Head coach Kevin McGuff throws up a peace sign prior to No. 4 Ohio State's 67-82 loss to No. 5 Tennessee Sunday at the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
With a Sweet 16 berth on the line, Ohio State had a golden opportunity to redeem itself from a season ago and advance in front of a raucous home crowd at the Schottenstein Center.
Instead, the Buckeyes were haunted — once again — by their round of 32 struggles and this time, the ghosts came dressed in orange.
Behind a staggering 23 turnovers, No. 4-seeded Ohio State fell to No. 5-seeded Tennessee, 82-67, Sunday night as the Buckeyes’ NCAA Tournament run ended early in the round of 32.
“When you look at the stats and see 37 points off turnovers and 20 second-chance points, you’re not going to give yourself a chance to win.” head coach Kevin McGuff said. “Credit Tennessee. I thought they played really well.”
The Buckeyes got off to a ferocious start. They generated early momentum into the first media timeout leading 13-5 after an 11-2 run.
After scoring five straight following the break to push the lead to 11, Tennessee responded in a big way.
The Volunteers went on a nearly three-minute 12-2 run, forcing three Buckeye turnovers and getting right back into the game.
Still, Ohio State finished the quarter up four, as it outshot Tennessee by 20% and out-rebounded the Volunteers by four.
The Volunteers continued their success to open the second thanks to a 7-0 run that included five second-chance points. Tennessee claimed its first lead since 3-2 nearly midway through the quarter, silencing the once near-deafening crowd.
The Volunteers maintained their lead for the rest of the quarter, using six offensive rebounds to go into the locker room with a 40-35 lead.
The first two minutes of the second half were disastrous for Ohio State.
After guard Jaloni Cambridge scored the half’s first points, Tennessee went on a back-breaking 14-0 run, with nine of the 14 points coming off four Buckeye turnovers. Points off turnovers were a significant factor, with Tennessee scoring nearly half their 82 points in that fashion.
Down 17 points with 6:58 left in the quarter, things looked bleak.
However, instead of folding, Ohio State responded monstrously, going on a 16-0 run of their own, using five Tennessee turnovers and nine straight points from Cambridge to take a brief one-point lead with 2:48 to play in the quarter after a free throw from guard Cotie McMahon.
As was typical of the chaotic quarter, the Volunteers ended the third on a 10-2 run to reclaim a seven-point advantage going into the fourth, which was a lead they never gave back.
“We had a stretch where we really took care of the ball — and then we had some bad turnovers there to ignite another run for them,” McGuff said.
Guard Madison Greene said the trend of squandering momentum was nothing new for the Buckeyes.
“I feel like all season we’ve been doing that, we don’t start off really well, and then we catch back up and then when we catch up we get comfortable and go back down,” Greene said.
After striking first in the fourth with a layup from guard Taylor Thierry, the wheels fell off for the Buckeyes as they looked fatigued.
Ohio State finished the quarter scoring only three more baskets, including going on a nearly four-minute scoring drought to help propel the Volunteers to an 82-67 victory.
