PORTLAND – The elbow that hit D’Angelo Russell above his left eye send blood streaming down the Ohio State star’s face.
But it was Russell who landed the decisive blows Thursday.
Russell scored 28 points as No. 10 seed Ohio State beat No. 7 Virginia Commonwealth 75-72 in overtime at the Moda Center.
Sporting a black bandage like a badge of honor after his first NCAA tournament win, Russell would soon be en route to receive stitches.
But not before the freshman All-American talked about putting a beating on a VCU defense that hounded him with double-teams and physical play.
VCU’s approach worked for the first 15 minutes, as Russell was held to just two points.
Then Russell got hot. His 28 points are the most by an Ohio State freshman in the NCAA tournament.
“They were playing great defense on me, face guarding me,” Russell said. “It forced me to go backdoor, use screens.”
Then Russell got hurt.
With 4:56 to play, Russell contested a layup by VCU’s Doug Brooks, who swung his elbow into Russell’s brow. With the game tied at 58, Brooks was whistled for a flagrant foul.
That gave Ohio State two free throws and the ball in a game where neither team led by more than four points over the final 14:46 of regulation.
“Now, I’m not going to get myself in trouble by commenting on officiating,” VCU coach Shaka Smart said. “I mean, unfortunately when it’s tight like that, you know, a key call or a no call one way or the other makes a big difference.”
Still, VCU had two shots to take the lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation. JeQuan Lewis and Treveon Graham both missed inside the key.
Russell scored four of Ohio State’s nine points in overtime. The Buckeyes defense clamped down, holding VCU to just two points for all but the final second of overtime.
Ohio State’s win sets up a tantalizing matchup Saturday against No. 2-seeded Arizona, which has its own freshman All-American in Stanley Johnson.
Ohio State finished a disappointing 11-7 for sixth place in the Big Ten. But Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said his team is up for the challenge of Arizona after overcoming a 12-point first-half deficit Thursday.
“I went at ’em and challenged them to man up,” Matta said. “You know, I said at that point, ‘Hey, it’s time to play our best basketball, and you got to man up.’ To their credit, they did a great job of doing what we asked.”
