Thanks for joining us here at VAVEL USA for this one. Keep checking back with us for the latest LIVE coverage of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State will take on Arizona on Saturday, and the Buckeyes will hope to continue this terrific tournament run.
OT 0.0 seconds left. Williams drives the length of the floor before laying the ball in at the buzzer. 75-72 is your final and the Ohio State Buckeyes advance.
OT 4.9 seconds left. Russell goes 2-2, Ohio State leads 75-70 now. Timeout.
OT 4.9 seconds left. Graham got a great look at a three but it just rimmed out. Halfway down before it popped back up. OSU to shoot a 2 shots here. Russell to shoot.
OT 0:22 Thompson misses a jumper as the shot clock expired, and VCU gets the rebound. They bring the ball downcourt before Shaka Smart takes a timeout to draw up a play.
OT 0:49 - Ohio State takes a timeout. Russell had an open look in the middle of the lane that he couldn't finish, but the Buckeyes saved the possession with an offensive board. 73-70 Ohio State leads.
OT 1:28 - VCU throws another pass away. My oh my they're literally throwing this game away.
OT 1:45 Scott with a great drive to the bucket and he finishes with a layup. 71-68.
OT 2:10 VCU responds with a quick two.
OT 2:32 Bates with a huge three to give the Buckeyes a 69-66 lead!
OT 3:00 And VCU throws it away off the inbound! Does anyone want to win this game?
OT 3:01 - There is no technical foul assessed. Still 68-68.
OT 3:01 - Tate has fouled out! Tate and VCU's Graham got tangled up, and a double foul is called after a Brooks miss! That is the fifth foul on Tate, and we will have a review to see if a flagrant foul will also be assessed.
OT 3:30 - Lewis with a strong drive to the basket but he can't finish. Chance for OSU to take the lead here...
OT 4:37 - Graham makes a jumper to put VCU up two, then Russell hits a fastbreak layup to tie it at 68.
END OF SECOND HALF TIED AT 66 HEADED TO OVERTIME
2nd Half :22 - Scott misses the layup, and VCU gets the rebound! Graham misses the shot and we're headed to OT!
2nd Half 1:06 - Brooks misses a three, and Russell gets the rebound. Timeout Buckeyes.
2nd Half 1:15 - Johsnon nails another three, then Williams gets a quick dunk and we're tied at 66!
2nd Half 2:20 - Melvin Johnson hits a three for VCU. 64-63 OSU
2nd Half 2:43 - Williams hits 2 free throws to put Ohio State up 64-60.
2nd Half 3:58 - Bennett makes a dunk to put VCU up 1. 60-59, Russell finds Bates who nails the three ball. 62-60 OSU
2nd Half 4:56 - After ruling, Russell was hit on the drive and a flagrant 1 was ruled on Brooks. Russell hits 1 of 2 free throws for the flagrant call. 59-58 OSU
2nd Half 4:56 - Russell has a cut on next to his eye and an official timeout is called.
2nd Half 5:50 - Russell gets called for a charge on a drive, and VCU turns it over. Tied at 58!
2nd Half 6:22 - After a VCU free throw, Tate gets called for an offensive foul, and it's his 4th.
2nd Half 7:03 - After a VCU score, Russell misses a running attempt, but gets the tip on an offensive rebound and hits the jumper inside. 58-57 OSU
2nd Half 7:37 - Russell is found inside on a cut, and Ohio State takes the lead 56-55!
2nd Half 7:57 - Tate absorbs the contact and makes a layup. 55-54 VCU leads
2nd Half 8:24 - Lewis hits 1 of 2 free throws. 55-52 VCU
2nd Half 9:01 - Tate puts in a bucket after VCU scores, so Ohio State stays within 2. 54-52 VCU
2nd Half - Lewis knocks down a jumper, 10 points on the evening for him now. Loving scores and is fouled. He hits the free throw. 52-50 VCU leads
2nd Half 10:41 - Lewis is fouled on a layup attempt, he hits both free throws. 50-47 VCU leads
2nd Half 12:23 - Brooks hits ANOTHER three to put VCU up 1! 48-47 VCU
2nd Half 13:16 - Scott makes a nice pass that leads to a dunk. He's got 9 assists now. 47-45 OSU
2nd Half 13:53 - Brooks bangs in another three to tie the game at 45!
2nd Half 14:59 - Russell hits another three who now has 19 points on the game, Brooks hits a three for VCU. 45-42 OSU
2nd Half 16:11 - Graham makes 2 of 2 free throws. 42-39 OSU
2nd Half 16:23 - Williams gets a dunk after rolling on a pick and roll. 42-37 OSU
2nd Half 17:15 - Russell drills a three to give Ohio State the lead. Scott makes a layup after a missed shot by VCU. 40-37 OSU
2nd Half 18:25 - Thompson makes both free throws to pull Ohio State within 3, then Larrier makes a layup. Scott comes back quick and connects on an And-1 play on a layup. He makes the free throw. 37-35 VCU
2nd Half 19:13 - Brooks makes a three ppointer in the corner, then on the next possession Brooks makes a nice pass that leads to a dunk. Thompson is fouled on the other end. 35-30 VCU
2nd Half 19:35 - Russell is fouled on a three point attempt. He'll shoot thre free throws. He only makes 1-3. TIE GAME 30-30
END OF 1ST HALF - Buckeyes made a huge comeback so far, coach Thad Matta switched to a 2-3 zone and a bit of a 2-2-1 full-court zone. It really slowed down VCU. VCU needs to attack that zone and move off the ball.
:56 - Tate is fouled and hits 1 of 2 free throws, Ohio State gets an offensive rebound and Russell hits a mid-range jumper. 30-29 VCU
1:46 - Williams is found cutting through the paint on a pass from Scott. 30-26 VCU
2:19 - Williams is fouled on a dunk attempt, hits 1 of 2 free throws. 30-24 VCU
2:55 - Johnson hits a running floater baseline, and Ohio State turns it over on the other end. 30-23 VCU
3:53 - Russell gets a layup ff a back-cut to bring OSU within 5 now. 28-23 VCU
4:00 - Russell hits another three and is looking like he's in some rhythm now. 28-21 VCU
4:30 - Lewis hits a three in transition after a missed attempt by OSU, 28-18 VCU leads
5:03 Russell hits a three in transition. 25-18 VCU leads, timeout called
5:39 - Tate gets fouled and completes the hook shot. Tate misses the free throw. 25-15 VCU
7:02 - Russell misses the jumper and VCU gets the rebound. Williams hits a jumper in the paint. 25-13 VCU
7:38 - Larrier makes the free throws. 23-13 VCU
7:40 - Russell missed a rushed layup, and Larrier gets fouled while shooting on the other end. 21-13 VCU, official timeout
8:50 - Johnson makes 2 free throws. 21-13 VCU
9:38 - Burgess gets a steal and it leads to a wide open dunk by Ali-Cox. 19-13 VCU
10:45 Burgess makes a huge block on a fast-break layup attempt by Williams. 17-13 VCU
11:33 - Ali-Cox makes 1 of 2 free throws. 17-13 VCU
12:50 Russell misses the three point shot, and VCU gets a few offensive rebounds off of multiple Ohio State blocks. Lewis hits a three. Macdonald tips in a layup right back. 16-13 VCU
13:47 - Johnson makes a layup from a pass from Russell. 13-11 VCU leads
14:42 - A technical foul is resulting because Macdonald was not in the book with the right number. A bizarre occurence but the free throw was missed by VCU. 13-9 it remains VCU leads
15:34 - Tate makes the layup. 13-9 VCU
15:59 - Larrier makes the layup after a missed three by Graham. Timeout on the floor. 12-7 VCU
17:09 - Thompson slams for OSU then Johnson makes a floater for VCU. 10-7 VCU
17:42 - Scott makes a jumper at the top of the key. 8-5 VCU
18:10 - Graham hits a three, now 2-2 from behind the arc. 8-3 VCU.
18:36 - Tate misses the first free throw, makes the second. VCU leads 5-3
18:56 - Brooks puts in a layup on a fastbreak after an Ohio State turnover.
19:40 Williams dunks, 2-0 Ohio State, VCU comes back with a three!
20:00 - Ohio State wins the tip and this game is underway!
Game Start
Only about 20 minutes until gametime! My name is Mitchell Evans and I'll be joining you on this awesome day of college basketball.
“We are going to wreak havoc on our opponents’ psyche and their plan of attack,” said Smart. This quote really is what will dictate this game. If Ohio State handles the pressure well, they have a solid chance of winning, but if the game gets chaotic, it falls right into VCU’s hands.
Smart also talked about how “havoc” wasn’t just their style of play. “It’s not just a defensive thing,” Smart said, but “everything we do starts with the defense.”
Leading scorers for the Rams include Treveon Graham (16.3 PPG), Melvin Johnson (12.3 PPG), and JeQuan Lewis (8.4 PPG). For the Buckeyes leading scorers are D’Angelo Russell (19.3 PPG), Sam Thompson (10.2 PPG), and Marc Loving (9.7 PPG). Graham and Russell also both lead in minutes played per game, with 29 and 33.5 respectively.
VCU had some issues after Weber went down, but found a groove and went on a 5-game winning streak and started to actually look like the Virginia Commonwealth we all know. “A lot of people started to say they weren’t this and they weren’t that,” Dayton coach Archie Miller said on Sunday. “I think they just needed some time to refigure themselves out, get some confidence, and this tournament I really felt allowed them to do that.”
VCU dubs their style of play “Havoc” and without Weber that havoc will be more difficult to stir in their opponents, but head coach Shaka Smart says it’s not the end of it.
“We’re still going to play the way that we play,” coach Shaka Smart said. “There may be some adjustments on both ends of the floor, but we’re still going to be us.”
The Rams did lose Briante Weber to a knee-injury in January, and it sparked a losing streak for the team. They won only 5 of it’s last 11 regular season games but they caught fire in the tournament (sound familiar?) and now come into the tournament with some authority.
VCU on the other hand has the type of build to their team that can pull out an upset over Arizona. Their tough, coached well, and won’t back down against Arizona and put pressure on them.
For Ohio State, a Sweet 16 appearance is unrealistic. If they pull this win out, they’ll play a much superior team in Arizona in the second round. Arizona has got it all and is one of the best teams not-named Kentucky in the tournament. It will be a challenge for Ohio State. "We're excited," Thomson said. "This is the best time of the year. This is what came to Ohio State to do. We feel like we have been given new life."
“You play a team and you’ve got to beat them to advance,” Scott said. “We’re a 10 seed. I don’t think any of us care about that. We’re all happy to be in the tournament and just want to play our best ball from here.”
VCU has a solid chance of taking this game, but their is one thing that can haunt them. That is Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell. Russell leads the team in scoring (19 ppg) and assists (5 apg). Russell can single-handedly change a game.
It was talked about that Ohio State should have been a 9-seed, but they would have matched up with Wisconsin early in the tournament, and the committee doesn’t match teams from the same conference to play that early.
“I was a fan when they made their deep run,” Ohio State forward Sam Thompson said, “and they’ve kind of had that reputation ever since then. We know they’re going to play hard, we know they’re going to trap all over the court, they’re going to play with a ton of energy. We’re going to do the same thing. It’s going to be a fun game.”
For VCU, it wasn’t as nerve-racking. VCU won the Atlantic-10 Conference after beating Dayton on Sunday in the championship. They received an automatic bid for the win. VCU is a scary team any time they get into the tournament, after making such a deep run just a few seasons ago.
“I think we were like the last (team) announced,” Matta said, “and two brackets before that, he said, ‘Hey, you do think we’re in, right?’ That was kind of going through my mind.”
For Ohio State, they waited a long time for their call. The 10 seed was the lowest in head coach Thad Matta’s 11 seasons as coach for OSU. “We didn’t see our name for a while,” guard Shannon Scott said, “so I think some of us got a little nervous. I know I did.”
It’s finally time for the NCAA Tournament. This week has felt like it’s taken forever, right? Today, Ohio State and Virginia Commonwealth face off in an intriguing 10 - 7 seed matchup. Ohio State came into the tournament with the 10 seed, and VCU with the 7.