#1 Ohio State 67, #2 Georgetown 60 (Final)

[LitlBuck]

Now this guy knows what he is talking about:
Ohio State has the stars, and the guts link


The Buckeyes certainly have plenty of star power with Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. The two freshmen honed their skills at Lawrence North (Indianapolis) High School and play with a sixth sense of knowing where the other will be at all times. But more than the chummy story of the two best friends/buddies/future NBA stars playing together in college, the story of Ohio State?s success is the team basketball that Matta has been successful at bringing to Columbus

more

 

[osugrad21]

Link

What bettors need to know: Georgetown vs. Ohio State


Wed, Mar 28, 2007

By Josh Hansen
The matchup: No. 2 Georgetown Hoyas vs. No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes
The line: Georgetown -1
Foul Play
It?s too bad this heavyweight fight has the potential of lasting about as long as a Hollywood marriage.
Georgetown?s Roy Hibbert can?t seem to keep his hands off opposing players. Hibbert fouled out of Georgetown?s miraculous win over Vanderbilt and somehow escaped the overtime win against North Carolina without drawing a fifth personal.
The Hoyas can?t afford to lose their anchor on defense against Ohio State because Greg Oden will eat the Hoyas for lunch if Hibbert is booted. Ohio State?s freakish freshman is a force both defensively and offensively. But then again, this will be Oden?s first game playing someone taller than he is. Oden played 7-footers Brook and Robin Lopez of Stanford during a McDonald's summer camp and reportedly didn?t do so hot.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Oden, Hibbert took different roads to get here

Jeff Goodman / FOXSports.com
Posted: 1 hour ago

Greg Oden was always considered the finished product. Strong, agile and dominant nearly every time he took the court. Roy Hibbert was always known as a project. Unorthodox in his movements, gangly and someone who somehow managed to blend in despite his massive size.

Now the two big men, who share a similar demeanor but come from opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of expectations, will battle one another when Oden's Ohio State Buckeyes face Hibbert's Georgetown Hoyas Saturday in the Final Four.
The 7-foot-2 Hibbert was brought along slowly by John Thompson III. He averaged 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds as a freshman and shot just 47 percent from the field while playing less than 16 minutes per game. His confidence was sorely lacking.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

DDN

OSU will try a variety of ways to stop Green

Big East player of the year could prove tough to contain on Saturday.




By Mark Gokavi
Staff Writer

Thursday, March 29, 2007

COLUMBUS ? Sure, Georgetown's Jeff Green may have traveled during his last-second game-winner against Vanderbilt in the East Regional semifinals.
But the 6-foot-9, 235-pound junior made it look good and hit the shot despite a double-team.


"He's almost like an extra point guard out there with how he plays," Ohio State associate head coach John Groce said of Green. "We've told our guys he will be the most complete basketball player we've played all year. He's a player that just doesn't have a weakness."

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

DDN

Buckeyes prepare for Georgetown rematch

​

By Mark Gokavi
Staff Writer

Thursday, March 29, 2007
COLUMBUS ? It wasn't the finest exhibition of basketball in Ohio State history.
Last year's second-round loss to Georgetown at UD Arena was a 70-52 defeat, but may have felt worse than that.


"We've debated whether to show our guys any film from last year or not," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "Because it wasn't real pretty."

Cont...

 

[Best Buckeye]

Oden will equalize Hibbert, who will do the same for green. That could be a telling answer.

 

[LitlBuck]

Oden will equalize Hibbert, who will do the same for green. That could be a telling answer.

If they don't go zone, I think Lewis will have to step up. Green is too athletic for Hunter.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

If they don't go zone, I think Lewis will have to step up. Green is too athletic for Hunter.

I think you will see someone like Lewis, Lighy or Cook on Green or maybe Harris, unless he goes inside...

I have not watched GTown play awhole lot, but I do believe that Summers plays more of the PF than Green who plays more SF...

I could be wrong and they could interchange...Either way both Summers and Green are project SF in the NBA, if that means anything...

Harris or Hunter will match with one of them and either of the 3 I mentioned above will man the other one...

 

[BB73]

A link to the full transcript of the Final Four conference call, with all 4 head coaches.

official.site

...
Q. Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert get most of the attention for you guys, rightfully so. How integral is Jonathan Wallace to your success this year?

COACH THOMPSON: He's key. As you said, Jeff and Roy are going to get the attention, and they should. But John is someone that from the time -- from his freshman year, he's someone that I recruited, told him, You're never going to play. You're going to be a starter from the day you walk in the door. That's just a testament to how tough he is, to his upbringing, to his beliefs in what we're doing.

He's a kid that gives you an honest day's effort every single day.
Q. Ohio State assistant said that Green has no weaknesses. Is that true? You talk about his improvement, what sort of matchups Ohio State might throw at him.

COACH THOMPSON: Maybe you can help me with what they're going to throw at him.

You know, Jeff Green, I've said this many, many times, is the smartest player I've coached. That's just relative to understanding what we're showing him, why we're showing him, when to apply it. He's a person that can place everyone on the court where they should be. But he has the unique ability to be able to see things happen two, three, four passes down the line. Then you couple that with his intelligence, with his God-given ability, you couple that intelligence with his work ethic, you have a very special player.

Cont'd ...

 

[mooktarr]

Oden will equalize Hibbert, who will do the same for green. That could be a telling answer.

Good question BB. Can Hunter and/ or Harris match up with Green? or lighty.
I think so

 

[PlanetFrnd]

Time.com

Race and the Georgetown Offense

By SEAN GREGORY
When John Thompson III, coach of the Georgetown University men's basketball team, took over the moribund program there three years ago, a persistent question hovered over him, the way Patrick Ewing once loomed over point guards when Thompson's father, Hall of Famer John Thompson Jr., coached the Hoyas during their 1980s glory years. Could he really import the Princeton Offense, the precise, pass-happy basketball style that Thompson absorbed as both player and coach at the Ivy League school, to a team like Georgetown, which competes in the high-powered Big East conference? Consider the Hoyas' most notable hoops alum over the past decade, Allen Iverson, who still enjoys hoisting 20 shots a game in the NBA... (Cont'd)

 

[korchiki]

Good question BB. Can Hunter and/ or Harris match up with Green? or lighty.
I think so

Matching up is different than slowing him down...honestly I don't think we can match up anyone with him...hunter isn't athletic enough and lighty isn't big enough...but i do think that they can help slow him down...and then if we are in the zone and force wallace to beat us with threes i like our chances

 

[PlanetFrnd]

Matching up is different than slowing him down...honestly I don't think we can match up anyone with him...hunter isn't athletic enough and lighty isn't big enough...but i do think that they can help slow him down...and then if we are in the zone and force wallace to beat us with threes i like our chances

I agree. If the team can show JG enough different looks defensively to keep him off balance and off his game, that would be enough. This game in particular will definitely NOT come down to a 1-on-1 showdown, even in the post.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Matching up is different than slowing him down...honestly I don't think we can match up anyone with him...hunter isn't athletic enough and lighty isn't big enough...but i do think that they can help slow him down...and then if we are in the zone and force wallace to beat us with threes i like our chances

This is more like I think will happen. Greg will have to help out in the paint but if he leaves Hibbert someone will have to adjust. Backside help .

 

[Jagdaddy]

It will also be interesting to see how much 2-3 zone the Buckeyes use, and if they are able to get defensive rebounds while in the zone.

I think they'll play a lot of 2-3 zone. Syracuse has won something like 7 of their last 8 match ups with the Hoyas using their 2-3 zone, which admittedly is their bread and butter. I think the Bucks can rebound well enough if Oden stays on the floor. Otherwise, rebounding may be problematic. The Hoyas' guards are underrated shooters IMO, but I'd still pick that poison first.