See Ya Later Sparty ... or Should I Say "#2"?

by Jordan Loperena 3/14/09

Ohio State took care of business in impressive fashion today and looked hotter against the #1 team in the tournament than they did against the #4. Maybe it was the matchup. Maybe it was the pre-game and halftime speeches. Maybe it was the beds in the hotel they were staying in. All I know is that today, Ohio State looked like the team fighting for a #1 spot in the NCAA Tournament. While North Carolina was in the process of losing and Pitt, UConn, and Oklahoma had already lost - a #1 seed for the Spartans seemed almost automatic if they could just win the Big Ten Tournament. Not the case today, my friends.

P.J. Hill was outstanding on defense for the Buckeyes as he may have been the speediest defender I had ever watched live. The Spartans could not make the shots when they needed to and could not seem to find their rythm. The Buckeyes were the team playing with authority and let me tell you know - this rotation of B.J. Mullens and Dallas Lauderdale could become deadly for their opponents in the NCAA Tournament. That's 10 fouls that you can give total to two very legitimate Centers vs. teams who only have one big man and thus will only get 5 fouls. Evan Turner also has made probably the best campaign for tournament MVP than anyone else who has taken the floor at Conseco Fieldhouse this weekend. Let's just say it was a gloomy scene at the Westin Indianapolis, where we were staying along with the Michigan State Basketball squad and what seemed to be a mass amount of their fans.

Purdue came out and ran circles around the Illini in the 2nd game of the day and Illinois failed to capitalize on opportunities to grab momentum and Kramer, Moore, and Hummel were too much for the Illini as their close to dominant performance against the Wolverines was all for none as they fell to the Boilers 66-56. The atmosphere inside Conseco was more electric for this game than any other game this weekend. Illinois traveled a bunch of fans, unlike their football team - their basketball team knows how to bring along a road following. Purdue brought a fan section that you would imagine them bringing, playing about an hour away from West Lafeyette.

Tomorrow's championship game featuring #5 Ohio State and #3 Purdue should be a dandy. These two teams have been the most impressive in their games. I know you're thinking "obviously Jordan, you idiot, they are the most impressive teams because they are in the championship". However, what I mean is that these are two teams that won their games and were in control of the entire game for the most part. These are not the teams who threw down some crazy Cinderella 3's in the final seconds. These are not the Top Dogs who underperformed but managed to shatter this time of the year's favorite Disney Princess's glass slipper in the final minutes. These are two teams who came to Indianapolis to play some basketball and that they have done. If Ohio State can pull of their 3rd straight upset in as many days - Mr. Turner will be the tournament MVP. If Purdue wins, the field will be wide open for that honor. I'm just hoping for a great game, a buzzer beater would be nice to see this time of year.