CHICAGO — No need for Ohio State coach Thad Matta to give a pregame speech today.
Matta has a bunch of players who can’t wait to take the court at the United Center, and it has little to do with having a chance to win the Big Ten tournament title.
The Buckeyes (25-7) are hungry to atone for a humiliating 71-49 loss at Wisconsin on Feb. 17, and they get their chance in today’s tournament final against the Badgers (23-10).
“Coach and the rest of the team have been praying for another crack at them, and our prayers were answered,” guard Lenzelle Smith Jr. said. “We’re not only playing for a championship, we’re playing a team that gave us a beating. It’s personal.”
The Buckeyes have won seven consecutive games, including a 61-58 semifinal win over Michigan State yesterday, since the Wisconsin loss. Those wins haven’t erased memories from the waning moments of that 22-point loss.
“Their players were dancing on the court,” guard Shannon Scott said. “They were kind of disrespecting us. (Wisconsin forward Mike) Bruesewitz was sitting down near half-court, just chilling, talking to people when the game was still going on. The walk from the court to the locker room was a walk of shame.”
The Badgers used an 18-0 run to build a 24-6 lead and cruised in giving OSU its most-lopsided loss since a 22-point setback at Wisconsin in the 2010 Big Ten opener, when the Buckeyes played without injured Evan Turner.
“I was (upset) to the maximum level,” Smith said. “I’d use a few more words, but I’m trying to keep it clean. It made me really angry to look at their bench high-fiving, celebrating, doing dances. Their fans were doing cheers.
“I was mad at what they were doing to us, and I was mad at us for not showing up and playing. We overestimated ourselves. We thought we could just walk into the gym and win. It humbled us, and ever since we’ve been on a mission.”
The loss at Wisconsin was Ohio State’s third in four games and dropped the Buckeyes to 18-7 and into fifth place in the Big Ten at 8-5.
“It was the most embarrassing loss that I’ve ever been part of,” senior forward Evan Ravenel said. “We embarrassed ourselves and our program. I’m glad we get a chance to right that.”
