Monday, March 13, 2000
Ohio State sees UC over horizon
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS — Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien and some of his players swear they aren't thinking about a potential Sweet 16 matchup with Cincinnati. But at least one of them is.
“Oh, yeah, definitely, it's going to be huge,” said soft-spoken Ohio State center Ken Johnson.
Johnson wasn't intentionally trying to enflame the bitter Ohio State-Cincinnati fued, and he wasn't saying the Buckeyes have an automatic ticket to the Sweet 16. But he did say he would love to see the Buckeyes and Bearcats battle.
“Every team is going to be tough ... With (Kenyon) Martin out, we definitely have the advantage,” Johnson said. “He was basically their main guy. It's all a huge puzzle. If you lose a piece, things will definitely change ... ”
The Buckeyes (22-6), a Final Four team last season that returns all its top guns, opens the tournament Friday in Nashville as the No.3 seed in the NCAA Tournament South Region. To face UC, they must first get by No. 14 seed Appalachian State (23-8) and then either No.6 seed Miami (Fla.) or No.11 Arkansas.
O'Brien was adamant that
Ohio State isn't thinking about anybody but Appalachian State, a good 3-point shooting team and the champion of the Southern Conference. There were no thoughts on the Bearcats — at least publicly — from the Buckeye coach.
“None whatsoever. I'm sure you're surprised to hear that,” said O'Brien, who doesn't like talking about the OSU-UC rivalry and the fact that the teams don't play during the season. “None what-so-ever.
“They could lose, we could lose. You guys (the media) will have an absolute field day if we both get to that one. But until then, it's not even remotely close in my mind. It's just Appalachian State, believe me.”
O'Brien knows — and he wants his players to understand — that in this upset-rich tournament, looking three games ahead is an eternity. And a recipe for a quick trip home.
“It's a mistake that everybody makes,” said junior guard Michael Redd. “In the tournament, you can't overlook anybody. You've got Arkansas and Miami in our bracket, too, two tough games ... (Being in UC's bracket) really didn't matter to me.
“I really don't care what happens to (UC). If they make it that far, and we make it that far, great.”
The Buckeyes, the Big Ten co-regular season champions, were somewhat disappointed with being tabbed a No.3 seed. Entering the conference tournament, they had hopes of earning a No.1 — and playing their first two games in Cleveland — if they won the league title. Instead, they were bounced in their first game by Penn State, and slipped a spot. They hoped for a No.2.
“I was disappointed,” Redd said. “But just to get to the tournament again is a great accomplishment for this team.”
O'Brien thought the NCAA selection committee should have given more weight to the regular season than the conference tournaments across the board, and that Ohio State could have been a No.2.
But he'll take the third seed.
“How can you disagree with a three seed?” O'Brien said. “(But) arguably, we had the best conference. To go 13-3 through a 16-game schedule, and because of one loss, lose a little bit of steam in their eyes ... to lose in the first round (of the league tournament), that must have affected it. I don't necessarily agree with that, but we're happy to be a third seed.”
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