Ohio State is playing with a chip on their shoulder in the NCAA Tournament.
After his Buckeyes outlasted a feisty South Dakota State team on Thursday in Boise, Chris Holtmann took a shot at all the pundits who picked against his team in the tournament.
“I just want to thank all the fine, smart, clever journalists that didn’t pick us,” Holtman told TNT’s Lisa Byington. “We got some great ones out there. And trust me, our guys were aware of that.
“We were a trendy upset pick. I understand it. Maybe we had something to do with that with how we played late. But sure, we made our guys aware of that.”
Ohio State had lost three of their final five games and got bounced by Penn State in the conference tournament, which is why some were down on them. Indeed, even in our LBS upset picks, the Ohio State/South Dakota State game was listed first (Loyola Chicago over Miami was listed third).
People have doubted the Buckeyes at every turn, and they keep proving people wrong. Now they have a date with Gonzaga in the second round on Saturday. That will be another very tough game.
