No. 2 Ohio State — No. 1 Syracuse Clash In East Regional Final

Ohio State and Syracuse will meet Saturday night (7:05PM tip) for the right to advance to The Final Four next week in New Orleans.

Reaching the regional final was never really in doubt for the Buckeyes. The same can't be said for the Orange.

While the Buckeyes defeated Loyola-Maryland, Gonzaga and Cincinnati without too much difficulty on their journey to the East regional final, Syracuse, who beat beat Kansas State, 75-59 in the round of 32, faced serious scares from both UNC-Asheville and Wisconsin before and after beating the Wildcats.

Prior to the NCAA tournament, Cincinnati ousted Syracuse from the Big East tourney by a final score of 71-68 — the same Bearcats squad that Ohio State just defeated 81-66 in the East semi-final.

These could be signs that this matchup favors Ohio State, but regardless of those previous games, or how each got here, these are two stellar teams and nothing less than a great game should be expected.

Against the zone defense that Syracuse brings, Ohio State's senior guard, William Buford (pictured above alongside Syracuse guard, Scoop Jardine), must play well in order for the Buckeyes to win.

Buford has been inconsistent at times, and has taken a lot of heat from some unforgiving Ohio State fans. He has also often been the catalyst and unsung hero who thanklessly has led this team to victory countless times in his illustrious OSU career. He is just 42 points away from 2,000.

Both teams are solid defensively, so don't be surprised to see a close, low-scoring battle, with the winner being decided in the final seconds, perhaps on a last second buzzer-beater.

That's what makes this tournament so great. We all want our favorite teams to win, but sometimes even in defeat, great moments, great players, and great games are born.

Who doesn't remember that Duke-Kentucky regional final in 1992, when Duke's Christian Laettner hit the game winner for the Blue Devils as time expired?

We all do, and we all won that night, for having been witness to one of the greatest moments in college basketball history.

We can only hope as we watch from the edge of our seats, as the final seconds wane away, that this game will deliver a similar memorable ending — and a Buckeye victory — that we'll talk about for years to come.

This is March Madness after all — Who would want it any other way?

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With DUKE-CAROLINA Looming on Sunday...

by HD Handshoe
Founder
BlockONation.com




I thought why not broaden the horizons here on BlockONation, especially since I am a 21-year veteran DUKE fan!

I have accomplished the uncommon feat of being a fan of two of the teams involved in the two best and most heated rivalries in all of sports.

You see, I was born a Buckeye and I am about as big of a Buckeye football fan there is and ever was. The roots of my disdain for that team from up North are forever nestled deep within me, right to my very core.

Though that is a great part of my make-up, that is not all that defines me.

As a young boy, basketball was my first love. I ate, drank, slept (and played) basketball, specifically college basketball, 24/7.

From the very first time I saw Duke University play on TV, that was it. I was on the bandwagon and I have been ever since.

The year was 1988. My first ever favorite Duke player may come as a shock to some, but if you know anything about him and about college basketball during that era, you won't be too surprised at all to learn it was Danny Ferry. I could go on about him but instead, all I will say is that guy could play!

I'm still pretty young, but my bucket list includes making the trip to Durham at least once to watch a Blue Devils home game live in person, preferably when they are playing (and thumping) the Tarheels!

Before I end this so that you may enjoy the videos I've included below, I just want to add that while I don't hate the University of North Carolina or the Tarheels basketball team as much as I hate the university and football team from Ann Arbor, it's a very close second.

Oddly enough, I NEVER liked any football player from UM, but I must confess, school allegiance aside, I loved watching Michael Jordan as a kid. But in my defense—who didn't?