For a venue chaser like myself, the NCAA basketball tournament is not compelling, because the games are played in large arenas, most of which I have seen already. The NIT, however, plays its first three rounds on campus sites. With the new rules mandating automatic bids for two teams from each Power 6 conference, it should be a little easier to plan for a game. Except that teams can decline an invitation, which 11 of the autobid schools did, along with six others. In the end, I had to wait for the bracket to be released, which happened after the NCAA tournament bracket was announced on Selection Sunday. Combining possible games with reasonably priced flights, I decided on Columbus as my destination.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were seeded second in in one quadrant, while Indiana State and Cincinnati were seeded 1-2 in another, and for all games, the higher seed hosts. So I figured at least one game would be in Ohio or Indiana on March 26 or 27, and possibly two. All three teams won their first game, and then all three won their second to make the quarterfinals. Sadly, all three would play their quarterfinal on the same day, with Indiana State hosting the Bearcats in Terre Haute, about 3.5 hours from Columbus. Ohio State would either travel to Wake Forest or host Georgia, depending on the result of that game. Thankfully, the Bulldogs prevailed and I avoided the drive.
The Buckeyes play out of Value City Arena, part of the Schottenstein Center. It opened in 1998 and is the largest by seating capacity in the Big Ten, holding 19,049 (though this is reduced by 240 for basketball). It replaced St. John Arena, which is still used for the Ohio State Band's skull session before football games, and possibly hosts basketball at some point, though I couldn't find evidence of this on either the men's or women's schedules. According to the parking map, it costs $15 in any lot, with a shuttle running from the Buckeye lot next to the Covelli Center. I guess I avoided the charge by getting there early for gymnastics.
The larger facility is named the Jerome Schottenstein Center ('The Schott' to students) in honor of Jerome Schottenstein, who was the primary benefactor of the entire project, while the seating bowl is named for his store, Value City Furniture. The team calls it Value City Arena on their schedule page, so that is how I will generally refer to it, despite The Schott being a much better appellation. I asked for the cheapest ticket at the box office, which was $21. The lady showed me her screen and I saw that there were seats in Row E behind the benches (view above). Turns out those were only $26, and Rows A-C were not in use, so I ended up in the second row. The reason these seats were available is that they were behind the Bulldog bench and these were returns as not too many wanted to make the trip from Athens for the NIT. I was sitting across the aisle from a player's father and he was entertaining, screaming at the officials on a regular basis.
The upper bowl was closed off for this one, leading to a more intimate atmosphere, with 7,641 on hand and few empty seats, at least once the game got started.
The students were also present and eventually filled up most of their section behind one of the baskets.
There are two concourses, with the lower one more spacious and typical with a hard floor while the 200 level concourse is carpeted and much narrower. There is probably another concourse for the upper bowl, but it would have been closed off.
The Buckeye hockey team also plays here and you can see the boards in the photo below. Even then, the first seven rows are temporary folding chairs, suggesting that the venue is used for other events as well.
The escalator lobbies have some displays, including trophies that you cannot read as you slowly rise by.
In the main northwest entrance lobby, there are photos around the top and a giant 'O' on the ceiling.
It is here that you can find the Evan Turner Hallway, a collection of trophies and other memorabilia that is restricted, so you can't get a close look, which I found quite frustrating. Apparently tours are given and it is then that you can see all of this stuff. Turner, by the way, played here from 2007-10 and was the 2nd overall pick in 2010 to Philadelphia.
Although Ohio State is most famous for football, their basketball team has had some success, including a national title in 1960 and a Final Four appearance in 2007 when Greg Oden was on the team. They won the NIT the following year.
Inside, there are several more banners, including retired numbers for John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas; Turner's number is also retired along with Jim Jackson and Gary Bradds. Fred Taylor is an honoured coach as he helmed them to that title 64 years ago.
The main scoreboard is huge and has video, the score, and player stats on it. In the four corners of the upper level are rotating stat boards that help you follow the action.
The logo is atop a silhouette of Ohio, and I liked how the NIT logo was added. The atmosphere here was far better than at Barclays Center for the first round of the NCAAs the previous Friday, mostly because everyone was packed in the lower bowl and there were few visiting fans.
Overall, Value City Arena is a pleasant venue, but they need to make the history more accessible. Still, I am glad I got one more venue this season, and it turned out to be a great game too.
The Game
Georgia came in with wins over Xavier and Wake Forest, while Ohio State had bested Cornell and Virginia Tech. The Buckeyes were 8.5-point favourites but Georgia started strong and took a 15-8 lead after a Noah Thommason three. But Ohio State quickly scored 7 to tie and eventually took a 24-23 lead on an alley-oop dunk from Felix Okpara (#34 below), one of five he made in the first half as the Bulldogs constantly lost sight of him, hard to believe as he is 6'11. The last two minutes of the half saw five lead changes with Georgia's Silas Demary Jr. sinking a jumper with 3 seconds left to give them a 36-35 lead at the break.
The second half saw the Bulldogs come out hot and they were up 51-39 after a Blue Cain trey, but Ohio State fought back to get within 4, only for Georgia to score 9 straight. Down 11, the Buckeyes went on a 17-0 run, capped by a Jameson Battle three that made it 70-64 with 4:50 remaining. You may think the NIT is meaningless, but the fans in attendance did not and they were going crazy. It looked like Georgia was done, but a critical offensive board by Frank Anselem-Ibe ended up in Cain's hands and he sank a three; after OSU missed on their possession, Thomasson tied it with another trey.
With exactly 3 minutes to go, the game was tied at 72. Over the next minute, Ohio State scored both their inside shots, while Georgia added another three. The following minute saw the final media timeout, then both teams missed shots. Georgia ran a long play that resulted in a Thomasson two, making it 76-75 with 36 seconds left. Ohio State did not call timeout and Battle missed a three with 28 seconds to go, meaning the Bucks had to foul. Cain made both and so Georgia fouled up by three, as you are supposed to do. Bruce Thornton missed the second but Cain could not control the rebound and it was OSU ball. They called timeout with 10 seconds left. Coming out of it, Thornton had a great look but his three bounced out of bounds off a Bulldog (of course, a review was necessary to confirm this). That gave Ohio State one last chance to win but Battle's trey bounced high off the rim and the buzzer sounded with Georgia victorious 79-77.
This was a fantastic game with 13 lead changes and only 24 fouls called. The teams were even in most categories, with Georgia's 10/25 shooting from downtown the key when compared to 7/20 for Ohio State. Battle had 22 in the loss, while Thomasson led the Bulldogs with 21. They go to the semifinals at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse and will face Seton Hall, while Indiana State takes on Utah in the other game.
Notes
This was my 178th venue of the 392 in Division I basketball that I am chasing and 38th of the season. With West Georgia joining next year, I will have 215 to go, so hoping to finish in 2030.
It was also the first of 13 NCAA gyms for me to see in Ohio, leaving 8 states to go.
On Wednesday, with no major games within driving distance, I watched Ohio Dominican baseball, a D-II program who play at Frank Damian Field in Panther Valley. It was a cool little ballpark (#360 for me) that is actually located in a valley, but not worth the time to write a separate post about it.
Next Up
As mentioned earlier, not much other than some games locally. But once May rolls around, I should have a few baseball trips as I work towards seeing all the MLB Partner League ballparks. Stay tuned!
Best,
Sean
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