Despite The Scare From Akron, Holtmann Assures Oral Roberts Tournament Loss Is Safely Behind The Buckeyes
With six seconds to play and Ohio State trailing Akron 66-65 Tuesday night, it was hard not to have flashbacks to the Buckeyes' last meaningful game against a mid-major.
That of course was a heart-breaking 75-72 loss to 15 seed Oral Roberts in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, that left a promising season busted much too soon for the Buckeyes.
Fast forward eight months, and facing an eerily similar situation against another mid-major in the Zips, this time, the Buckeyes found a way to persevere.
Thanks to a Zed Key buzzer-beating layup, the scarlet and grey went from season-opening heartbreak to season-opening pandemonium in the blink of an eye. And given how things ended for the program last spring perhaps it was proof that that devastating loss to Oral Roberts is behind them.
"No, to be honest with you," head coach Chris Holtmann said when asked if the tournament defeat crossed his mind down the stretch Tuesday night. "We'll own that experience and what happened. You really just try to stay in the moment in those situations."
While it wasn't a thought for Holtmann on this night, he was quick to admit that he understands that loss will still haunt them. That said, had Key's shot not gone down he also doesn't think a loss to Akron would suggest his team has a mid-major problem.
"If we'd have lost this game I don't think we're looking at a trend or a pattern," the fifth-year head man asserted. "Listen, we've played in NCAA Tournaments since we've been here. We've performed pretty well in two of them, so that'll follow us. We'll have to answer it the next time if we earn the right to play in that thing."
How many teams look during this opening week of the 2021-22 season won't necessarily define who they are in three months. Ohio State's journey back to the tournament – and redemption – is a marathon, not a sprint. Holtmann knows there is plenty of room for improvement.
"It's a work in progress right now," Holtmann admitted. "With the new backcourt with some young pieces, we're a work in progress. We are.
"I think our physicality needs to get better particularly on the glass. I think there were some plays defensively where we left our feet too much, we were undisciplined and that's on me."
Holtmann admitted that he'd rather learn from a win than a loss. And with an emotional season-opening win under their belts, the Buckeyes can start ironing out some of those things on Friday when they welcome Niagra into Value City Arena.
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