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#1 Ohio State 78, Valparaiso 58 (Final)

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No. 3 Ohio St. 78, Valparaiso 58

No. 3 Ohio St. 78, Valparaiso 58Preview - Box Score - Recap
By RUSTY MILLER, AP Sports Writer
December 2, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The wait was worth it for No. 3 Ohio State and prized big man Greg Oden.
In his first competition in seven months, the 7-foot freshman, touted by some as the best U.S.-born big man in a generation, had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Buckeyes past Valparaiso 78-58 on Saturday.
Oden had not played summer ball or with the Buckeyes since undergoing surgery June 16 to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist.
Daequan Cook scored 20 points and Ron Lewis had 10 for Ohio State (7-1), coming off a 98-89 loss at No. 7 North Carolina on Wednesday night. Mike Conley Jr., Oden's teammate at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, added seven points and seven assists.
Samuel Haanpaa had 16 points, Brandon McPherson 11 and Urule Igbavboa 10 for Valparaiso (3-4), which lost its fourth in a row.
Valparaiso pulled even at 18 on McPherson's layup with just over 9 minutes left in the opening half but was outscored 15-4 before the break. Ohio State then opened the second half with a 14-0 run.
One of the highlights for Oden came with 6 1/2 minutes left. Ducking behind a teammate and then leaping high, he swatted Moussa Mbaye's shot back at him. When McPherson got the rebound and drove the lane, Oden blocked that, too, prompting the crowd of 17,311 to shower him with a second standing ovation.
Oden had worked on his conditioning and had occasionally participated in drills with the Buckeyes but didn't play in their first seven games. The target date for him to begin full practices was Jan. 1, but he healed quickly and passed a strength test given to him by team doctors on Friday night. His surgeon in Indianapolis then cleared him to play Saturday.
A roar went up at 16:37 of the opening half when Oden stood, stripped off his warmups and walked slowly to midcourt to check in. He was greeted by a standing ovation of almost 30 seconds.
Seconds later, the Crusaders' Igbavboa put up a looping 12-footer. Oden jumped high -- the ball barely going over the tips of his fingers before falling through the net. The crowd oohed at how high Oden jumped, at his mammoth wingspan and how close he came to blocking the shot. Oden scored his first point at 12:56 of the opening half with a left-handed free throw. He wore an elastic brace on his right wrist and hand. He hit just 8 of 15 free throws and was 3-for-4 from the field. He also had five blocked shots in 23 minutes. Oden was the nation's top recruit and was widely perceived as the No. 1 player in the NBA draft -- if the league hadn't changed its rules to prevent high school graduates from immediately jumping to the pros.
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he did well, almost a double double. not bad for his first start. I thought the team had to get used to him being in there. They played better the 2nd half. All in all I was happy with the play and the game. Oden had 5 or six blocks too
 
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Greg Oden made a fantastic debut as a Buckeye today. 14 pts, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots and shot around 50% from the free throw line with his off hand. I'm pretty excited to see what the rest of the season will be like.
 
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