Right: Seniors Jamar Butler, Othello Hunter, and Matt Terwilliger pose with the NIT trophy.
AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

The last time Ohio State played in Madison Square Garden for a title, the outcome was not nearly as favorable as it was last night.

Back on November 23, the Buckeyes advanced to the finals of the NIT Season Tip-off, originally known as the Preseason NIT, losing to then 15th-ranked Texas A&M by a score of 70-47.

A lot has changed for this young OSU team since then.

Against the Aggies, Ohio State couldn’t throw a rock into the Hudson River if they were standing on a pier, shooting just 24.1 percent (14-for-58) from the field, and were outrebounded 46-30.

In that game, the Buckeyes only trailed 31-26 at halftime before getting blown out of the Garden in the second stanza.

Now fast forward more than four months later, where Ohio State found itself once again playing at “The World’s Most Famous Arena” in the heart of New York City against Massachusetts.

UMass jumped out to an early 10-2 lead two-and-a-half minutes into the game as the Minutemen used an all-out, run-and-gun style of offensive basketball to their advantage.

Ohio State, though, quickly got back into the game, fueled on three, 3-pointers, two of which came from senior Matt Terwilliger.

The lead changed hands five different times with one tie until UMass’ Ricky Harris connected on consecutive triples on two trips down the court to put the Minutemen ahead 23-19 with 11:38 remaining in the opening period.

UMass took their largest lead of the game with 3:51 left in the first half when Gary Forbes knocked down a trey, and the Minutemen headed in the locker room at intermission with a 41-36 cushion.

Facing the same deficit of five points at halftime as they did against Texas A&M more than four months ago, the Buckeyes came out with something to prove, and sent a message to the NCAA selection committee that they made a mistake by not inviting them to the “Big Dance.”

Ohio State started the second half just like UMass did to begin the game only one better, by going on a 11-2 run capped off on a three-pointer from the most unlikeliest of all Buckeye long-range shooters, Othello Hunter, which gave OSU a 47-43 lead with 17:22 to go.

The Buckeyes never trailed the rest of the way.

Ohio State took their largest lead of the game when Kosta Koufos converted a pair of free throws with 9:26 left to put the Buckeyes ahead 64-55.

UMass, who won their last three NIT Tournament games by rallying from double-digit deficits, made one last run at OSU as Harris netted one of his seven, 3-pointers of the contest that tied the game at 68-all with 6:21 to play.

But Ohio State responded as Koufos drained a three from the right baseline, and on OSU’s next trip down, he got his own rebound after a missed trey, then with authority, rattled home a two-hand jam that gave the Buckeyes a 73-70 advantage with 5:30 remaining.

Ohio State’s record was 21-0 when they’re leading with five minutes left, and as the clock ticked down past that mark, the Buckeyes were ahead.

Now that record on the season stands at 22-0 after Jamar Butler threw a touchdown pass nearly the length of the court to Hunter, who threw down monster dunk to put Ohio State up 79-75 with 3:10 to go.

UMass could not get any closer the rest of the way.

Koufos, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and added nine rebounds.

Turner added 20 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the field, which included making all three of the shots he attempted from beyond the arc.

Playing in their final game as seniors, Butler, who was named to the all-tournament team, scored 19 points and dished out seven assists, while Hunter chipped in 17 points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

Though the Buckeyes committed 19 turnovers, they did shoot the ball very well, going 32-for-58 (55.2%) from the field, and were 10 of 19 from three-point land.

Defensively, Ohio State held UMass to 36.8 percent (32-for-87) shooting from the floor.

Up next, I will recap the 2007-08 basketball season, as well as look ahead as to what the 08-09 campaign may hold for the Buckeyes.

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Right: Kosta Koufos puts a nice spin move on Mississippi’s Dwayne Curtis in the second half for a deuce. AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

For the second straight year, Ohio State finds themselves playing in April for a tournament title, though this season’s postseason run and tonight’s outcome won’t result in a national championship if the Buckeyes prevail.

This evening at Madison Square Garden in New York, Ohio State takes on Massachusetts (25-10) with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

Both teams have taken different paths to reach the MasterCard National Invitational Tournament finals.

The Buckeyes have won each by at least double-digits, defeating UNC-Asheville 84-66, took down California 73-56, and topped in-state rival Dayton 74-63.

On Tuesday night, four Buckeyes scored in double figures as Ohio State blew out Mississippi, 81-69.

Senior Jamar Butler and freshman Evan Turner each scored 17 points, while two more first-year players, David Lighty and Kosta Koufos added 16 points each for the Buckeyes.

The game was tied at 8-all before Ohio State used a 14-0 run to separate themselves from Ole Miss after Turner scored on a layup with 11:36 left in the first half to put the Buckeyes ahead 22-8.

Ohio State led 44-20 at intermission by forcing 12 Mississippi turnovers using a full-court press while holding the Rebels to just 28.9 percent (8-for-28) shooting from the field against the Buckeyes’ stout 3-2 zone defense.

But Ole Miss settled down in the second half and finally figured out how to attack OSU’s press. It also seemed that the Buckeyes lost some of their intensity in the final 20 minutes.

After Ohio State claimed their biggest lead of the game at 47-20 just 49 seconds into the second stanza, the Rebels outscored the Buckeyes 48-28 over a span of the next 17-plus minutes.

Mississippi’s freshman point guard Chris Warren hit three treys on consecutive possessions to get the Rebels within seven at 75-68 with 1:44 remaining.

But then it appeared that Ole Miss ran out of steam.

Butler, Ohio State’s all-Big Ten guard, scored on a driving layup to help put the game away, and Koufos and Lighty each added dunks in the final minute.

Against UMass, Ohio State can ill-afford a second half letdown.

In the other semifinal game Tuesday night, the Minutemen rallied from a 10-plus point deficit for the third NIT postseason game in a row to defeat the defending NCAA national champ Florida, 78-66.

UMass has shown great resiliency over those last three NIT games, trailing by at least 10 in each game before coming back to win. The Minutemen were down by 12 to Akron in the NIT Second Round with 8:30 left, but won the game by five (68-63). UMass trailed Syracuse by 22 with 14:30 left and won by four (81-77). The Minutemen were down 10 to Florida late in the first half.

UMass is led by 6-foot-7 swingman Gary Forbes, who top the Minutemen averaging 19.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

Ricky Harris, a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard is second on the UMass roster in scoring pouring in, on average, 18 points per contest.

The Minutemen’s top three-point shooter is 6-foot-7 senior forward Etienne Brower (43.2%)

Ohio State (23-13) vs. Massachusetts (25-10)
Date: Thursday, April 3
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Place: Madison Square Garden – capacity 19,736
TV: ESPN with Ron Franklin, former Ohio State assistant Fran Fraschilla, Bill Raftery, and Allen Hopkins.
Radio: WBNS-AM 1460 and WBNS-FM 97.1 in Columbus and 58 more stations across Buckeyeland with Paul Keels and Ron Stokes.
Series History: Ohio State is 2-0 against UMass.
On Dec. 10, 2000, center Ken Johnson scored 16 points with seven rebounds and nine blocked shots to lead the Buckeyes to a 54-51 win over the Minutemen at Value City Arena.
On Jan. 9, 2002, Ohio State made a return trip as the Buckeyes traveled to Amherst to take on the Minutemen. Boban Savovic scored 19 points as OSU won 70-62 at the Mullins Center.
Note: Ohio State’s Sports Information Department does not acknowledge that the Buckeyes have ever played UMass, since Savovic was deemed an ineligible player and all records were stricken during the seasons he played.

UMass’ Starting Five:
F 3 Gary Forbes – 6-7, 220, Sr. (19.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 3.0 apg)
F 22 Etienne Brower – 6-7, 215, Sr. (12.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.6 apg)
C 20 Dante Milligan – 6-9, 215, Sr. (8.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.7 apg)
G 5 Ricky Harris – 6-2, 175, So. (18.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.7 apg)
G 14 Chris Lowe – 6-0, 160, Jr. (11.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 6.2 apg)

OSU’s Starting Five:
F 31 Kosta Koufos – 7-0, 265, Fr. (14.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.5 apg)
F 45 Othello Hunter – 6-8, 225, Sr. (9.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.8 apg)
C 21 Evan Turner – 6-6, 200, Fr. (8.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.6 apg)
G 23 David Lighty – 6-5, 215, So. (9.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.4 apg)
G 14 Jamar Butler – 6-1, 185, Sr. (14.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 5.9 apg)

Above Right: UMass’ top scorer and rebounder, Gary Forbes. UMass Photo

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Above: The four coaches that still have their teams playing in the NIT, are from left to right, Ohio State’s Thad Matta, Mississippi’s Andy Kennedy, Massachusetts’ Travis Ford, and Florida’s Billy Donovan. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

Ohio State (22-13) vs. Mississippi (24-10)
Date: Tuesday, April 1
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Place: Madison Square Garden – capacity 19,736
TV: ESPN2 with Ron Franklin former Ohio State assistant Fran Fraschilla, Bill Raftery, and Allen Hopkins.
Radio: WBNS-AM 1460 and WBNS-FM 97.1 in Columbus and 58 more stations across Buckeyeland with Paul Keels and Ron Stokes.
Series History: Ohio State has never played Mississippi until tonight.

Ole Miss’ Starting Five:
C 44 Dwayne Curtis – 6-8, 262, Sr. (15.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.0 apg)
F 50 Kenny Williams – 6-8, 240, Sr. (8.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.0 apg)
G 14 Eniel Polynice – 6-5, 216, So. (10.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.0 apg)
G 33 David Huertas – 6-5, 197, So. (10.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.9 apg)
G 12 Chris Warren – 5-10, 170, Fr. (15.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 4.5 apg)

OSU’s Starting Five:
F 31 Kosta Koufos – 7-0, 265, Fr. (14.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.5 apg)
F 45 Othello Hunter – 6-8, 225, Sr. (9.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.8 apg)
C 21 Evan Turner – 6-6, 200, Fr. (7.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.5 apg)
G 23 David Lighty – 6-5, 215, So. (8.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.3 apg)
G 14 Jamar Butler – 6-1, 185, Sr. (14.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 6.0 apg)

Right: Mississippi’s point guard and leading scorer, Chris Warren (12).
Orlando Sentinel Photo

Mississippi comes into tonight’s semifinal match-up against Ohio State with a record of 24-10 after Ole Miss upset Virginia Tech, 81-72 last Wednesday, as the Rebels shot 49 percent in the game, paced by freshman point guard Chris Warren’s 22 points.

Warren leads the Rebels in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game, and scored 22 against the Hokies. Warren is averaging 18.7 points in the NIT through three games.

Ole Miss advanced with an 83-68 victory over UC-Santa Barbara, then took down Nebraska, 85-75, with both games played in Oxford, Miss, before Rebels traveled to Blacksburg to take on the Hokies.

Scouting Report (from Yahoo! Sports): Sophomore G David Huertas has given the Rebels a lift with 60 points in his last three games, which has opened up the inside for C Dwayne Curtis. Curtis and Kenny Williams have combined for 63 rebounds in the last three games. The guy who makes the Rebels go, however, is freshman PG Chris Warren. He can shoot the three, though he is streaky, and is a good assist man. The bench was tested when G Eniel Polynice, the team’s top defender, couldn’t play against UC-Santa Barbara because of a sore knee. Little-used freshman Rodney Jones gave the Rebels 22 minutes of solid play, especially on the defensive end.

Keys to the Game: Kosta Koufos inside against shorter, yet more physical post players for Mississippi. He needs to play well and score in the paint.

We know that Jamar Butler will have a good game, but outside of him and Koufos, someone needs to step up. Evan Turner and Jon Diebler did that in the second half against Dayton, and it will need to happen again.

Rebound and attack the basket, especially when the three-point shots aren’t falling.

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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