Article published March 24, 2008
NIT
Buckeyes, Bears, Braun not exactly total strangers
| NIT |
| • TONIGHT: California vs. Ohio State, 7 p.m. TV: ESPN |
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By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS - Ohio State and California do not get together on the basketball court very often. Their first meeting in almost 50 years takes place tonight in the appropriately historic setting of St. John Arena.
The second round game in the National Invitation Tournament was moved to the grand old barn on the OSU campus since a Bruce Springsteen concert had previously been set for tonight at the Buckeyes' new basketball home, Value City Arena.
When Ohio State last played Cal, and defeated the Bears 75-55 in the 1960 NCAA national championship game in San Francisco, Fred Taylor was the Buckeyes' coach, and Jerry Lucas the tournament's most outstanding player.
| NIT SCHEDULE |
Second Round
Today
• California (17-15) at Ohio State (20-13), 7
• Dayton (22-10) at Illinois State (25-9), 7
• UAB (23-10) at Virginia Tech (20-13), 9
• Nebraska (20-12) at Mississippi (22-10), 9
Quarterfinals
March 25-27
• California-Ohio State winner vs. Dayton-Illinois State winner, TBA
• UAB-Virginia Tech winner vs. Nebraska-Mississippi winner, TBA
• Arizona State (21-12) vs. Florida (23-11), TBA
• Syracuse (21-13) vs. Massachusetts , TBA |
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The Buckeyes of that era were dominant in St. John Arena, and the building's enduring charm is not lost on Cal coach Ben Braun, a Midwest native.
"I've been to St. John Arena," said Braun, who grew up in Chicago and coached at Eastern Michigan before taking the Cal job 12 seasons ago.
"We've watched high school tournaments there. It's a great place - there's a lot of tradition there."Braun, a three-time Mid-American Conference coach of the year during his 11 seasons at Eastern Michigan, got his Cal Bears (17-15) here by defeating New Mexico 68-66 on Wednesday at home in Berkeley in the first round of the NIT.
Braun, who spent eight years as head coach at Siena Heights University in Adrian before taking over the program at Eastern Michigan, is much more concerned with the Ohio State personnel than with the setting for tonight's game.
"They've done a good job of controlling tempo. They do that very well," Braun said about the top-seeded Buckeyes, who beat North Carolina at Asheville 84-66 last Tuesday in a first-round game.
"They press after scores and that helps their team really get into the tempo of the game. And then when they go back into their zone, I think that also a great tempo-controller type. And they knock down shots. They have a number of guys that can step up, and they're capable of knocking down shots from three. They've come on a lot at the end of the year and had some big wins. That's going to be a challenge for us."
Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who was initially worried that his team might lack some zest against UNC Asheville due to the disappointment over not making the NCAA Tournament field, liked what he saw from the Buckeyes.
"Coming into the game, I was a little concerned," Matta said. "We did a good job offensively, and as a team, we had great execution and ball movement. They had great energy, and I felt we were in good shape."
Braun said he has taken a more in-depth look at the Buckeyes and the rest of the Big Ten as he prepared his team for tonight's game, and the work of his contemporaries like Matta has impressed him.
"I haven't had a chance to see as many games in the Big Ten, since our hands have been so full with the Pac-10 this year, we just haven't paid as much attention," Braun said. "Now, we're becoming more familiar. I'm going back and watching some games with Ohio State and some of the teams in the Big Ten. I've been impressed with some of the players, and I know the coaches in the Big Ten. There's some awfully good coaches in that league."
With the Buckeyes, senior point guard Jamar Butler is the guy Braun is most concerned about, since Butler is the trigger man on most of what Ohio State does. Butler averaged 14.6 points and 6.0 assists per game this season, and made 84 3-pointers to become Ohio State's all-time leader in that category.
"He's a phenomenal player, and I've just been so impressed with what he does for his team and what he's able to do in the league," Braun said. "In addition to being able to knock down shots, control the tempo and those types of things, he makes his team go. I can't say enough about what he's done. I think every coach in the country would like to have a Jamar Butler."
Cal, the No. 2 free throw shooting team in the country at 78 percent, is led by Ryan Anderson with 21.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Anderson is a 6-10 sophomore from El Dorado Hills, Calif. and was was the leading scorer in the Pac-10 this season, and its third-leading rebounder.
Contact Matt Markey at:
mmarkey@theblade.com
or 419-724-6510.
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