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#4 Ohio State 107, VMI 69 (Final)

VMI should be easy. Last in their conference last season and picked to do the same.

Princeton/Loyola winner could be a test. Loyola has a 6'7" guard projected to be the Horizon League POY (Blake Schilb).
 
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Oh8ch;654417; said:
VMI should be easy. Last in their conference last season and picked to do the same.

Princeton/Loyola winner could be a test. Loyola has a 6'7" guard projected to be the Horizon League POY (Blake Schilb).

I hope we play Loyola in the second round; Schilb was honorable mention all-American last year and has a good shot at making an NBA team. Here's a little info on the Ramblers.
Ramblers Claim Top Spot in Preseason Poll
Loyola begins the 2006-07 campaign as the favorite to win the Horizon League championship. The Ramblers, coming off a 19-11 season which was the program's best showing in 21 years, have all five starters and ten of 11 letterwinners back, including preseason Player of the Year Blake Schilb plus fellow senior Majak Kou in the backcourt.

Schilb earned All-America Honorable Mention from the Associated Press last season, averaging 19.1 points and 3.9 assists per game (second and fifth in the League, respectively), plus 5.2 rebounds per contest.

Schilb has a chance to join a select group of ten players to win three First-Team All-League honors, and has reached double figures in scoring in 32 consecutive regular-season League games. He also ranked tenth in steals and third in free-throw accuracy last winter.

The six-foot-five Kou was second on the League charts with 1.50 blocked shots per game a year ago, trailing only Horizon League Player of the Year Brandon Polk of Butler in that category. Kou, who was fourth with 1.57 steals per contest, earned a spot on the League's All-Defensive Team while also posting 12.8 points per outing.

J.R. Blount and Leon Young both made dramatic impacts as freshmen a year ago, with Blount averaging 11.3 points per outing while Young provided 10.4 points a night and finished fifth in the League with his 7.2 rebounds-per-game norm.
 
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Dispatch

riday, November 10, 2006
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Preview: VMI at No. 4 Ohio State

Associated Press
Thu, Nov 9, 2006


Greg Oden`s much-anticipated college basketball debut will have to wait.

The highly touted, 7-foot freshman will watch from the bench as he recovers from a wrist injury when fourth-ranked Ohio State opens its season against VMI on Friday in the Black Coaches Association Classic. Oddsmakers have yet to release a line for this game.

A two-time national high school player of the year who was the nation`s top recruit, Oden might be sidelined until the calendar turns to 2007 due to a torn ligament in his right wrist suffered in February. Oden underwent surgery and is limited in practice, but is expected back for Ohio State`s Big Ten opener against Indiana on Jan. 2.

Oden, who scored 1,873 points and grabbed 1,058 rebounds during his high school career, might have been the No. 1 pick in last summer`s NBA draft if it weren`t for the rule change requiring players to spend at least one year in college before going pro. Oden, however, is eager to play his first collegiate game and has enjoyed life on campus.

``He wants to experience the college environment, and he still hasn`t got to experience that yet,`` said Mike Conley Jr., one of Ohio State`s five heralded newcomers and a teammate of Oden at Indianapolis` Lawrence North High School.

``He still thinks he needs to get better.``

Oden`s teammates don`t believe he will be rusty when he finally makes his college debut.

``From what he`s shown in practice, I`m sure he`ll have NO trouble adjusting,`` said Matt Terwilliger, who will play some center until Oden returns. ``Everything within seven feet of the basket is an easy dunk for him, with how he gets up for rebounds and things.

``He`s so much more advanced (mentally) than most freshmen. Just the way he goes through drills, thinking about positioning and how quickly he picks things up. The mental aspect won`t be a factor with him.``

The Buckeyes will have plenty of able bodies to overcome the absence of Oden, who was selected to the preseason All-Big Ten team.

Ohio State returns five letterwinners from last year`s team that finished 26-6 - 12-4 in the conference - and won its first outright Big Ten title since 1992. The Buckeyes earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but lost to Georgetown in the second round.

Others in Ohio State`s talented freshman class include Conley and fellow guard Daequan Cook, who like Oden were McDonald`s All-Americans. Forward David Lighty was an all-state first-teamer in Ohio last season, and 6-9 junior college transfer Othello Hunter is expected to contribute right away.

All four of those newcomers were in the starting lineup for Ohio State in its 87-62 exhibition win over Walsh University last Sunday.

Top returning scorer Ron Lewis (11.2 ppg) and point guard Jamar Butler, who was fourth in the Big Ten in 3-point accuracy (41.4 percent) in 2005-06, played well last season for the Buckeyes. Ivan Harris, who started 32 games in 2004-05, joins Lewis as the only seniors on the roster.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who is 46-18 in two seasons at Ohio State, likes the way the freshmen have fit in with his veterans.

``I think the respect for the upperclassmen from the freshmen is there, and they deserve it,`` said Matta, who agreed to a new contract that runs through 2014-15. ``All of our veteran players have done a tremendous job of welcoming the new guys in. They are a very close group, and that is exciting for me to see.``

Ohio State, which is 31-3 at home under Matta, averaged 73.8 points per game last season to rank second in the Big Ten behind Michigan State (74.1).

VMI will take a 12-game losing streak into its first meeting with Ohio State. The Keydets finished 7-20 last season and 2-14 in the Big South Conference.

Second-team All-Big South pick Reggie Williams, who led VMI in scoring with 19.0 points per game, returns for a team picked to finish last in the conference for the second straight year despite returning four starters and 10 letterwinners.

``With our top five players back, we feel like the future is bright for VMI basketball,`` said coach Duggar Baucom, whose Keydets have not had a winning season since going 18-10 in 1995-96.

VMI has lost its last nine games against Top 25 teams.
 
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