Buckeyes Advance to Elite 8 – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/19/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 19, 1999
Box Score
By TERESA M. WALKER%^$
AP Sports Writer%^$
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Ohio State, which finished last in the Big Ten a%^$year ago, is now one victory away from the Final Four.%^$
The Buckeyes broke open a tie game with nine straight points down the%^$stretch and beat top-seeded Auburn 72-64 Thursday night in the South Regional%^$semifinals.%^$
“This just keeps hitting me right between the eyes,” said Ohio State coach%^$Jim O’Brien, whose Buckeyes struggled to an 8-22 record last season.%^$
“How these guys constantly come back to try and accomplish a little more.%^$Just when I ask myself Can they do anymore?’ They surprise me and do more.”%^$
Ohio State (26-8) advanced to Saturday’s regional final against St. John’s,%^$which defeated Maryland 76-62 in the other semifinal.%^$
Brian Brown’s free throw broke a 61-61 tie with 2:41 left and Ohio State%^$opened a 70-61 lead before Auburn’s Doc Robinson banked in a meaningless%^$3-pointer with 6.5 seconds left.%^$
The Buckeyes’ success is no surprise to Scoonie Penn, the guard who followed%^$O’Brien to Ohio State from Boston College. He predicted last fall that the%^$Buckeyes would turn it around and make the the NCAA tournament this season.%^$
“Look at us now. I’m sure they will believe me now,” said Penn, who scored%^$19 of his 26 points in the second half despite playing with four fouls the%^$final 10 minutes.%^$
Auburn (29-4), which hadn’t been to the round of 16 since 1986, became the%^$first No. 1 seed to fall in this year’s tournament thanks to some cold shooting%^$down the stretch. The Southeastern Conference’s highest-scoring team missed%^$seven straight shots after Scott Pohlman’s 3-pointer tied the game at 61.%^$
Neither team could grab the momentum in a game where they swapped the lead%^$17 times.%^$
Auburn coach Cliff Ellis said his Tigers had their chances with three%^$minutes left.%^$
“Penn and (Michael) Redd came on and took them over the hump,” Ellis said.%^$
After Brown started the 9-0 run with his free throw, Redd added two foul%^$shots, Penn made a basket, Brown stole the ball from Bryant Smith and fed it to%^$Jason Singleton for a dunk, and Singleton added free throws to put Ohio State%^$up 70-61.%^$
“We went into the game knowing Ohio State was a very good team. You see why%^$they have had such success,” Ellis said. “Scoonie Penn hit big shots. They%^$were huge when they came. He and Redd are tremendous basketball players.”%^$
The victory put Ohio State in its first regional final since 1992, when the%^$Buckeyes lost to Michigan State.%^$
Redd added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Buckeyes.%^$
Chris Porter, the SEC’s player of the year, led Auburn with 15 points but%^$fouled out with 1:57 remaining. Robinson finished with 14, and Smith had 10.%^$
Ohio State led for nearly the first eight minutes of the second half until%^$Auburn went on an 11-2 run started by Pohlman, who finished with only seven%^$points after scoring a career-high 28 in the Tigers’ second-round victory over%^$Oklahoma State.%^$
The spurt put Auburn up 52-46 with 10:17 remaining, but the Tigers couldn’t%^$hold onto that edge. Auburn wound up with 18 turnovers, and Ohio State%^$converted them into 17 points. The Buckeyes took good care of the ball and lost%^$it only nine times.%^$
Penn, the Big Ten’s player of the year, went to the bench with his fourth%^$foul with 13:23 left. He came back and pulled Ohio State within 52-51 with a%^$3-pointer and a baseline drive. Neither team led by more than three until Ohio%^$State’s late run.%^$
Ohio State, which held its first two opponents in the tournament to just 28%^$percent shooting, continued its stingy defense against Auburn in the first%^$half, when the Tigers were 8-for-29.%^$ Redd set the tone for the night on the Buckeyes’ opening possession. He%^$calmly took a pass with the shot clock winding down and hit a 3-pointer as the%^$buzzer sounded.%^$
But Ohio State couldn’t shake the Tigers, who set a school record for%^$victories this season.%^$
The teams swapped the lead back and forth before Penn hit a long 3-pointer%^$with 18.5 seconds left to give Ohio State a 31-26 halftime lead.
