Take that Las Vegas. My UCSB Gauchos came into the tournament as a #15 going head to head against #2 Ohio State, and thanks to CBS Sportsline.com, my family was able to watch from the tip to the final whistle. Good stuff. While the Gauchos may have come up short in their 51-68 loss, they put together a couple of really inspiring runs, showed that the refs were in the betting on the Buckeyes, and cost some really over zealous OSU fans a ton of cash by beating the 17.5 spread...barely.
How about the early comeback rally? You won't find it on the ESPN recap of the game, nor the UCSB official website's recap of the game, but the Gauchos fought back from being down 13-3 to start the game, and marched right back to a 13-13 tie game. We were coming up golden, especially with Orlando Johnson leading the charge. The Buckeyes were missing chances, and we were taking advantage. While we would let OSU get a nice run right after than, to take a half time lead of 17 points, it was fun to watch our boys run the floor with these guys from across the country for a little while.
The Juice was loose. I was wondering who would be the big guy on campus to step it up for the 'Chos in this tournament game. It was none other than Orlando Johnson. OJ put 20 gigantic points on the board for UCSB, including 2 threes, and added 5 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. He was on point for the Big West Champions, and really made us all proud. Glendora, CA native James Powell wasn't going to leave his Senior year without making some noise as well. JP was the only other SB stud to get into double digits with 11 off the bench.
In the end, the 'Eyes had it. I mean, OSU just looked like a ridiculously bigger team than the Gauchos. I obviously knew we were over matched, but they looked like the Masuda Monarchs were going head to head with Ed O'Bannon's UCLA Bruins, in terms of size. Especially CBS darling Dallas Lauderdale (never trust a guy with two cities in his name). Dallas played 30 minutes and only got 4 points, but his 8 blocks led the OSU block brigade that infuriated the 'Chos in Milwaukee last night. As a team, OSU had 12 blocks, but it seemed like 50.
After finishing the season 20-10 (12-4 in Big West play), UCSB comes back to California with a whole heap of screaming proud Gaucho Loco fans. I wonder if they're flying back into the Santa Barbara airport?! We have a lot to look forward to next season, and I think I can easily call back to back Big West titles for our boys. Orlando Johnson (Big West player of the year, Big West tournament MVP, and clearly our stud of the NCAA tournament) is just a Sophomore. Three others in our starting 5 are Sophomore's this year as well, with the OC's Jaime Serna, James Nunnally, and Will Brew Jr. all coming back for their third year. Jordan Weiner, meanwhile, is going to be entering his final year in 2010/2011. While it will be a hit to lose three boy Paul Roemer and James Powell, we also return Sophomore Super Center Greg "I'm Hungary" Somogyi to help be big in the middle. I think we're in a good position, and we'll be coming back next season with some dudes who have experience in the big dance. It's a win, win.
Enjoy getting bounced out by #10 Georgia Tech tomorrow, Buckeyes.
And props to Northern Iowa for killing everyone's bracket by beating Kansas. Good, good stuff.
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