XICHIGAN WEEK
Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
AP (Houston)- JaQuan Lyle couldn't stop grinning.
Flapping his arms like some kind of ecstatic ostrich as he ran in circles on the court, the freshman guard from Evansville, Indiana knew from the moment of the tip that Ohio State was bound for its first basketball national championship in over fifty years.
"You look in Danny's (Daniel Giddens) eyes, and you just know, man. He's gonna bang in the paint and hit his FT's, Marc (Loving) will drop in another 25 or 30, the rest of us will get what we can, and we'll pull it out."
Which is what Thad Matta's Buckeyes had been doing since their late December victory against the Kentucky Wildcats, reeling off nearly 30 straight victories by an average margin of twenty points (Kentucky, for their part, had lost in the second round of the NIT, a fall precipitated by the arrest of head coach John Calipari for charges stemming from his role in the sale of poisoned milk to orphaned epileptic puppies).
Matta, for his part, was unavailable for comment as he was last seen ascending to heaven, surrounded by a choir of angels and bathed in a divine light.
I mean, it's possible. Nay, probable!
I will admit that unlike many of you, I did not expect that Ohio State would be able to beat the fourth ranked Kentucky Wildcats in what amounted to a road game. I especially did not expect them to beat the fourth ranked Kentucky Wildcats in what amounted to a road game after having watched them lose to UT-Arlington, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, and Virginia. In a row.
So maybe it's the Christmas season, or maybe it's the fact that Star Wars has convinced me that even some crusty little nobody from the middle of nowhere can still become one with the Force (MASSIVE WINK), but I can see it. Clear as day, Thad Matta triumphantly hoisting trophy after trophy, a deranged D'Angelo Russell screaming from the stands, a shadowy figure in the shape of Austin Grandstaff dejectedly keeping a silent vigil outside of the Schottenstein Center... right there in front of me, as if it were written in stone already.
It's important to note that no one on Ohio State scored more than 14 points, and the contributions that they did get came from unexpected places. Trevor Thompson, who had 10 blocks all season leading up to this game, added five more Saturday night. Kam Williams played a solid 28 minutes, which was the most court time he'd seen since a win against Grambling State over a month ago. And maybe most notably, Daniel Giddens, who was 6-21 to that point on free throws, hit two clutch freebies to put the Buckeyes up by three possessions with less than three minutes to play.
But you already know all of that. What I'm here to tell you is that there are several good deals on flights to Houston for the Final Four in early April, and a quick internet search can also help you with booking your hotel room.
Look, I'm just trying to get in on the ground floor with this. In 2014, Mr. DJ Byrnes spent the entirety of December and a significant part of January insisting that third-string quarterback-led Ohio State was going to run the table and beat the living hell out Wisconsin, Alabama, and Oregon. Every time he made another prediction, I laughed, and every time I looked like an idiot. Well no more. Ohio State basketball will win the 2016 national championship. It is certain. After running the table in the Big Ten (including beating Michigan State twice in three games to close out the season), Ohio State will ride the likes of Jae'Sean Tate and JaQuan Lyle to a sweep in the Big Ten tourney and then blow out all comers in March Madness with a barrage of threes similar to what Kentucky dealt with in the first half on Saturday.
But let's say that, somehow, I'm wrong. Let's say that instead of eternal glory, the Buckeyes end up with a mediocre record, a middling Big Ten finish, and an NIT invite that no one really wants.
In that extremely unlikely event, I hope that the Kentucky win serves as a reminder that sports are a process. Thad Matta, despite some of his flaws, is still one of the best coaches in America. Marc Loving, despite not being the Craft-ian leader that this team craves, is still an excellent player with experience in tight games. Keita Bates-Diop has scored more than 15 points exactly once in his college career, but is a consistent force on the boards and is an emerging scoring threat. JaQuan Lyle's almost five assists per game (well over double what anyone else on the team has) will help set the foundation for a more consistent offense.
Point being, excellence in sports comes in fits and starts. Thad Matta is fielding one of the youngest, most inexperienced teams in the country. If they manage to somehow blow their chance at winning college basketball's top prize, they'll have proven that they are still a work in progress, a story that is still being written by some extremely talented players and an incredible head coach. And maybe, in either case, we'll look back at the Kentucky game as evidence that in a season of ups and downs, surprises can still happen, and teams that no one thought could accomplish much of anything are capable of much more than even they thought possible.
Basketball remains cool and good, guys. And while I'm not really saving my pennies for a Houston banger... well, I'm not throwing the idea in the trash, either. To do so would be to forget why we watch sports in the first place.
