The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Buckeyes showcase game plays well in CLE
Nearly 17,000 turn out for matchup featuring Ohio State-West Virginia
There were collisions of familiar team colors Dec. 29 in the concourses, shops and restaurants at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Scarlet and Gray for Ohio State University on one palette.
Old Gold and Blue for West Virginia University on the other.
On a soggy Sunday afternoon, two of the best traveling fan contingents in college sports proudly showed their colors before, during and after the earlyseason showdown between tradition rich college basketball programs.
Buckeyes, 11-1 and No. 2 in the latest poll, vs. Mountaineers, 10-1 and ranked No. 22.
Big Ten vs. Big 12. Chris Holtmann, OSU’s talented young coach, matching wits with WVU’s wily, willful veteran, Bob Huggins.
On the floor, OSU senior center and leading scorer, Andrew Wesson, testing the mettle of WVU freshman center and former Pennsylvania high school phenom Oscar Tshiebwe.
This was the opener of the Cleveland Classic, a college basketball doubleheader that featured Duquesne and Marshall in the nightcap.
A brief bit of history here.
The downtown venue formerly known as Gund Arena and Quicken Loans Arena has been a top-tier venue for Division I college basketball since the Mid-American Conference moved its postseason tournaments there in 2000.
In the years since, the
NCAA has brought its Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to the building, including the 2007 Women’s Final Four won by Tennessee and legendary coach Pat Summit.
The men will be back in March 2020 for firstand second-round games in a regional pod of eight teams that may well include these Buckeyes and Mountaineers.
Between the nearly packed seating bowl, profusion of team colors and charged atmosphere, the day offered a tantalizing taste of how this arena and the surrounding Gateway corridor will
come alive for four days in March when the games mean so much more.
While it wasn’t played at NCAA tournament-level intensity, this regular-season game lived up to the billing indicated by records and poll rankings.
OSU had the better of it in the first half, carrying a 37-31 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Mountaineers dialed up the defensive pressure in the second half, limiting the Buckeyes to five field goals and 20.8 percent shooting from the field.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Mountaineers had secured the 67-59 victory.
They earned sustained applause from thousands of Old Gold and Bluewearing WVU loyalists.
Announced attendance for the feature attraction was 16,781.
Only a few thousand stuck around to watch the Dukes and former Akron coach Keith Dambrot take on the Thundering Herd.
That was expected and in no way detracted from a timely showcase for college basketball in downtown Cleveland.