Ohio State basketball was able to look more like a team that means business in the upcoming postseason when it led from start to finish and polished off an 80-69 victory over Michigan State on Thursday night.
A lot of it had to do with the performance of an OSU team that saw four players notch double-figures in a balanced, varied, and energetic effort. But if you watched the game, there’s no denying the fact that the Spartans’ effort also had something to do with it.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo met with the media after the game to field questions and talk about what he saw from both Ohio State and his team in a pretty important Big Ten contest. He was very critical of his team, but he veered away from the action on the court to be a little to offer up some criticism of the home crowd inside the Schottenstein Center as well.
“I would say one thing about this place: I was disappointed in their fans,” Izzo said after the game. “The way they were playing, this place should be rocking and packed.”
Tom Izzo on Value City Arena: "I would say one thing about this place: I was disappointed in their fans. I thought the way his team has played and how hard they play, this place should be rocking and packed." #buckeyes
— Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) March 4, 2022
The crowd was no doubt spotty as you panned across your television or streaming device. The official attendance was announced as 14,951 and that’s too far away from the capacity of 19,000. And by the looks of it, the announced number seemed to be somewhat generous.
It does make fans pine for the days of St. John Arena when OSU had a real home advantage. The size, acoustics, and mystique will no doubt live on for traditionalists, and Izzo’s comments will only act as a jab in the eye of a program that has seemed to lack a home atmosphere that gives Ohio State identity and lift when playing inside a place that should be more than it is.
I don’t know how, but the basketball program needs to get this fixed in some very creative ways. Whether it be with ticket prices, rearranging where fans sit, or by improving the acoustics, it’s about time Ohio State gets itself an arena that other teams are afraid to visit.
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