Being a No. 5 seed is a tough life. You either take care of business in Round 1, or you get mocked. Yet people love to pick the No. 12 seeds -- because they're often pretty good. And when that No. 12 seed starts mocking you in a tight first-round game, it's got to put you on edge.
With Ohio State leading 29-24, South Dakota State star Mike Daum, one of the best mid-major players in America for two years now, threw down a dunk on the baseline to make it a one-possession game. Then he did this coming back down the floor:
RAISE THE ROOF, BIG FELLA! pic.twitter.com/MFCBRCjclh
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 15, 2018
Keita Bates-Diop apparently had some thoughts of his own about that motion, as he took flight over South Dakota State on a one-on-one break, and point guard Kam Williams "retaliated."
Keita Bates-Diop is BALLIN' pic.twitter.com/hnJ5vAKFol
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 15, 2018
Ohio State took notice.
🙌RAISE THE ROOF! @KBD_33 🔥🔥🔥with 15pts
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) March 15, 2018
🐰 29
🌰 38
4:46 1st half
Watch 📺 on TNT#GoBucks | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/WrGR25CFXW
Did that Jackrabbit just raise the roof? 🙄@OhioStateHoops by 50.
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) March 15, 2018
And now perhaps our weirdest first-round feud is brewing.
Epic raise the roof battle going on right now #OSUvsSDSU #marchmadness
— Dylan James Hall (@Dylan_J_Hall) March 15, 2018
I want to see a back-and-forth "raise the roof" battle for the rest of this game 🤣. #GoJacks #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/30ECGaKttK
— Ben Cerwinske (@BenCerwinske) March 15, 2018
New favorite player. #mikedaum #SDSU #RaiseTheRoof pic.twitter.com/hrPiCu4Hck
— Mike (@Mstaats13) March 15, 2018
I guess they still "Raise the Roof" in South Dakota 🤔
— The Dude from Frogtown (@Cary_P871) March 15, 2018
I love that Ohio State and South Dakota State have a “raise the roof” battle going.
— Alex Bozich (@insidethehall) March 15, 2018
Not everyone is keen on the battle, mind you.
For every athlete and prospective athlete out there, don't "raise the roof" after doing something cool on national TV. #LifeHack https://t.co/v42sUZzvUC
— Toshi Riggins (@MoElliottRiggs) March 15, 2018
Mike Daum probably owns a laser disc player. https://t.co/B5tS8PKmK3
— Brad Evans (@YahooNoise) March 15, 2018
Maybe he can make a name in the NBA. Until then he can raise the roof in SD after this game.
— Jordan Greene (@CollardGreene3) March 15, 2018
And also...Raise the roof finally made it to South Dakota. Which is nice.
— Timmy Hall (@TimHall971) March 15, 2018
Okay...that’s enough of the “Raise the Roof” deal. #MarchMadness
— Jay Elsen (@ElsenMidcoSN) March 15, 2018
Still some other folks weren't mad, just confused.
@talkhoops @snark_tank #SnarkHoops Do people still "raise the roof"? Because it just happened in a tournament game and I'm SUPER confused.
— Sean Rosales (@Sean_ESPN) March 15, 2018
Daum and Bates-Diop are living up to their status as marquee players of their respective teams. In a shootout, Daum and Bates-Diop had 17 in the half in a tie ball-game at 43. But leave it to teams from Ohio and South Dakota to have a raise the roof battle in Boise. That shouldn't surprise anyone as much as it seems to.