From elation to deflation

Ouch.  In a finish to beat all finishes, Ohio State struggled back from a 13 pt deficit to tie the game with only 5 seconds left.  Then, before the fans could return to their seats after the explosion of cheers, Penn State made a buzzer beater 3 pointer and won the game.  It all happened so fast, some of us were in mid cheer when Penn State won.

What a finish.  That is what sports is all about.  Team work.  Never giving up.  Giving it all up to the last second.  Ohio State's Keita Bates-Diop hit the game tying 3 pointer, despite being sick and under the four fouls.  And for about 4 seconds, Ohio State believed we would extend our winning streak.

Ohio State was favored, but this was supposed to be a rebuilding year.   When coach Thad Matta was let go last year, after a string of sub par seasons and a crumbling program - he himself was struggling with health and other issues - most didn't have faith in OSU basketball in the upcoming years.

Then OSU hired Chris Holtmann, a name few knew, and fans were willing to give him a couple years to turn things around.  And what happened next?  They call him the Buckeye whisperer.  In his first season, he came out and slammed a massive wining streak including being undefeated in the Big Ten up to this point, with only weeks left in the regular season.  A feat not often achieved.

There is no real star, save perhaps Bates-Diop.  It's simply a team with a coach who knows how to use the talent.  Whether OSU can make the playoffs or not remains to be seen.  But it's been a season beyond anything OSU fans expected, and for that, as well as making last night's game one to remember, we have much to cheer about.