The last time Chris Holtmann’s team left the court, Ohio State hoops fans were incredulous at what they had just seen. Summit League champion Oral Roberts, which came into the NCAA tournament with a 16-10 record, proved too much to handle. In overtime, Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor pulled off a 75-72 upset, earning the Buckeyes an undesirable spot in March Madness history as only the ninth second-seeded team ever to lose to a 15 seed.
Incredulity was palpable. So, too, frustration.
It was, as athletic director Gene Smith put it in an interview with Eleven Warriors last week, “obviously” the “worst loss” of Holtmann’s tenure at Ohio State.