Ohio State rebounded from a tough loss against Gonzaga to defeat Stanford, 79-71 on Friday night, but Chris Holtmann wasn't 100 percent pleased with the outcome.
The win meant the Buckeyes will take on Butler on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Portland, Ore., a place where Holtmann was head coach for three seasons before leaving the Bulldogs to coach Ohio State following the firing of Thad Matta.
Holtmann was visibly emotional in a postgame interview with ESPN's Jeff Goodman after he was asked about facing his former team just seven games into his Ohio State coaching tenure.
"You know, it's certainly not ideal. There'll be a lot of mixed emotions. I love that place. I love that community. It's meant so much to me," Holtmann said. "We've got a game to play. This is really about the players and I certainly don't want to take anything away from both teams and both groups of players. We will be ready to compete and I know they will too."
Like the Buckeyes, the Bulldogs have split their first two games of the PK80 Invitational. Butler lost its opening game to Texas, 61-48, before rebounding to defeat Portland State, 71-69, in the second round.
Tip between the Buckeyes and Bulldogs is set for 3 p.m. Sunday in Portland.
