PORTLAND, Ore. — After earning a 75-72 overtime win against VCU on Thursday in the second round of the NCAA tournament, one may have expected a bit of a raucous scene inside of the winning team’s locker room following the game.
But as you stepped foot inside the place where the Buckeyes got ready to take down the Rams, it was quite the opposite. Players were all calmly sitting in their chairs. Most of them were on their cell phones, others were enjoying a nice post-game meal.
Ohio State had just played one of the more entertaining games of what turned out to be a spectacular day in the NCAA tournament, but a quick scan of the locker room certainly didn’t give that vibe.
Perhaps that’s because the Buckeyes came to Portland with a specific mindset.
“We came here to get two,” Ohio State freshman forward Jae’Sean Tate said. "We've still got work to do."
Tate, mind you, had never played in an NCAA tournament game before Thursday’s win over the Rams. Yet he still made that statement following such a dramatic game. It’s clear he’s well aware of how this thing works.
“We came here to get two. We've still got work to do.”– Jae'Sean Tate
“I think in terms of Arizona, you know, they are probably completely different in terms of how VCU plays,” Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said following the win over the Rams. “You know, the big guys, (Brandon) Ashley and (Kaleb) Tarczewski, are definitely monsters down there. We’ve got to come up with something.”
The 10th-seeded Buckeyes will now face No. 2 Arizona on Saturday at 5:15 p.m ET. It’s a quick turnaround, but it’s also a matchup against one of the best teams in the country and a legitimate national championship contender.
“I’m really excited, but that’s over now,” said Keita Bates-Diop, another Ohio State freshman. “We’ll celebrate for a little but we have to move on and prepare for a good Arizona team.”
The Wildcats are 32-3 on the season. They won both the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles. They have everything you’re looking for in a national championship contender.
It’s exactly why the Buckeyes were so quick to put the win over the Rams behind them. They simply had no choice. Not in the NCAA tournament, anyway. There’s no time to celebrate anything.
And as Tate sat inside the surprisingly calm Ohio State locker room following his team’s win over VCU, he was asked if he’d be ready to go again come Saturday against the Wildcats
“I still got the jitter bugs, but we’re gonna be ready,” he said. “As soon as we leave here, we’re going to start preparing for Arizona.”
After all, the Buckeyes did come to Portland to get two.
