There’s a guy in our town that has a nice Corvette in his garage. He also has a ‘70 Chevelle that drops jaws.
It’s not against the laws of science to have two nice things. It’s not the norm either, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t do it. You either have the means and desire or you don’t. (And for the record not that it matters, the owner of those machines is someone who’s loved in the community, not some pompous ass).
In the past week…month…couple years I’ve read a lot of perspectives on why it’s ok for Ohio State basketball to not live up to high expectations. “Ohio State is a football school” has been cemented into threads left and right as if elite football is an inherent disqualification for any other of 30+ varsity sports from being top 10 nationally. The comments suggest (or even assert) that football success is enough for us to accept basketball mediocrity, to relinquish OSU’s bball history to the distant past, and to ignore Thad’s success as a fluke.
The reality is Ohio State has a basketball pedigree that all but about 8 or 9 schools nationally would trade for in a heartbeat. Unlike Gopher football where routine top 10 finishes ended 60 years ago, OSU has made the elite eight in 8 different decades since the first NCAA dance in 1939 (which btw was created by OSU’s coach at the time).
When Holtmann arrived no Big Ten school had finished #1 in the AP poll more times (61, 62, 07, 11), no Big Ten school had more total or outright conference titles (22 and 13), no Big Ten school had more BTT championships (5), and no Big Ten school had more Final Fours (11). Sadly each of those accomplishments are now all at least a decade old.
Sure, the SOBs at IU have more titles thanks to a 5-1 NCG record compared to our 1-4 mark, Michigan has had more recruiting success and FFs in the last decade, and Izzo still hasn’t retired up at MSU. But facts are damn stubborn things and it’s really hard to dispute that Ohio State is a top 15 program all time (ranked 12th best all-time in fact per both CBS and the AP - in separate polls) and is among the very best programs in the Big Ten.
But suddenly Sweet 16s have seemingly become the new elusive gold standard…Ironically something we don’t even hang banners for and didn’t get too excited about just a decade ago. “Near” BTT titles are seen as resume bullet points. Especially if you can ignore the alarming signs that that pinnacle achievement of nearly winning a BTT in 2021 included 3 straight games of epic collapses, each finishing in near disaster as the Bucks relinquished 13, 18, and 11 point leads in 3 straight games and offered the opposition a possession to win it at the end of each game.
OSU’s athletic revenue is top 5. OSU draws more basketball fans than Michigan, Arizona, Duke, Villanova, and all but about 15 programs. Even filling our multipurpose concert arena at 2/3 capacity most games means a top 20 attendance ranking.
So ultimately I just don’t get it - maybe the optics of a 1/3 empty Schott are enough to afford the idea that we don’t have a significantly dedicated basketball fan base, even though a 2/3 full Schott = a jam-packed, standing room only, arena at Crisler up at Michigan. But I don’t get why settling for 20 wins (which typically mean 10 losses) and 5th in the Big Ten is suddenly ok for a program that recently led the conference in titles and conference tournament banners - and one that still leads in Final Fours. I don’t get why Sweet 16s are suddenly a resume bullet point…other than the pesky reality that our current staff hasn’t even gotten us to one. I don’t get why a ticket as a top 68 team is suddenly enough to some.
Ohio State deserves a hell of a lot better. The clock shouldn’t be ticking on Sweet 16s and top 4 conference finishes. Instead, the alarms should be going off that each and any of: a Big Ten title, a BTT championship, a Final Four are all now a decade stale. I don’t expect wild success every year. But 2 conference crowns and 1 Final Four a decade seem very realistic for a top 15 program that has top 5 resources.
