Havoc.
It is the only word printed on the back of Virginia Commonwealth's men's basketball warm-up shirts, and havoc is exactly what the Rams dealt the Ohio State Buckeyes early in their second-round match-up in West Regional of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Thursday.
However, freshman guard D'Angelo Russell and the 10th-seeded Buckeyes (24-10) dished out a little havoc of their own by withstanding a fast-paced, full court pressure-filled game and upset the seventh-seeded Rams (26-10), 75-72 in overtime at the Moda Center in Portland.
Despite getting cut above the left eye by taking a flagrant elbow from guard Doug Brooks late in the second half, Russell scored a game-high 28 points on 10 of 20 shooting, including a four-of-seven mark from beyond the three-point arc.
In addition to the scoring, Russell did a little bit of everything for the Buckeyes, as he pulled down six rebounds, stole two passes and blocked two shots in the victory.
VCU had the final shot in regulation, but Treveon Graham missed a lay-up with three seconds to play that would have given the Rams the last-second victory over the Buckeyes.
After VCU freshman guard Jonathan Williams made a jump shot that put the Rams in front of the Buckeyes, 25-13, with 6:36 to play in the first half, Ohio State responded by outscoring the opposition, 16-5, before the halftime respite.
Unfazed by the break in the action, the Buckeyes quickly found themselves in front of the Rams, 40-37, with 17 minutes left in the first half largely because of the play of point guard Shannon Scott and Russell.
With a lay-up and free throw to complete a three-point play, Scott drew the Buckeyes to within two points, 37-35, of the Rams. Then, after securing a defensive rebound and moving the ball into the front court, Russell got a pass from Sam Thompson and buried a three-pointer from the right corner of the floor.
Scott followed with another lay-up before he assisted on an Amir Williams dunk that put the Buckeyes up by five points, 42-37, with 16:25 to play in regulation.
Despite a 16-5 scoring run by the Buckeyes to end the first half, the Rams held a 30-29 lead at halftime. The Rams had been up by as many as 12 points with less than six minutes to play in the first half because of their ability to get up the floor in transition and find the open man behind the three-point line.
Although the Rams struggled from the floor and made just 10 of their 34 first-half attempts, they made four of their first nine looks from three-point range and were able to rebound the ball well on the offensive side of the floor.
Overall, VCU held a 24-17 edge on the glass in the first half, and that included a 10-4 advantage on offensive end.
Individually, only Russell reached double figures for the Buckeyes in the first half, as he converted five of his 10 looks from the field, including half of his four three-point attempts en route to halftime-best 12 points.
