I finally know what it’s like to see an NCAA tournament game first hand. Unfortunately, I also know what it’s like to pay a bunch of dough to see the Buckeyes lose (yet another) heartbreaker on the national stage.
Friday, D and I headed up to Dayton to see a couple first round NCAA games. Our seats were awesome, in the lowest section, just nine rows from the floor. The first was the overall #1 seed Louisville up against the #16 play-in winner Morehead State. Morehead gave the bigger and faster L’ville a good run in the first half and actually took the lead for a bit. The arena went crazy thinking this could be history in the making (a #16 beating a #1 for the first time ever).
But of course it didn’t last. In the second half, Pitino woke his team up and UofL finished the game up by 20 points. For a bit of the Louisville game, some of the Ohio State payers came in and sat across the aisle from us, no doubt scouting what Louisville would hold in store for them in the second round. Only it wouldn’t matter.
Game two was Ohio State versus the Siena Saints from upstate New York. Even though it was a 8-9 seeded matchup, the schools couldn’t be more different. Enrollment at OSU is over 50,000; at Siena, under 3,000. The University of Dayton arena is only an hour from Columbus, so essentially it was a home game for the Bucks, and the sea of scarlet in the stands showed it.
Things started well for the Buckeyes, gradually building a lead through the first half. Five minutes into the second half the lead had grown to eleven and fans were breathing easy. Then suddenly Siena came roaring back, scoring nine unanswered points to pull them back. The Bucks were visibly shaken. Their outside shooting was cold, and their inside players players were getting beat by the smaller Saints. The rest of the game is one, big, painful blur. The Saints pushed the game into overtime with a 3-pointer under the one minute mark.
And then hit another 3 with under 4 seconds left to force a second overtime.
And then hit another 3 again under 4 seconds to take a final two point lead.
It was the most incredible game I wish I never saw.
Tags: Basketball
