Ron Lewis' Buzzer-Beater Spared OSU Epic Upset in '07
The cancellation of the NCAA Tournament spares some school the embarrassment of an ignominious end to a stellar season.
That's how March Madness got its name, and how it builds on that reputation every year.
Ohio State figured to earn a No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the first round, so it would have faced a hungry underdog in head coach Chris Holtmann's third NCAA appearance in as many seasons in Columbus.
Holtmann's Buckeyes haven't lost to an inferior seed yet, taking down No. 12 South Dakota State two years ago as a No. 5 before falling to No. 4 Gonzaga, then upsetting No. 6 seed Iowa State in the first round last year as a No. 11 before falling to No. 3 Houston.
Holtmann so far has fared much better avoiding a post-season upset at OSU than his predecessor, Thad Matta, who lost to an inferior seed six times in nine trips to the NCAA with the Buckeyes.
Matta's biggest upset seed-wise came when second-seeded Ohio State lost to No. 9 Wichita State in the Elite Eight in 2013.
That doesn't leap to mind in flashing back over the Matta era, which resulted in two Final Four runs and a loss to defending national champion Florida in 2007.
But that advance to the title game hung by a thread in the second round against Xavier, which came within a hair's breath of inflicting what would unquestionably be the worst loss in Ohio State's storied NCAA Tournament history.
If not for Ron Lewis' buzzer-beating three-pointer 13 years ago on March 17, 2007, the Buckeyes would have suffered a defeat their fans would no doubt still be hearing about and Matta would have never lived down.
That's because Matta came to OSU from Xavier after taking the Musketeers to the 2004 Elite Eight.
Xavier fans have always been salty about the perception their program is a stepping-stone for coaches to a better job, even though Bob Staack, Pete Gillen, and Skip Prosser all left X for bigger jobs before Matta and Sean Miller and Chris Mack did it after him.
Miller took over for Matta and had ninth-seeded Xavier in position for a monumental upset, leading, 55-44, with seven minutes left.
X still held a nine-point margin with three minutes left, but Lewis hit two free throws, Jamar Butler made a three-pointer, Lewis hit a layup and then went to the line with 1:14 left and a chance to draw OSU even.
He made the first free throw, but missed the second and fouled on the rebound, putting Justin Cage on the line for two Xavier free throws that built a 61-58 lead.
Greg Oden made one free throw with 59 seconds left for OSU, and the Buckeyes regained possession with a chance to tie after a Xavier miss.
But Butler missed a go-ahead three-point attempt, David Lighty's tying trying via an offensive rebound fell of the rim and Cage collected the rebound.
Oden fouled him...hard, out of desperation to stop the clock.
Officials ruled it a common foul, Oden's fifth, but did not assess a technical that would have given Xavier an additional free throw and accompanying possession after Cage's two free throws.
He made the first, but the second rolled off the rim to Ivan Harris, who passed to Mike Conley, who dribbled across mid-court on the right side, weaved to his left and handed off to Lewis, who fired from 25 feet.
"I was just trying to get an open look,” Lewis said after the game. “I told Mike before we left the huddle to just give me the ball. I had an open look and I took it.”
The resulting 62-62 tie crushed Xavier's spirit, and Conley -- whose crucial back-court steal before Lewis' late layup furthered OSU's comeback -- took over in overtime.
He followed a Musketeers' layup to start the extra period with a three-pointer and two layups, then teammate Daquean Cook hit a triple. The Buckeyes were out of danger, and Conley and Lewis kept them out of danger with six-for-six free throw shooting down the stretch.
Lewis led OSU with 27 points and eight rebounds. He made 8-of-13 shots and 4-of-5 three-point attempts.
Conley had 21 points -- 11 in overtime -- five rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.
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