Great Individual Performances in Ohio State's NCAA Tournament History

By Chris Lauderback on March 15, 2018 at 11:05 am
D'Angelo Russell torched VCU for 28 points in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
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Later this afternoon, Ohio State will play an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2015.

A No. 5 seed following a 24-8 campaign including a 15-3 mark in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes take on No. 12 seed South Dakota State and despite being a 7.5-point favorite, Ohio State is a trendy pick to be ousted by the Jackrabbits. 

One way for Ohio State to avoid being one the No. 5 seeds that seemingly always lose to a No. 12 seed is to get a big performance from Keita Bates-Diop. 

The Big Ten Player of the Year averages 19.4 points per game and if he can get hot, the Buckeyes have a chance to not only beat the Jackrabbits but maybe even pull an upset on Saturday in a probable matchup against No. 4 seed Gonzaga. 

If Bates-Diop (or any other Buckeye for that matter) needs some inspiration, here is one man's list capturing some of the most dominating performances turned in by Buckeyes of years gone by.

Before we get started, note that I didn't include any big games in which Ohio State lost so you won't see Evan Turner's sick 31-point, 7-rebound, 5-assist effort in a 2010 loss to Tennessee or Greg Oden's 25 points and 12 boards in the loss to Florida in the 2007 title game, among others. 

In no particular order..

D'ANGELO RUSSELL - 2015 VERSUS NO. 7 SEED VCU

The last Buckeye squad to make the NCAA Tournament, the 2014-15 group wasn't anything to write home about after finishing sixth in the Big Ten, good enough for an at-large invitation to the Dance. 

The team relied heavily on D'Angelo Russell's 19.3 points, 5.7 boards and 5.0 assists per game and more often than not, the freshman delivered. 

That was certainly true as the 10th-seeded Buckeyes took on No. 7 seed VCU out in Portland, Oregon. 

Behind Russell's 28 points on 10/20 shooting despite facing constant double-teams along with six boards and two steals, the Buckeyes escaped with a 75-72 overtime win. (I know you won't believe me but Amir Williams was actually Ohio State's second-leading scorer that night with 13 points.)

Russell scored 16 of his 28 points after halftime and hit two free throws in the extra session, logging 44 minutes in what was a 45 minute dogfight.

AARON CRAFT - 2013 VERSUS NO. 10 IOWA STATE

The Man Without A Jumper morphed into the exact opposite of that as the No. 2 seed Buckeyes escaped No. 10 seed Iowa State, 78-75, in Dayton. 

Tied at 75 with possession, Thad Matta drew up a play for Deshaun Thomas to come off a screen but Craft waved him away and drained a triple with 0.5 seconds remaining, pushing Ohio State into the Sweet 16 (more on that in a minute). 

The shot was sweet redemption for Craft who had a pair of crucial turnovers and missed 2-of-5 free throws down the stretch. Of course, it should be noted he also took a controversial charge with just under two minutes to play that also helped save Ohio State's season. 

When the horn sounded, Craft had tallied 18 points, six assists, two steals and roughly 47 floor burns setting up Ohio State's date with Arizona the following week. 

LAQUINTON ROSS - 2013 VERSUS NO. 6 SEED ARIZONA

Less than a week after Craft's heroics, Ohio State was back on the court, this time in Los Angeles, to take on the No. 6 seed Arizona Wildcats. 

The Buckeyes trailed Sean Miller's squad by 11 points in the first half but would not be deterred in game that was tied only twice; once at 38 and then again at 70 apiece after a Mark Lyons and-1 with 21 seconds left in regulation. 

Similar to the Iowa State game, the Buckeyes found themselves in a tie game, 70-70, with an opportunity to take the last shot and once again, fortune found the good guys. 

Craft again dribbled down the clock but this time executed a pick and pop from the top of the circle allowing Ross to receive a pass on the left wing and unleash a 24-foot dagger that found nothing but net with just 2.0 seconds to play.

The triple gave Ross 17 points off the bench with 14 of those coming in the second half on 5-of-8 shooting.

His big night complemented a 20-point effort from Thomas and despite what many would consider a somewhat disappointing career in Columbus, there's no question Ross will always be remembered for his huge shot to sink the Wildcats and send Ohio State to the Elite Eight. 

BRIAN BROWN - 2002 VERSUS NO. 13 SEED DAVIDSON

The 2001-02 Buckeyes earned a No. 4 seed in the Dance after finishing in a four-way tie at the top of the Big Ten regular season conference standings with an 11-5 record that would later be vacated as part of Jim O'Brien's troubles with the NCAA

Slotted in the West region, the Buckeyes took on No. 13 seed Davidson in Albuquerque in the opening round. 

A guy who was largely a defensive wiz his first two seasons in Columbus, Brian Brown turned into a reliable scorer his last two seasons averaging 14.5 and 16.3 points respectively and was never better than in the battle with Davidson as he poured in 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting in a 69-64 victory. 

Ohio State needed every one of those points as Brown's fellow starters shot a combined 5-of-25 from the field while Brown scored 48% of the team's points. 

Reserve Terence Dials was the only other Buckeye to show up complementing Brown's night with 18 points and nine rips. 

Brown's 33 points are still tied for the second-most in a single NCAA Tournament game by a Buckeye.

DENNIS HOPSON - 1987 VERSUS NO. 9 SEED KENTUCKY

The 1986-87 Buckeyes were a middling team finishing 9-9 overall in the Big Ten, good for a sixth-place finish and the final at-large selection awarded to the conference. 

But as average as the team was, Dennis Hopson was an elite talent who could score from anywhere on the floor. I still can't believe he didn't go on to be a perennial NBA All-Star. 

Averaging 29.2 points and 8.2 rebounds entering the Dance, Hopson and the Buckeyes took on Kentucky in an opening round matchup in the old Omni in Atlanta. 

Leading by just two at the half, 42-40, Ohio State rode Hopson's 21 second half points on the way for 32 for the game on 12-of-19 shooting as the Buckeyes pulled away from Eddie Sutton's cheatin' ass program

Hopson's 32 points in an NCAA Tournament game are the most by any Buckeye not named Jerry Lucas or Brian Brown. Another random tidbit here, some of you older folks might remember Hopson and the Buckeyes wore black shoulder patches in honor of Woody Hayes who had passed away two days earlier. 

RON LEWIS - 2007 VERSUS NO. 9 XAVIER AND NO. 5 TENNESSEE

Ohio State's 2006-07 team was about as special as it gets and while Greg Oden and Mike Conley were the headliners, sweet-shooting Ron Lewis was as important as anyone on the roster. 

He proved as much in the 2007 NCAA Tournament as the top-seeded Buckeyes relied on his wet jumper to survive against No. 9 seed Xavier and No. 5 Tennessee on the way to the national championship game. 

Down nine points with 2:54 to play against Xavier as part of a game-long struggle, it looked like the Buckeyes might make an early exit and the anxiety ratcheted up from there as Ohio State trailed the Musketeers 62-59 with 9.3 seconds play. 

With possession following a missed Musketeer free throw, Conley raced up court and gave a handoff to Lewis who squared up and swished a 23-footer tying the game with 2.0 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. 

Conley would take over in the extra session scoring 11 points as Ohio State cruised to a 78-71 victory but it was the big three-pointer as part of a 27 point, eight-rebound effort from Lewis that rightfully lives in Buckeyes lore. 

Less than a week later, Lewis and the Buckeyes headed to San Antonio for a date with No. 5 seed Tennessee led by Chris Lofton. 

Through the first 20 minutes things looked even more bleak than against Xavier as the Volunteers built a 49-32 halftime lead on the strength of 55% shooting including nine triples but Lewis poured in 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half as Ohio State erased the 17-point deficit and advanced to the Elite Eight. 

JERRY LUCAS - 1960-62 VERSUS PRETTY MUCH EVERY DAMN TEAM HE FACED

I know some of you grumpy old heads thought I was going to leave Jerry Lucas off this list. 

Lucas was so dominant across his 11 NCAA Tournament games that I'll have to list them in seasonal clusters to keep this article from eclipsing the 2,000 word barrier. 

During the 1960 NCAA Tournament which culminated in Ohio State's one and only national title, Lucas averaged 24.0 points and 16.0 rebounds over the four-game stretch including a 36 and 25 against Western Kentucky and a 25 and 16 effort versus Georgia Tech. It's also worth a note he shot 63.9% from the floor on the march to the championship. 

Jerry Lucas (Photo: Sports Illustrated)
Jerry Lucas averaged 29.7 points and 18.3 rebounds in the final three NCAA Tournament games in 1961. 

A year later, Ohio State would go 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament with the loss coming to Cincinnati in the national championship game. Over the last three games, Lucas averaged 29.7 points and 18.3 rebounds including a 33 and 30 game against Kentucky. 

Finally, during the 1962 NCAA Tournament in which Ohio State again lost to Cincinnati in the title game, Lucas averaged 18.0 points and 15.0 rebounds over the four games, again torching Kentucky this time for 33 points and 15 boards in the second round. 

Yeah, I know, I kinda broke my rules by including some games in which Lucas shined but Ohio State lost but he's a special case. 

Lucas still has the three highest single-game scoring outputs in school history (36, 33, 33) while boasting two other games with 29 and 27 points, respectively. Those 30 boards against Kentucky in '61 also stand as a school record and he's far and away Ohio State's all-time career leading scorer in NCAA Tournament play with 266 points. 

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