Lexington, Ky. – The frustration on Greg Oden’s face Saturday was only surpassed by the frustration of his last personal foul. In what appeared to be his last act as a college basketball player, the 7-foot uberfreshman pushed Xavier’s red-hot Justin Cage to the floor.
It appeared to be an anticlimactic end to Oden’s college career as much as top-ranked Ohio State’s season. Oden had fouled out, down 61-59 with 9.3 seconds left and Cage, who had missed only one of 14 shots all day – a free throw – was stepping to the line.
But coming out of a timeout, Ron Lewis acted like one of only two seniors on coach Thad Matta’s “Thad Five,” freshman-laden roster. Lewis turned to freshman point guard Mike Conley Jr., and said, “Just give me the ball.”
Cage made the first of the one-and-one but missed the second and, sure enough, Conley worked the ball upcourt and handed off to Lewis, who was charging toward the top of the key. He had just enough room to hit a tying 3-pointer with two seconds left and the Buckeyes rolled in overtime, 78-71, to advance to the South Regional’s Sweet 16 in San Antonio.
Lewis’ heroics capped a nine-point comeback in the final 3:47, one in which Oden contributed only one point, and a game in which Lewis had a game-high 27. It also prevented the nation from enjoying the first huge upset in an NCAA Tournament that had gone shockingly close to form.
“Obviously, we feel very fortunate to be sitting up here,” Matta said at the postgame news conference. “I couldn’t be prouder of the way they kept their composure.”
Caving was a justifiable option. The thousands of Xavier fans who ventured 90 miles from Cincinnati matched the horde of Buckeyes fans who drove 190 miles from Columbus. Xavier’s crowd – and maybe some seniors – had revenge on their minds after Matta dumped Xavier for big coin in Columbus three years ago.
The ninth-seeded Musketeers (25-9) responded with an incredible shooting display, hitting seven 3-pointers in the first 13 minutes of the second half for a 59-50 lead with 3:47 left.
“I thought, ‘This isn’t good.”‘ Matta said.
But while recruiting arguably the best freshman class ever, Matta still had an old hand in Lewis, whose two free throws and conventional three-point play sandwiched around a Conley steal on an inbounds pass helped bring back the Buckeyes (32-3) to within 61-59.
Then Oden fouled out on a rebound and the Buckeyes turned to their senior, one who showed up at Matta’s office door in Columbus after transferring from Bowling Green in 2004.
“He was hot,” said Conley, who outscored Xavier point guard Drew Lavender, 21-5. “He hadn’t missed too many shots. I was going to look for him regardless.”
Oden was a near nonfactor offensively. His teammates all but forgot him, with only three of his five baskets coming from passes. He did finish with 12 rebounds to go with his 14 points but wasn’t needed in overtime when Conley hit a 3-pointer, two fast-break layups and two foul shots to ice the Buckeyes’ 19th straight win.
“That is why Ohio State is the best team,” Lavender said. “They get down but they don’t get rattled and they just keep playing hard.”
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
