Ohio State's Worst NCAA First-Round Losses
Half the fun of earning an NCAA Tournament bid is contemplating the possibilities of an extended run through the bracket.
Those hopes burn hottest among teams with designs on winning it all, but it's both the charming and devastating nature of March Madness that it can crush those expectations before they fully develop.
Ohio State hasn't known that fate often in its 33 career NCAA trips, as might be anticipated from the Buckeyes' all-time record of 57-32 and their nine Final Four appearances.
But even while it hasn't been slain by a seemingly-hopeless underdog in a fashion that lives forever in the annals of NCAA lore, OSU hasn't been immune from suffering a trio of first-round upsets since the Selection Committee began seeding the field in 1980.
Here's the progression of those dream-killing exits from most-to-least palateable:
3. No. 12 Utah State 77, No. 5 OSU 68 OT
There's a 12-5 upset virtually every year and the Buckeyes got bitten in Ken Johnson's senior season.
The 6-11 shot-blocking force and junior guard Brian Brown gave OSU two holdover starters from its Final Four team of 1999, but the Buckeyes lost their chance to win in regulation when Tony Brown's jumper in the lane tied the score with 1.8 seconds left.
Sean Connolly missed a game-winning three-point try from the left corner at the regulation buzzer and things deteriorated after that.
2. Siena 74, OSU 72 2OT
Upsets in the 8-9 game don't really exist, because there's essentially no difference between the teams.
That was certainly true of this fist fight at the University of Dayton Arena, which the Buckeyes led by 11 in the second half before disintegrating against Siena's press.
OSU played at a point guard disadvantage all season and P.J. Hill's struggles came back to bite head coach Thad Matta big in this one.
Hill neglected to foul Siena's Ronald Moore before he hit a tying three-pointer at the end of the first overtime and then gave him space to launch the game-winning triple from the same spot with 3.9 seconds left in the second OT.
Evan Turner missed a leaner from 15 feet that would forced a third OT for the Buckeyes in an otherwise stellar performance in which he had 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
1. No. 11 Dayton 60, No. 6 OSU 59
This is one of those matchups the Committee shrugs its shoulders over when it shows up on the bracket.
"Who us? We didn't put Dayton against Ohio State on purpose. It just happened."
Yeah, sure.
This OSU team wasn't going to duplicate the achievements of its predecessor, which reached the West Regional final the year before as a No. 2 seed.
The Buckeyes struggled to score all season, so a fifth straight Sweet Sixteen berth didn't seem likely. Still, a first-round loss to Dayton, a mid-major with a nice NCAA history of its own, was painful.
Vee Sanford took an inbounds pass after a timeout with 10.8 seconds left and floated the game-winner from right of the rim over OSU defensive stopper Aaron Craft.
Craft sped down court in the remaining 3.8 seconds and got off a shot amid four defenders, but it didn't go down and he didn't get a call to go to the line.
Thus ended Ohio State's first loss to an Ohio school in the NCAA Tournament since falling to Cincinnati in the 1962 championship game.
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