COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mark Berger thought for a second that perhaps David Egelhoff had gone rogue. Berger wasn’t expecting a phone call last September from someone inquiring about a possible Ohio State and Cincinnati basketball series. That call hadn’t come in nearly 100 years. So why wait on it?



“I asked him if he’s cleared this with the people above him before I take it to anybody here and take a step out of my office,” Berger, an assistant to coach Mick Cronin who handles UC’s scheduling, told The Athletic.



Cronin had the same thought. Did Egelhoff, Ohio State’s director of basketball operations, have clearance to make this call?



He did, of course. In fact he was encouraged by OSU athletic director Gene Smith and coach Chris Holtmann. But nobody at UC, not Berger, Cronin or their AD Mike Bohn knew that when the phone first rang in September.



“I think they thought it was a joke in the...