PORTLAND — When Chris Holtmann made the difficult life-changing decision in June to leave Butler and replace Thad Matta at Ohio State, he hoped he'd never have to coach against the Bulldogs. Holtmann's been public about how emotionally difficult the decision was to leave Butler, and for the past few months he had a hanging wish to worm through the PK80 bracket without having to scout, prep and coach against the players he helped take to last season's Sweet 16.
That wish will die Sunday.
"As fate would have it!" one Ohio State staffer yelled from OSU's locker room after the Buckeyes' 79-71 upset of Stanford on Friday night.
Because Ohio State and Butler's results mirrored each other on Thursday and Friday, Holtmann's OSU squad will square off against the Bulldogs in the fifth-place game of the PK80's Motion bracket. The game will tip at noon ET at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It's the first time Holtmann's ever had to coach against a former team, even dating back to his time as an assistant.
"I cannot believe this scenario, man," Holtmann told his staff after the win.
And it's not just Holtmann. Every Buckeyes assistant was in the same position at Butler in recent seasons. Terry Johnson spent 13 years with BU before leaving for Columbus with Holtmann in addition to assistants Ryan Pedon and Mike Schrage in June.
Holtmann spoke with emotion in his voice in Friday's press conference after being asked about having to go up against his former team.
"It's not ideal," he said. "Our coaching staff has a lot of affection for those players and certainly for the community. It's certainly not ideal, not how we would have drawn it up, but it's really about the players and as much as possible I want it to be about our players and their players competing. Obviously it's a very good program and a very good team, and I just want it to be about the players and hopefully it will be about it Sunday."
Butler was in danger of spinning backward before Holtmann took over for Brandon Miller in 2014. The Bulldogs went 14-17 under Miller, who left for undisclosed personal reasons and has remained reclusive ever since. Holtmann guided Butler to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Holtmann became a high-profile candidate for top-30 job openings in 2016 and 2017. When Ohio State made the unusual decision to terminate Matta in early June, Holtmann was an ideal fit.
But what he'll encounter Sunday seems unprecedented. From a calendar standpoint, it seems Holtmann will have had the shortest number of days between leaving a school and having to coach against his former club. Sunday's game will mark 170 days since Holtmann accepted the Buckeyes gig.
"I think you, as much as possible in those two hours, you try to eliminate the emotion of it," Holtmann said. "You try to take that out of the equation in that particular game. It's our responsibility to prepare our guys."
Ohio State sits at 5-1. Butler's 4-2 under new coach LaVall Jordan, who's a BU alumnus. Jordan was in contact occasionally with Holtmann after Jordan got the BU gig.
The game itself could, and should, be a close one. Holtmann will know much of the personnel he's coaching against, but will have to adapt to Jordan's system. Butler's players will have a similar edge. Standout players like Kelan Martin, Kamar Baldwin and Tyler Wideman know the stuff Holtmann runs.
"Our players have a great deal of respect for Butler," Holtmann said. "I don't think our players are going to do anything differently because I coached at Butler last year. I think our guys will be the same way."
A fascinating, emotional chess match will play out in Portland, with the winner notching what's sure to be an important non-conference victory some Selection Sunday. Yet for Holtmann it could very well feel like a no-win situation.
