Ohio State's Most Painful Hoops Loss? It's Easy to Determine
All NCAA Tournament losses sting, but one leaves a mark that never fully heals.
A defeat in the Elite Eight is the epitome of, "So close, but yet so far."
Fall in the Final Four and at least you've had the satisfaction of cutting down the nets at the regional and making it all the way to the season's final weekend.
Lose in the Sweet Sixteen and it hurts, but you can't be certain a win would have taken you more than one game deeper on the bracket.
Get eliminated the first weekend, even if as a favorite, and you're forgotten right away.
Even teams that lose in the NCAA Championship game don't suffer as much as an Elite Eight loser, because they know that only one team, maybe only on that one night, was better.
So it's not surprising that three of Ohio State's Elite Eight losses still resonate years after their infliiction, including one that could be argued is the most painful defeat in school history.
We'' get to that one, but first let's revisit Nos. 3 and 2 on our list of the roughtest Elite Eight losses in OSU history.
3. No. 9 Wichita State 70, No. 2 Ohio State 66 (2013 West Regional)
Two straight buzzer-beating victories must have left the Buckeyes drained, because they came out flatter than flat against the Missouri Valley Conference champions.
OSU shot only 24 percent in the first half and fell into a 35-22 deficit that ballooned to 20 points midway through the half.
That's when Ohio State finally woke up, rallying to within three points with 2:30 left. The Shockers beat the shot clock with a three-pointer to double their lead, then grabbed an offensive rebound after missing following an OSU score that cut the lead to four.
Fred Van Vleet bounced a running shot in the lane off the rim three times before it fell, leaving OSU only a minute to complete a comeback that fell short to snagging a second straight Final Four trip.
2. Western Kentucky 81, OSU 78 OT (1971 Mideast Regional)
Ohio State shocked No. 2 Marquette in the Sweet Sixteen to gain the regional final berth opposite the Hilltoppers, led by All-American Jim McDaniels.
OSU spurted away from an early tie with a 14-2 rally and led by six at the half. Western's size began to take a toll after that and the Buckeyes also suffered the loss for valuable minutes of team captain Jim Cleamons, who went to the bench with foul trouble.
Luke Witte's hook shot gave Ohio State a 69-67 lead and that looked safe whewn McDaniels traveled at the other end. Western, though, played physical defense on OSU's Allan Hornyak and forced a turnover without getting called for the foul.
That led to a tying basket and overtime, in which the Hilltoppers prevailed to deny Fred Taylor's final Big Ten championship team a trip to the Final Four.
1. Michigan 75, OSU 71 OT (1992 Southeast Regional)
Does this one hurt because it denied national player-of-the-year Jim Jackson a Final Four on his resume?
Does it hurt because OSU had beaten Michigan's braggadocious Fab Five twice already that season?
Does it hurt because the Buckeyes had a great chance to win it in regulation, with the ball in Jackson's hands to set up Chris Jent for an open eight-footer along the right baseline?
Or does it hurt because all of Michigan's wins were later wiped out for a host of NCAA violations related to Chris Weber?
Yes, yes, yes and yes.
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