NEWARK, N.J. – Brandon Knight answered a tying 3-pointer by the Buckeyes’ Jon Diebler with a floating jumper in the closing seconds Friday night, allowing the young but talented Wildcats to stun the No. 1 overall seed 62-60 in the marquee game of the regional semifinals.
Kentucky will play North Carolina for a spot in the Final Four.
”It’s hard because, as I said earlier, I’ve never had a team like this, that united, that bonded, just their togetherness,” Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. ”You think about starting Oct. 15 and it’s March 26, and you have three bumps in the road. All three teams we lost to this year were at some point ranked in the top 10 in the country.
”It’s hard,” Matta said. ”I have to be honest with you.”
It was the final game of David Lighty’s lengthy college career. He came in as part of the ”Thad Five” recruiting class that included Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., Daequan Cook and Othello Hunter. All of them have moved on early, and now Lighty will join them.
It was the final game for Diebler, the leading schoolboy scorer in the state of Ohio, and perhaps the best 3-point shooter in the history of the Big Ten. He hit four more 3s against the Wildcats, including a critical tying shot from well beyond the arc with 10 seconds left.
Most figured it was the final game for Jared Sullinger, too, the freshman who churned out yet another double-double against Kentucky. He had with 21 points and 16 rebounds in perhaps his finest all-around performance, one that is sure to leave NBA scouts salivating.
Especially after he announced his plans to return for another season.
At least the Buckeyes can take solace in that.
”It hurts, just because we felt we could make a run at the championship,” Diebler said on the dais afterward, flanked by Lighty, the two having been through so much together.
”By no means were we overlooking this team,” Diebler said. ”Coach said they’re a very good basketball team, very talented. To win the games they won in the SEC, you have to tip your hat to them. But obviously everyone wants to finish their season in Houston.”
It’s the second straight time that the Buckeyes have lost in the regional semifinals; they were a No. 2 seed when they lost 76-73 to Tennessee last year.
It was also the first time that Ohio State has lost to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament, winning the previous five meetings against one of college basketball’s premier programs.
The game figured to be a contrast in style as much as personnel, and it was.
The youthful Wildcats wanted to get out in transition, and they did their best most of the game to run the court. The veteran Buckeyes wanted to play out of half-court sets, and did a pretty good job of getting open looks, even if very few of them went down.
”The issue was who would we put on Diebler,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. ”We tried some different things, and I thought we did a pretty good job, but there are certain players that you have to go at them to change the game.”
The Buckeyes should have known that Knight, the freshman guard who scored the winner against Princeton and dropped 30 points on West Virginia, demands that same kind of attention.
Especially in the closing seconds of ballgames.
”Jon hit a huge shot, they come down and hit a huge shot. I thought we had a great look at the end. It’s just an incredible season,” Matta said, his face still red and the sweat still rolling long after the game. ”I told them I’ve never had a team like this.”
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