then made of one of two foul shots with 9.3 seconds left for a 62-59 lead, giving Ohio State its last chance. Lewis came down and, with two defenders flying at him, swished the tying 3-pointer from several feet beyond the arc.
With Oden on the bench, fellow freshman _ and high school teammate _ Mike Conley Jr. took over. He scored 11 points in overtime and the Buckeyes (32-3) were never threatened again in winning their 19th straight game.
The Buckeyes, who finished No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll, advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since they went to the Final Four in 1999. They will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Tennessee and Virginia.
Go Buckeyes !
March 18th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Root for Purdue today, Doug.
Also known as “tilting at windmills”