Ohio State begins tourney tonight vs. Santa Barbara

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE

He returned from a back injury to become perhaps the nation’s best player, and his late-game long shot to beat Michigan in the Big Ten tournament has been played over and over on TV sports highlight shows.

With the NBA player comparisons already flying around, Ohio State’s Evan Turner knows that a long run in the NCAA tournament is just about the only thing that’s missing from his r sum .

“I definitely do,” Turner said. “We definitely want to make a long run, and we’re in it to win it.”

Turner and No. 2-seeded Ohio State hope that tournament run begins tonight, with a first-round game against No. 15 seed UC Santa Barbara.

After blowing a comfortable lead in last year’s opening-round loss to Siena, Ohio State coach Thad Matta said his team will be more focused this time around. The Gauchos, winners of the Big West tournament, have a strong scoring combination in guard Orlando Johnson and forward James Nunnally.

“We know what they’re capable of,” Gauchos guard James Powell said. “But [if] we come in scared or intimidated, then we pretty much lost the game before we even started.”

UC Santa Barbara promises to play tough perimeter defense, then will keep its fingers crossed that its best outside shooters all get hot at the same time.

Still, UCSB coach Bob Williams knows what his team is facing in Turner, describing film study of the Buckeyes’ versatile and athletic star as “a little bit like going to watch a horror movie.”

“There’s really not a weakness in his game,” Williams said.

With a strong performance in the tournament, Turner could solidify his status as the game’s top player.

The Buckeyes returned to the NCAA tournament last year, and Turner had 25 points against Siena in the first round. But he was 8 for 18 from the field and the Buckeyes blew a comfortable lead, eventually losing in double overtime.

Turner said the Buckeyes started making uncharacteristic mistakes in that game and ended up paying for it.

“I think we momentarily lost our minds,” he said.