Buckeyes Hang On and Move On to the Final Four – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/22/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 22, 1999
By TOM SHARP
AP Sports Writer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Ohio State guard Michael Redd had the Final Four hat, the Final Four shirt, a piece of the net, a big grin on his face and a question to ask.
“They said when we came here we’d had a great season but it had to end here,” he said, wandering the court long after the fans had left the Buckeyes’ 77-74 South Regional championship victory over St. John’s. “I wonder what they’re going to say now?”
At a minimum, they’ll say Ohio State is in the Final Four for the first time since 1968. And that the Buckeyes have outrun the memory of last year’s 8-22 season, and fled all the losing that preceded it – 72 games in four years.
They’ll say that Ohio State isn’t exactly a longshot in St. Petersburg, Fla. They’re a fourth seed.
A lot of them will say unprintable things when they look at their office pool brackets with scratches through the Final Four slot reserved for the South champion, crossed-out names like Auburn or Maryland or St. John’s or Syracuse or Louisville.
And if they watched Saturday’s regional final against St. John’s, they’ll say the Buckeyes deserve to be there.
Ohio State used 38 minutes of excellent play to survive two minutes of white-knuckled terror to send a good St. John’s team home. They’ll take on another Big East team, Connecticut, the No. 1 seed from the West Regional, in the first round of the Final Four.
The Buckeyes once again rode outstanding play from their guards, Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd.
Penn was named the Most Outstanding Player of the regional after a 22-point, eight-rebound, five-assist performance Saturday against the Red Storm.
Redd carried the load in the first half with 17 of his 20 points, including a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer that was classic stuff: top of the key, clock ticking down, back and forth between his legs in a hushed gym, letting fly like he was playing HORSE in the back yard for a 41-33 lead at the break.
“It’s really amazing,” said St. John’s coach Mike Jarvis. “I’ve watched the great teams play and they always seem to be the ones that close the end of a half. … I’ll be seeing those two guys in my sleep for the next couple of weeks.” The Buckeyes were Ken Johnson’s 12 points and seven blocks, two on the opening possession of the game that told the Red Storm to come inside with a purpose if they dared come at all.
They were Jason Singleton cutting behind the zone St. John’s was forced to use in the second half to control Redd, taking a 25-foot bullet from Penn on the way to 13 points, making 6-of-7 shots from the floor.
The Buckeyes shot 55 percent and won despite getting out-rebounded 45-28.
They were shaky at the end when St. John’s “refused to go nicely,” in the words of coach Jim O’Brien. The Buckeyes led 73-64 on Singleton’s bucket with 2:47 left, but turned it over on three straight possessions and missed the front of two one-and-ones as the Johnnies crept closer.
St. John’s trailed 76-74 and had the ball when point guard Erick Barkley committed his only turnover of the game, dribbling the ball off his leg into Redd’s waiting hands with six or seven seconds left.
Redd ended it with a free throw. The Buckeyes go to St. Petersburg at 27-8. That’s 19 games better than they were a year ago. They took out the No. 1 seed and the No. 3 seed in the regional. Their backcourt is about as good as you’ll see.
The Buckeyes are in the Final Four.
What do you say now?
Buckeyes basketball: A state of wonder
By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Before the season, Jim O’Brien’s goal wasn’t to get Ohio State to the Final Four. A practical man, he was just hoping to get above .500 following his worst season as a coach.
Now, with the Buckeyes headed to the NCAA semifinals in St. Petersburg, Fla., O’Brien is a mystified as anyone.
“I personally just wanted to win more than we lost. I know it sounds a little ridiculous right now but I thought that was real,” he said. “I just thought that after five straight losing seasons that a winning record would have been nice.”
In O’Brien’s first season at Ohio State, the Buckeyes went 8-22, losing 17 straight games and tying the school record for losses.
Even the most ardent fan would have felt foolish to ask for a winning season this year.
“I thought that would have gotten us to the NIT and would have shown some pretty good progress,” O’Brien said. “Obviously, we have far exceeded that.”
Yes, they have. The record is downright startling: 27-8, with Connecticut (32-2) up next on Saturday night.
The latest victory came in the South Regional title game, a 77-74 win over St. John’s 77-74.
This is the Buckeyes’ first trip to the Final Four in 31 years. The last time they went, O’Brien was a scrawny freshman point guard at Boston College.
The captain of the last Ohio State team to make it to the Final Four gives a lot of the credit to O’Brien for the remarkable turnaround.
“He’s the catalyst,” said Bill Hosket, a Columbus businessman and Big Ten basketball commentator. “He’s getting the most out of the kids, but more than that he’s doing a terrific job of hiding their weaknesses. That’s something he’s done well for two years.
“There’s no question of which team had the best coaching in the last 80 minutes of basketball I saw in Knoxville. It’s phenomenal what the guy has done.”
Ohio State’s leading scorer, Michael Redd, said there are several reasons why the Buckeyes have survived this long – and all are attributes nurtured by O’Brien.
“Teamwork. Playing hard. Every possession we played with a lot heart,” he said. “That was the key for us. It really was.”
Before the season, point guard Scoonie Penn brashly predicted the Buckeyes would make it to the NCAA tournament.
“I’m looking at him like, you know, he’s nuts,” O’Brien said.
Penn insists the Buckeyes are deserving of the trip to St. Petersburg.
“It’s something we work real hard for,” he said. “I don’t think anyone thought we could do it, but here we are.”
When he took over the Buckeyes two years ago, O’Brien inherited several malcontents and borderline players. All but two transferred or quit: seniors Neshaun Coleman and Jason Singleton.
This season, O’Brien points to the character of his players and the contributions from the entire roster.
“Just when you don’t know if they can keep giving there’s always more,” he said. “They always come back.”
O’Brien has been a head coach for 17 years at Ohio State, Boston College and St. Bonaventure. He was an assistant for five years before that at, of all places, UConn.
The moment is not lost on him. He hugged his daughters and then danced with his players after the victory over St. John’s.
“Guys coach forever and ever and never get a chance to get to the Final Four,” he said. “People go through their careers, players play three or four years, and never get this opportunity.
“We just have to be thankful that we get this opportunity. It’s special.”
