The Buckeyes were on the wrong side of history on Friday as their 75-72 loss to Oral Roberts allowed the Golden Eagles to become the ninth No. 15 seed to win a first-round NCAA Tournament game.
This season’s Ohio State men’s basketball team had experienced the highs and lows of a season in which it overachieved and earned a No. 2 seed for the first time in eight years. The Buckeyes advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Final against then-No. 3 Illinois after defeating a trio of teams of whom they didn’t beat in the regular season.
As the Buckeyes rode the team bus away from Mackey Arena, head coach Chris Holtmann said it was hard to put into words the difficulty coming to grips with such a disappointing, shocking loss.
“I thought there were a lot of really important strides this year and a lot of really good moments,” Holtmann said. “This is incredibly disappointing, there’s no other way to look at it. It certainly doesn’t discount what our guys have done throughout the bulk of the season. You’re playing in a win-or-go-home environment, and we’ve got to own that.
“Right now, we’ve got to lean into this disappointment and embrace it for what it is and figure out how we can grow moving forward.”
Ohio State shot 43.7% from the field against Oral Roberts, just less than the 45.5% it shot during its four-game run in the conference tournament. However, the Buckeyes’ 21.7% 3-point shooting was their third-worst performance from beyond the arc of the season.
Only four Buckeyes who saw time on the floor Friday had previous experience playing in an NCAA Tournament environment. Holtmann had coached in five tournaments previously in his career, and this year marked the first in which the head coach did not win at least one game in the NCAA Tournament.
“I think obviously that’s the next step for us, there’s no question, is finding a way to get to the second weekend,” Holtmann said. “I think in the previous couple years, we were beaten by teams that were higher-seeded than us. We certainly thought we had a great chance last year, we certainly thought we had a great chance this year. We didn’t get it done this year.”
The Buckeyes players felt the disappointment themselves.
Redshirt-senior guard C.J. Walker, who will move on from his playing career, took to Twitter after the game in addition to speaking to media.
“It hurts,” Walker said. “This is my last time putting on an Ohio State jersey, playing in this moment in this atmosphere. It really hurts a lot, but I’m not going to let this define me, the Ohio State program and the future to come. It was one of them moments you got to take to the chin, figure out how to get better.”
The Golden Eagles were led by sophomore guard Max Abmas, who shot 50% from deep and scored 29 points, in addition to junior forward Kevin Obanor, who lead all scorers with 30 points and scored the go-ahead layup to begin overtime.
“Give Oral Roberts credit for winning the game,” Holtmann said. “We knew they were going to be a tremendous challenge, they were. They spread us out, they made shots, they made free throws down the stretch when they needed to. They executed. I thought their ability to make shots and spread us out was a challenge. I think, for us, just begin by giving them credit.
“I know our guys are hurting, I think we all are.”
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It's going to take some time for the Buckeyes to reflect on their early exit and their season overall. As it stands, seven other Big Ten programs are in the hunt and remain in contention within the NCAA Tournament.
For Ohio State, they'll reflect on what strides they made in a season that showed promise, yet ended in heartache.
“I think as much as anything, you’re trying to bring some perspective onto the season, which is hard to do in this moment,” Holtmann said. “We all have to be responsible for not quite getting it done, and it begins with me, first and foremost with me. Obviously you’re a No. 2 seed for a reason, that means you put in great work throughout the season. You had a body of work that was really good and there were some tremendous moments this season, by and large.
“It was a special year with a conclusion that is one we’ve got to lean into. It’s incredibly disappointing.”
