To make up for all that missed time in the classroom over spring break, the Ohio State basketball team put on a clinic last night in St. John Arena, beating Cal 73-56.
The old field house was shaking on full tilt during the first half when Jamar Butler (right, v. UNC Ash.) hit 3 treys and the Bucks built a 12 point lead that would carry them the rest of the game. What's more, the team's defensive effort held the usually high-scoring Bears to their second-lowest point total of the season. Ryan Anderson, Cal's big answer who averages 21 pts/game, was regulated to 4-11 shooting and 11 pts.
All this begs the question: Is this silver medal tournament providing the low-stress atmosphere that this young team has searched for all season?
It would certainly seem so from the look and sound of last night's event, which rivaled the Springsteen concert as the best place for a 40-year-old in Levis and a red pullover to show his son some real history. Gabby Jay at Our Honor Defend spoke for all of us when asking if St. John was available for the Wednesday meeting with Dayton. The answer, unfortunately, is "no" and your guess is as good as mine as to what might be going on at S.J. that's more important (Uneducated guess: Cage fight or Jim O'Brien sleeps there.)
Concerning that delicious matchup with instate foe Dayton, it's hard to imagine a better scenerio for both teams--a scenario, I might add, that I foresaw in my NIT bracket that I submitted to Cuse Country. Enjoy the much deserved roasting they give me for picking almost every other game incorrectly. The OSU v. Dayton game will fairly crown the second best team in the Buckeye State this season (behind Xavier), considering Kent St. forfeited any hopes of that title last week.
Until then, we're left with the haunting and angry words of ThaSequal: Are the Bucks one step closer to salvaging this season?
photo/TERRY GILLIAM-AP
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