The noise from inside the UT-Arlington locker room could be heard all the way down the hall. All of the hooting and hollering was certainly warranted.
How could it not be? After all, the Mavericks had just pulled off a stunning upset, knocking off Ohio State on the road Friday night, 73-68.
“This definitely was one of the biggest wins, if not the biggest wins in the history of the program,” UT-Arlington coach Scott Cross said. “Our guys played their hearts out and we did play about as good of a basketball game as we possibly could.”
But this wasn’t your typical upset where a mid-major comes in and shoots lights out to knock off a big-time program. This game was different; the Mavericks shot only 38 percent from the field and made 6 of their 23 attempts from beyond the 3-point line. UT-Arlington beat Ohio State because it out hustled, outworked and simply outplayed the Buckeyes on their home floor.
“They played a hell of a game,” Ohio State sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate said. “They came out with more energy than us. Their offense was amazing, we couldn’t guard it today. They were the better team today.”
The Mavericks outrebounded a much bigger Ohio State side by nine. They outscored the Buckeyes by 12 points in the paint. UT-Arlington had an 11-point edge in points off turnovers and an eight-point advantage in second-chance points.
All of those things were too much for this young Ohio State team to overcome. The Buckeyes held a two-point lead at halftime, but after a 12-2 run by the Mavericks to open the second half, they could never catch up.
“We never showed the playmaking ability to stop the runs,” Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. “The one thing about college basketball, it’s become momentum and we could never get the momentum on our side.”
With just four returners from last year’s team, there were always going to be growing pains for this Ohio State team. It was bound to happen. You can’t lose so much — a five-man senior class and an All-American — and expect things to be like they once were. Ohio State is not Kentucky. Rebuilding is a bit of a process; this isn't a simple reload.
But this loss certainly is an eye-opener. Matta usually doesn’t lose games like this — in fact, he’s now 106-2 all time against unranked opponents in the non-conference — but this one stung a little bit.
Tate and junior forward Marc Loving — the de facto captains of this team — sat the podium for their postgame press conference and neither had much to say. The looks on their faces told the whole tale.
“UT-Arlington came in with a chip on their shoulder, hats off to them,” Loving said. “They played a very confident and competitive game and they gave it their all.”
Added Tate: “We just didn’t have it tonight and UT did. That’s it.”
The loss is especially concerning when you look at the bigger picture. Ohio State was a borderline NCAA tournament team before the season. Having a loss like this one — against a mid-major team on your home floor — could potentially be a killer way down the road.
But if there’s any good news for the Buckeyes it’s maybe they needed to go through something like this. Matta can only tell his team about these kinds of experiences so many times. Maybe his team needed to go through it.
It’s also just the third game of the season and there’s plenty of basketball ahead for Ohio State. The Buckeyes are back in action Tuesday against Louisiana Tech before they head to Miami for a matchup with Memphis on Friday. Ohio State quickly has a chance to get back on the right track.
“I’ve been saying this: I’m still kind of learning this basketball team,” Matta said. “Tonight was a great eye-opener in terms of just where our toughness is mentally, physically. We’ve got a long, long way to go and we knew that. I haven’t felt real good yet about this team, but we’ll come back in, get after it and hopefully be a better team on Tuesday.”
