The Buckeyes head to the bench during the second half of No. 7 Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament game against No. 10 Loyola Chicago Friday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Ohio State won 54-41. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
As the Buckeyes exited PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh following their 54-41 win over No. 10 Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday, sophomore guard Eugene Brown III noticed something was different.
Almost one year to the day, Ohio State fell in overtime to 15th-seeded Oral Roberts. Now with a different result this season, Brown said the March Madness staff had a different message prior to the team’s departure.
“For me, it was a different feeling because last year we had the early exit, so walking out the arena and instead of them saying, ‘Safe travels,’ they say, ‘See you Sunday,’” Brown said. “It was a great feeling, honestly. It just feels good.”
The atmosphere surrounding the Buckeyes swirled much differently Friday than it did last March.
Coaching in his seventh NCAA Tournament, Chris Holtmann boasts an 8-6 record as a head coach. Ohio State’s loss to the Golden Eagles was only the ninth time a No. 2 seed fell in the first round, and it meant the Buckeyes had to wait another season to try advancing past the opening game of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Criticism toward the Buckeyes came on and off the court last season, including hate-filled and threatening messages on social media directed at then-sophomore forward E.J. Liddell. Holtmann said it’s an adjustment to encounter critiques positively and negatively and his players have been aware of past and present expectations.
“You really have tunnel vision as much as anything during these times,” Holtmann said. “But it comes with the territory and I understand that pressure is a privilege. We certainly as a group felt pressure to perform at a more-consistent level.”
Ohio State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and Holtmann said the preparation has already begun for No 2 Villanova.
“You try to turn the page right away and immediately prepare for what’s next,” Holtmann said. “It’s such a quick turnaround, so your preparation has to start literally right after the game gets over with.”
Brown said the Buckeyes celebrated their win Friday after the game, still making sure to balance fun and focus.
Graduate guard Jamari Wheeler said he and his teammates have taken ownership of their ability to lead. He also said the Buckeyes are taking what Holtmann and the coaching staff are telling them, but the players are aware of external expectations.
“We felt like it was the first day of college basketball practice again. Really, the players ran the practice. We kept each other accountable, focused on the details and knew that everybody had us as an underdog,” Wheeler said. “Coach is going to have the game plan. We just got to go out there and execute it.”
Ohio State snapped a two-game losing streak dating back to the regular season finale against Michigan with its win over the Ramblers. The Buckeyes stumbled into the NCAA Tournament having lost four of five games, but they now find themselves among the final 32 teams competing for a men’s college basketball championship.
The nerves and suspense toward returning to March Madness have come and gone. Brown said the key now is for the Buckeyes to stay in the moment, and he said they’re “not getting too far ahead of ourselves.”
“We kind of fell at the end of the season, but all along we knew we were a dangerous team,” Brown said. “We just had to get things back rolling. I just feel like we have something to prove to everybody that counted us out, everybody that continues to count us out.”
