Revisiting the Ohio State vs. Kentucky Sweet 16 Matchup in 2011

It was a tough final result, but also a game that many Buckeye fans likely remember a full decade later.

Even though the Buckeyes game against Kentucky on Saturday afternoon was canceled because of CoVID-19, we’d like to take you back to a memorable game between the two schools from a decade ago.

It was a disappointing NCAA Sweet 16 matchup for Buckeye faithful, but also one that Ohio State fans certainly remember 10 years later.

Ohio State, led by Thad Matta, earned a No. 1 seed in the East Region after winning the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes throttled No. 16 seed UTSA (75-46) and then No. 8 seed George Mason (98-66) to reach the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

OSU entered this regional semifinal holding a nine-game winning streak and 34-2 overall record, with the losses against a pair of Top-15 ranked teams in Wisconsin and Purdue.

But a challenging matchup with No. 4 seed Kentucky (27-8 overall) was on the menu. The Wildcats, behind John Calipari, claimed the SEC crown over Florida and had won eight in a row themselves.

Both teams essentially played six-man rotations, looking like this:

Ohio State: Jared Sullinger, Dallas Lauderdale, David Lighty, William Buford and Jon Diebler… with Aaron Craft off the bench.

Kentucky: Terrence Jones, Josh Harrellson, Doron Lamb, Brandon Knight and Darius Miller… with DeAndre Liggins off the bench.

The game was tied 30-30 at intermission, and again (53-53) approaching the final media timeout. Here’s a quick jog down memory lane of what happened transpired next:

5:16: A three-pointer from Knight on the left side breaks the deadlock. (56-53 Kentucky)

2:55: After a scoreless stretch for both teams, Sullinger grabs an offensive rebound and delivers a quick put-back… snapping the Buckeye drough.t (56-55 Kentucky)

2:10: Lighty contributes a strong left-handed take, resulting in a smooth go-ahead layup. (57-56 OSU)

1:36 - Bang-bang block-charge involving Liggins and Sullinger. After the block call, Liggins makes both at the line. (58-57 Kentucky)

1:10 – Sullinger finally gets the ball in the post after multiple entry looks were defended. A double-team forces his tough baseline shot, which hits the side of the backboard and is brought down by Harrellson...

0:36 – Out of a timeout, Liggins banks in a driving shot with six seconds on the shot clock. Craft tries taking a charge, but the referee says play on. (Kentucky 60-57)

0:21 – Out of another timeout, on a designed play, Diebler gets held up on a double down-screen and it becomes a broken sequence. Diebler eventually gets the ball, crosses over Liggins at the top of the key, and buries a game-tying triple. (Tied 60-60)

0:05 – Calipari chose not to call his timeout. Instead, Brandon Knight brings the ball up the floor and waives off a screen from Harrellson. He drives hard to the right wing and nails a contested pull-jumper over Craft with 5.4 showing on the clock. (Kentucky 62-60)

0:02 – The Buckeyes, with two timeouts, also went quickly. Diebler immediately inbounds to Craft, who pushes up the floor and passes to Buford. His long three-point attempt from the left wing hits the rim, and is batted back out as the clock expires.

Kentucky shot 46 percent in the game compared to just 33 percent for Ohio State, but twice as many offensive rebounds allowed the Buckeyes to attempt 10 more shots.

Sullinger led all players with 21 points and 16 rebounds, including eight caroms on the offensive end. Diebler (16) and Lighty (12) reached double figures in their final college games, both playing all 40 minutes.

Harrellson tallied 17 and 10 for Kentucky, which soon knocked off North Carolina to reach the Final Four in Houston, Texas. The Wildcats dropped a 56-55 game to eventual champ UConn (led by Kemba Walker) in the semifinals.

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