Ohio State NCAA Tournament notes, video: Bruce Thornton arrives, Jamie Dixon complains
What we saw and heard as the Buckeyes prepare for their NCAA Tournament opener against TCU.
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Thoughts, notes and video from Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament practice day and interview session on Wednesday at Bon Secours Arena. The eighth-seeded Buckeyes will play ninth-seeded TCU on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS.
1. If you want to know what finally being in the NCAA Tournament means to Buckeyes’ senior guard Bruce Thornton, understand that he still had butterflies on Selection Sunday despite the fact that his team was comfortably in the field.
“That was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been since I’ve been in college,” Thornton said Wednesday. “I couldn’t sit down. I couldn’t watch it. I was lowkey in the back of the room because I couldn’t watch.”
Thornton didn’t have to wait long to hear Ohio State’s name called on Sunday. The Buckeyes and Horned Frogs were placed opposite No. 1 overall seed Duke, and that pod of teams was the first revealed on the CBS selection show.
Except, we know Thornton has been waiting for what had to feel like an eternity to arrive at this moment. He has played 135 games in an Ohio State uniform. He’s won more than he’s lost, but just barely, 75-60. His only postseason experience outside of Big Ten Tournament games was the three NIT games he played two years ago.
Thornton could’ve been the answer to a trivia question. Which top-10 scorer in Ohio State program history never played in an NCAA Tournament game? Answer: the guy who scored more than anybody. But, not the program’s leading scorer is here at the NCAA Tournament at long last.
“It’s a dream I’ve had,” Thornton said. “I’ve seen guys rise to the occasion and become big-time players. This is the whole reason why you play college basketball. When I get ready to put my gear on tomorrow, I’ll probably feel it, but at the end of the day, it’s just basketball, and we’ve got a job to do.”
2. Ohio State rolls into the NCAA Tournament in some of the best form in the country.
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