The greatest programs: No. 18, Ohio State
Posted: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 9:40 AM
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Greatest hoops programs
The handful of football schools on the list of greatest college basketball programs ends with No. 18, Ohio State.
Well, the last of this list’s traditional football powerhouses concludes with Ohio State. There are still a couple of teams left that could be considered football schools, but the Buckeyes are a clear-cut football school – with a great basketball legacy.
It’s funny, too. At one time, basketball could’ve been considered THE sport for THE Ohio State University. That’s what happens when a school has Final Four runs like the Buckeyes.
They made three straight Final Fours twice (from ’44-’46 and ’60-62) and reached the NCAA tournament’s first title game in 1939. Add Final Fours in ’68, ’99 and 2007, and only UCLA, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and Kansas have played in the Big Dance’s semifinals more than OSU’s 10 appearances.
Ohio State also scores thanks to 19 conference titles, 24 NCAA tourney appearances, 10 consensus first-team All-Americans, nearly 40 players sent to the NBA and a strong showing in the NIT, boosted by their 2008 title.
So why aren’t the Buckeyes higher? Couple of reasons.
They’ve only claimed one NCAA title during those 10 Final Fours. They struggled mightily for most of the 90s and at the end of Jim O’Brien’s tenure in Columbus. And the NCAA vacated 113 games from his time, costing the Buckeyes wins and one of those Final Four berths.
(The gist of the O’Brien mess: He admitted paying a recruit and was fired. However, he sued and won a 2007 ruling that ordered Ohio State to pay him $2.4 million. He was cut a check in May.)
Without that, maybe the Buckeyes would be a few spots higher. Still, recognizing their on-court success is easy.
Harold Olson won 260 games, five conference crowns and reached the school’s first four Final Fours.
The Buckeyes won an NIT title under Eldon Miller, while Randy Ayers’ early ‘90s teams, led by two-time All-American Jim Jackson, won back-to-back Big Ten regular-season crowns, not an easy feat in a time when Indiana and Purdue owned the Big Ten and the Fab Fiver were coming into their own.
Thad Matta’s 2006 and 2007 squads matched that back-to-back feat, but his freshman-laded squad – stars Greg Oden and Mike Conley among them -- punctuated the second with a spot in the NCAA title game and a school-record 35 games.
But nothing compares to Ohio State’s golden years of the early 60s under coach Fred Taylor and his remarkable stars, Jerry Lucas (among the greatest college players ever) and John Havlicek (excellent college player and legendary Boston Celtic). The Buckeyes also had a notable sixth man in one Bobby Knight.
Ohio State was 78-6 during their three-year run of Final Fours in the early ‘60s, the first of which resulted in the school’s lone NCAA tournament title. The Buckeyes reached the title game the next two years, but lost to Cincinnati both times. (OSU was 26-0 entering the 1961 title game, one of the tournament’s classic outcomes.)
Three title games and a title in three years? That’s elite company (UCLA, Kentucky and Cincy) when it comes to the Big Dance.
The guiding force behind those teams probably doesn’t get enough mention today as one of the game’s great coaches, especially on defense. But don’t just take my word for it.
During Taylor’s funeral in 2002, Knight heaped praise on his former coach, remarking Taylor was “was responsible for the basketball we see played in the Big Ten today – and a lot elsewhere in the country.”
That’s perhaps the best tribute a coach and school can receiver. After all, only the ACC has performed better than the Big Ten in the NCAA tourney, which speaks volumes for Taylor’s teams.
Next Tuesday: No. 17 on the list of greatest programs.
No. 19: St. John's.
No. 20: UNLV.
No. 21: Texas.
No. 22: Notre Dame.
No. 23: Temple.
No. 24: Oklahoma.
No. 25: N.C. State.
