#1 Ohio State 89, #6 North Carolina 98 (Final)

[jimotis4heisman]

few quick thoughts

pace of the game we essentially got run out of the gym, conditioning maybe, but i give credit to williams and the depth he has on his team. 12 deep is impressive, especially when he "shortens" the bench to 8 or so

interior passing i thought it was a weakness last year even with the b10poy in the post. the team needs to get set and get their big men set if they want to actually utilize them. its very very very hard to beat a good team without an inside game.

ron lewis scored 28 points, but im not pimping him like everyone else. had 4 tos that led to double digit points on the other end. offensively in the groove, though he needs to make his game more complete if he really wants to lead this team.

cook foul trouble hurt him and his aggresive style. 14 and 9 were very quiet. atleast to me, i thought i was sort of disappointed in his play till i saw he nearly had a double double.

harris showed up huge last year in the um game when he "microwaved" the game. no doubt the kid can heat anything up in a minute. but what i liked was, what was that ivan a little defense? looked like it to me. got credit for 1 rb, i swear he had a handful more. is this finally a kid emerging or once again this enigma at work.

15 the number of tunrovers. just about were you expect a normal game. (12 is the magic number less than that and thats very good) actually impressive with the uptempo and young kids to me.

41 to 27 people are complaining about the fouls (rightfully so, but they played a more aggresive and physical game thus they should have a larger spread) but thats the rebounding number. i harp and harp on rebounding. its becoming a trademark of mattas teams to get outrebounded, its very very difficult to beat a quality opponent if you cant rebound the ball.

16 number of offensive rebound we gave up. no idea how many points that led to but way to many second chances.


what really happened...

in the second half
we were outrebounded 20 to 10.
got tripled in points of tunronvers
gave up 15 second chance points while scoring 8





what can be taken away from this
these kids are good, they didnt quit. they played hard and with intensity the whole game, maybe to fault to hard.

its a loss in cbb, a great learning point. and to me a good thing it deflates a little of the pressure and will give this kids a little more fire. these kids are competitors, only going to fuel the fire.

the oden deal. he didnt play. cant say what would have happened with him. it doesnt matter to me. you play the game with who you have dressed. if you win, you won. if you lose, you lost.

you cant blame the officials, no matter what happens you have to play through that and raise your game. it wont be the last tiime the officiating will be questionable, the good teams play through it, the great teams rise above it...

all in all im happy. sure its an L, but so many postives to look at and so many aspects were exposed to work on. thats what its about in cbb, priming yourself to peak in march...

 

[Oh8ch]

Great summary Otis.

Agree on Lewis having some holes in his game - including defensive lapses. But his offense was so strong last night that I would take his game if others can pick up the slack.

I was surprised Matta went with the pace of the game given our lack of depth, but we were running as much as they were in the first half.

And to be balanced, we need to concede that we were shooting over our heads in the first half. We have some great shooters, but 60% from 3-range is not something you can call part of your game. Play NC 10 times on a neutral court and we will be lucky to win two without Oden. The calls may fall more in our favor, but the shots likely will not. And NC did not play good D the first 20 - something they are very capable of.

You are also correct about rebounding. I am willing to concede that battle - along with a loss here or there - until Oden comes back. We just don't have the horses up front and we all know it. But Oden and future recruiting will take care of that problem nicely.

 

[bostonbuckeye17]

you have to remember...UNC shot over 50% from the field for the whole game too...they can't always have 65% shooting for a half as well.

tOSU
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-33 54.5% 2nd Half: 16-32 50.0% Game: 52.3%

UNC
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-35 42.9% 2nd Half: 19-29 65.5% Game: 53.1%


i'd say both teams shot a little better than they should have against such high competition...it was a great offensive game all around!

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Been gone for a couple days, but have to come and give my thoughts on the game.

I think we proved last nite that we can play with and beat anyone in the country.

I am not one that is about moral victories, so it really sucks that we lose. Especially with the early lead in the first half.

The thing is we didnt even have our best player and gave UNC all they could handle in the Dean Dome. Even Dickie V said it might of been as loud as he had ever heard it.

If we put Oden into that game, you can at least say he gets 4-5 blocks and at least 10pts on putbacks and dunks. He would also of been altering all the shots that they were getting inside the paint.

That is where we lost the game was inside the paint and our guys got in some foul trouble halting their aggressiveness at times.

I thought Lewis played a great game in terms of stepping up and making a big play when we needed it.

Conley showed last nite why he is special. When UNC made their runs he did the penetrating and kicking that we so desperatly needed. He needs to learn that with a guy like Hansbrough in the middle that he can't always attack the rim like he can against some other teams. I believe he got blocked twice if not 3 times. IMO I am glad that we have him over Lawson. Yes Lawson is extremely quick and can get up and down the court, but he doesnt have the jumper like Conley and doesnt have the smarts like him either.

Cook kinda dissapointed me in terms of his aggressiveness. He had good numbers, but I didnt think that he asserted himself enough. IMO he was the only kid on the court that kinda got starry eyed. Ellington came out with a big game last nite and proved maybe why he was rated over Cook. Either way Cook will get more pt and will be more valuable to his team down the stretch. I think Ellington was the key to the vicotry for UNC.

I think that Butler will get it together, but I think at this time he misses having Jekel beside of him and not another pg. I think he will eventually get used to it, but Butler has always played with the ball in his hands ever since he can remember, and it is just taking time. I also wish that he would do a little off the dribble.

Harris came up big and played as hard as I have ever seen him play.

Twig played a solid game as well, and really battled, but he was obviouslly overmatched inside. He will be fine once he starts playing the 4.

Hunter also played solid, but foul trouble hampered him as well.


IMO the top teams in the country right now are UF, UNC, Pitt, UCLA, Kansas, and us. With Oden I don't see any problem why we can't top that list.

I would love to see a rematch in the tourney and see Oden and Hansbrough go toe to toe.

 

[Oh8ch]

If we put Oden into that game, you can at least say he gets 4-5 blocks and at least 10pts on putbacks and dunks. He would also of been altering all the shots that they were getting inside the paint.

With Oden it completely changes the way NC plays that game. You simply don't go inside once he is in the middle. That in turn allows the rest of the team to turn up the heat on the perimeter.

I am trying to recall a team that had a center like Oden will/could/should be AND perimeter players like we have on the court.

Can't wait.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

With Oden it completely changes the way NC plays that game. You simply don't go inside once he is in the middle. That in turn allows the rest of the team to turn up the heat on the perimeter.

I am trying to recall a team that had a center like Oden will/could/should be AND perimeter players like we have on the court.

Can't wait.

Exactally Wright and Hansbrough don't get all their points and Lawson doesnt get half of what he got when he got inside.

 

[IronBuckI]

Who is this Oden that you speak of? I don't think the guys on ESPN mentioned him.

 

[BuckFanAtAkron]

I hate how dickie V loves the ACC and i would be pissed if i was not a osu fan because they said oden's name about 50 times

 

[jimotis4heisman]

you have to remember...UNC shot over 50% from the field for the whole game too...they can't always have 65% shooting for a half as well.

tOSU
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-33 54.5% 2nd Half: 16-32 50.0% Game: 52.3%

UNC
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-35 42.9% 2nd Half: 19-29 65.5% Game: 53.1%


i'd say both teams shot a little better than they should have against such high competition...it was a great offensive game all around!

when you give up 19 layups and 5 dunks they will....

 

[Thump]

Heard the Asian chick was Ron Lewis's wife but that's just something I read on another messageboard.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Last night was a great college basketballl game and to just think we would not be seeing this if not for the NBA rule.

I have a few observations:

UNC is very, very athletic but they are not very good at guarding the perimeter and we took advantage of that just like I thought we would prior to the game. Ohio State is better than everyone thought, they battled on the road against a top five team and their best player hasn't played a minute yet. Our problems with rebounding, interior defense and our inability to score points in the paint will be solved when big #20 hits the court in a few games. I was very impressed by Harris, in my opinion he did not force any shots and played decent on defense. Conley needs to work on his perimeter shot, they started to sag off of him in the second half. I thought he played a very good game overall. Butler needs to be more aggressive on the offensive end. One thing is for sure, Ohio State proved they belong in the top 5 even without Oden. This is a step in the right direction, bring on Valpo and its one game closer to Oden hitting the court.

 

[CookyPuss]

This was my first opportunity to see this team and there was waaaaaaayyyyyy too much to digest. I kept saying "Wow, look at that guy!" "Oooh, look at that!" "Who was that?" Can't wait until UC/FL and Big 10 season.

 

[OH10]

Apparently, even following last night's game, Luke Winn doesn't think Ohio State should even be in the top 20.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/luke_winn/11/30/power.rankings/2.html

It's amazing to me the amount of unjustified disrespect this team is getting from the basketball columnists. It's just as amazing the amount of unjustified respect this team gets in the polls. I think the two are related (columnist backlash).

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Pre-Oden Ohio State takes hit, but looks like a force

ESPN.com

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Greg who?
Honestly, if you were watching No. 1 Ohio State for the first 20 minutes against No. 6 North Carolina on Wednesday night, you had to ask yourself if this Ohio State team needed another player, even a potential superstar in 7-foot Greg Oden, to win at one of the loudest and most difficult road stops in the country.

Kevin C. Cox/WireImage.com
Buckeyes freshman Greg Oden, in street clothes, takes in top-ranked Ohio State's 98-89 loss to North Carolina.




But then, reality hit Ohio State, and as the Tar Heels continued to go inside in turning a four-point halftime deficit into a 98-89 victory in the headliner of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, you see the difference Oden would make for the Buckeyes. You can visualize that once Oden is cleared sometime around New Year's Day to play after sitting out the fall semester following right wrist surgery to repair ligament damage, the Buckeyes will join North Carolina, Florida, Kansas, UCLA and Pitt as one of the few favorites to win the national championship.
"They've got a big-time team and when Greg Oden gets back and is playing for them, they're going to be a heck of a team," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said.
"The encouraging thing for us is that we're waiting on Greg," said Ohio State counterpart Thad Matta, whose star freshman center was on the bench wearing a white shirt and black slacks, with a white towel draped around his neck. "Where they got us [Wednesday night] are in areas where he's going to help us a lot."
Freshman point guard Tywon Lawson, who like his Tar Heel classmates is familiar with Oden from the summer and all-star game circuits, said bluntly: "They were missing that tough inside presence, and if he were there when we'd go in the lane, he would block all our shots."
UNC sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough, named preseason player of the year by a number of media outlets, scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half by finally attacking the makeshift Buckeye post play. He also had a career-high 14 rebounds, but what if Hansbrough had Oden to contend with?
"You guys know how good Oden is," he said. "But at the same time you can't look at maybe he was there or not. We still played Ohio State."
It's not December yet, at least for another day, but the Buckeyes' take-that attitude on display at the Smith Center, their 3-point shooting (8-for-13 in the first half, 12-for-their-first-19, 13-for-26 for the game) and overall offensive talent at four of the five positions save Oden's center spot (held for now by Matt Terwilliger and Othello Hunter), was certainly a wake-up call for anyone who doubted the team to this point (can't see the raised hand here).
It was easy, and maybe too simplistic, to question the Buckeyes (6-1) because they hadn't left Columbus for their first six games, where they beat programs from mid- to low-major conferences, the best of the bunch being Loyola of Illinois, Kent State and Youngstown State).
The Ohio State team for all to see at the Smith Center, the one that will face Valparaiso and Cleveland State without Oden, is awfully good. Ron Lewis, a transfer from Bowling Green, is emerging as a high-major stud after finishing with 30 points. Jamar Butler (five assists and no turnovers) is as steady a lead guard. Ivan Harris, the senior who is one of three remaining Jim O'Brien recruits, is as deft a 3-point threat as any other Buckeyel he scored 17 points and was 5-for-8 from 3-point range.
And we haven't even named the freshmen yet. Daequan Cook (14), Mike Conley Jr. (eight assists and three turnovers) and David Lighty (2-for-3 on 3s) weren't fazed at all by the raucous baby blue-clad Dean Dome crowd.
"It was impressive the way they knocked down big-time shots," Carolina freshman Wayne Ellington said of the Buckeyes' 10-point first-half lead. "They played with great confidence. They're a big-time basketball team."
Matta's mind-set was to attack from the outset; his Buckeyes looked fearless. Sure, the Tar Heels swung this game back late by going right at the Buckeyes via the post in the second half, shooting 65.5 percent (19 of 29 overall, 4 of 8 on 3s). So, if the game taught the Buckeyes one thing, it's that their defense still isn't there yet. But it's coming along.
Oden's projected return date officially remains Jan. 1, but don't think for a second that he's definitely out for all of December's games -- against Cincinnati on the 16th in his hometown of Indianapolis; against Iowa State on the 19th; at Florida on the 23rd; or against Coppin State on Dec. 30.
"I have no idea," Harris said when asked about an Oden return date, "but when he comes back we'll be a complete team. ... North Carolina is a tough team to play and this was our first tough matchup, but I believe we can hang with anybody in the country."
The Tar Heels felt the same way after winning for the fifth time in six games. They were in need of some sort of pick-me-up after still feeling the fallout of a loss to Gonzaga last week in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
"We went to New York expecting to win, and so we needed this second half [Wednesday] to take it right back at them," Lawson said. "But we learned a lot about our defense. We have to stop teams from driving and kicking it out."
"We had to match their intensity," Hansbrough added. "We had to fight through it and it was a challenge for us. We learned we've got to play a full 40 minutes. Personally, I needed this. I was disappointed with the Gonzaga game and have a chip on my shoulder."
Hansbrough scored nine points in that loss, making a mere two shots in five attempts. He was 8-for-16 Wednesday and didn't miss any of his five second-half attempts.
"I feel like I regained my intensity, but I still keep Gonzaga on my mind," he said.
Could we see these teams meet again, say sometime in late March, maybe in Atlanta?
"The way we play isn't going to change," Lewis said. "We're going to play hard with or without Oden. He's not here. So, we go out and play basketball. One person doesn't change the game."
Still, just imagine when he does play how good Ohio State can be this season.
"We'll see," Ellington said. "Greg is a great player, and he'll do nothing but contribute to Ohio State." Andy Katz is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Game photos.....

Ohio State's Greg Oden walks off of the court after a college basketball game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. North Carolina won 98-89. Oden is sidelined with a broken wrist. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Ohio State's David Lighty, top, and North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough battle for the ball during the second half of a college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. North Carolina won 98-89. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Ohio State's Mike Conley Jr. (1) and North Carolina's Bobby Frasor (4) battle during the second half of a college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. North Carolina won 98-89. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough blocks Ohio State's Mike Conley Jr. (1) during the second half of a college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. North Carolina won 98-89. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Ohio State head coach Thad Matta watches from the sidelines during second half of a college basketball game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. North Carolina won 98-89.(AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Ohio State's David Lighty, bottom, battles North Carolina's Danny Green during the first half of a college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Ohio State's Mike Conley Jr. (1) guards North Carolina's Ty Lawson (5) during the half of a college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Ohio State's Othello Hunter (45) guards North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough (50) during the half of a college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Ohio State coach Thad Matta coaches his team against North Carolina during a college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Ohio State's Daequan Cook, left, and North Carolina's Alex Stepheson (32) battle during the first half of a college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Ohio State's Ron Lewis (12) drives to the basket against North Carolina's Reyshawn Terry (3) during the first half of a college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)