#4 Ohio State 74, Eastern Kentucky 45 (Final)

[MrsB]

Is it halftime?

 

[OregonBuckeye]

Is it halftime?

The game is over.

OSU: 74
EKU: 45

 

[booster buckeye]

Not much of a game I see. Well they need practice.

Good Game Buckeyes !

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

Buckeyes smash Eastern Ky. in basketball
Saturday, November 18, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Defense and Daequan Cook were a pretty good tandem for No. 5 Ohio State.



The Buckeyes forced 26 turnovers and freshman sub Cook scored 22 points in a 74-45 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Friday night.


"My teammates got me some wide-open shots and I knocked 'em down," said Cook, who hit his first seven shots for the Buckeyes (4-0).


Over the first 7 1/2 minutes, Eastern Kentucky (2-1) scored 15 points while hitting seven of its eight shots from the field with only one turnover. The Colonels then scored two points over the next 9 minutes, making one of seven shots with 10 turnovers.


"Our team came out and executed very well to start both halves," Eastern Kentucky coach Jeff Neubauer said. "It's once we got into the flow that we got a little bit rattled. They did apply more pressure as the game went on and that created quite a few more turnovers."


The Colonels averaged 11 turnovers in their first two wins.


"We knew coming into tonight's game that we wanted to dictate the tempo," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "For the most part we did a good job of playing sound defense."



Cook scored 12 points in his first 7 minutes then added five more in a 20-2 run that gave Ohio State a 35-17 lead. The Buckeyes made 17 of 24 shots from the field in the first half, including 5 of 10 from behind the arc.


Cook had 16 points in the opening half as the Buckeyes built a 43-23 advantage.


There was a festive atmosphere in the sellout crowd. Many of the fans seemed to be building up steam for the football clash on Saturday between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan at nearby Ohio Stadium.


The Buckeyes wore gray uniforms for the first time in 10 years.

"I told them during the first timeout that those uniforms are going back if they didn't start playing defense," Matta said with a laugh.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

NO. 5 OHIO STATE 74 EASTERN KENTUCKY 45
Cook scores 22, helps Ohio State smoke Eastern

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

TERRY GILLIAM ASSOCIATED PRESS Ohio State?s David Lighty goes high to block a shot by Eastern Kentucky?s Darnell Dialls in the first half.


Coach Thad Matta wanted Ohio State fans to get warmed up for today.

Well, if the football team induces its opponent into a small fraction of the miscues Matta?s men?s basketball team created last night, hide the couches and empty the dumpsters.

Eastern Kentucky committed 14 turnovers in the last 12 minutes of the first half, and 26 for the game, and No. 5 Ohio State started Michigan weekend with a bang, smoking Eastern Kentucky 74-45 before the season?s first sold-out if not capacity crowd in Value City Arena.

Those who showed up also saw the Buckeyes wear their new, gray uniforms for the first time.

"We knew coming into tonight?s game that we wanted to try to dictate, to the best of our ability, the tempo," Matta said. "We lost our intensity a couple times in the second half, not getting matched up and giving them some open looks. But for the most part I thought we did a pretty good job of playing sound defense."

Freshman Daequan Cook came off the bench to lead Ohio State (4-0) with 22 points, 16 of them in the first half, when he made all seven of his shots from the field.

"I didn?t really pay attention to how many shots I made. I just played my game," Cook said. "It was mainly my teammates getting me open and going with the flow of the game and getting to the open spots on the court."

Freshman Mike Conley Jr. added 13 points, making all six of his shots from the field, and had three of OSU?s 15 steals. Jamar Butler had four steals.

"We wanted to wear them down. We knew if we wore them down with the press, it would lead to turnovers," Butler said. "We really weren?t trying to turn them over (as much as) just trying to shrink the shot clock; that way, they couldn?t set up and run their offense."

The festivities began with the obligatory Michigan vulgarity from the upper deck of the arena before the national anthem was played. That brought a smile to Greg Oden?s face.

Ohio State pressed from the outset, but it was nothing more than a nagging inconvenience for Eastern Kentucky, which made seven of its first eight shots from the field and led 11-5 before being tied at 15.

The end for the Colonels began soon after. Conley tipped a pass on the press to force one turnover and the Buckeyes simultaneously seemed to turn up the intensity in their halfcourt defense, as well, forcing four more turnovers in Eastern?s next six possessions.

Ohio State outscored the Colonels 20-2 in a span of 8 minutes, 39 seconds and went to halftime leading 43-23. Eastern scored the first five points of the second half but got no closer.

"I think our team executed very well to start both halves," Eastern Kentucky coach Jeff Neubauer said.

"It?s after the game got into a flow that we got rattled. They applied more pressure as the game went on.

"I was happy with our offense at times when we didn?t turn it over."
The return to gray uniforms for the first time in 10 years was a surprise even to the players.

"We wore white out there to warm up with and we came back in and they had gray hanging up in our locker," Conley said. "We were real surprised. We thought they looked real good."

Matta said he had no particular reason for having the team wear the new uniforms when it did. "I just like them in scarlet and gray," he said.

"I told coach (Jim) Tressel I was going to tell you guys that when they took the gray out of the sleeves of the football uniforms ? which has really hurt the team ? that we just got all the leftover material. He told me, ?If you say that, I?ll kill you.? "

Matta?s safe for today, at least. Tressel has another target in his sights.

[email protected]

Saturday, November 18, 2006

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

OHIO STATE
Cook sinks his first seven shots as Buckeyes roll

Dunbar High School grad scores 22 as OSU whips Eastern Kentucky, 74-45.


Associated Press


Saturday, November 18, 2006


COLUMBUS ? Daequan Cook has not only accepted coming off the bench, he's embracing it.
The freshman swingman hit his first seven shots and finished with 22 points to lead No. 5 Ohio State over Eastern Kentucky 74-45 Friday night.
"I have no problem with it," he said of his role providing instant offense. "Everybody can't start. There are no stars on this team. Everybody's going to play."
Cook and Ohio State's trapping defense were the differences as the Buckeyes (4-0) broke free after the Colonels (2-1) got off to a hot start.
Over the first 7? minutes, Eastern Kentucky scored 15 points while hitting seven of its eight shots from the field with only one turnover. The Colonels then scored two points over the next 9 minutes, making one of seven shots with 10 turnovers.
"Our team came out and executed very well to start both halves," Eastern Kentucky coach Jeff Neubauer said. "It's once we got into the flow that we got a little bit rattled. They did apply more pressure as the game went on and that created quite a few more turnovers."
The Colonels finished with 26 turnovers after averaging 11 in their first two wins.
"We knew coming into tonight's game that we wanted to dictate the tempo," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "For the most part we did a good job of playing sound defense."
At the same time that Ohio State's fullcourt pressure started to pry the ball loose, Cook energized the offense.
He scored 12 points in his first 7 minutes then added five more in a 20-2 run that gave Ohio State a 35-17 lead. The Buckeyes shot 71 percent from the field (17 of 24) while hitting 5 of 10 shots behind the arc.
"The biggest thing that will cause other teams problems is the fact that they have some very good shooters who can shoot it deep," Neubauer said. "Even if you're playing a man-to-man, it stretches your defense so much because you're guarding a guy behind the NBA line instead of just the college line. And they don't just have one guy who can shoot it that deep, they've got a whole crew of guys who can shoot it that deep."
Cook was 7-for-7 from the field, hitting both of his 3-pointers, and finished with 16 points in the opening half as the Buckeyes built a 43-23 advantage.
"My teammates got me some wide-open shots and I knocked 'em down," said Cook.
The Colonels never got closer than 15 points in the second half.
Cook hit 10 of 13 shots and also had four rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes.
Freshman point guard Mike Conley Jr. added 13 points ? hitting all six of his shots from the field ? and Ron Lewis, the Big Ten's player of the week, had 11 for the Buckeyes.
"Their zone was spread out and extended, so it was easy to drive and create points that way," Conley said.
Darnell Dialls was the only Eastern Kentucky player in double figures with 11 points.
There was a festive atmosphere in the sellout crowd. Many of the fans seemed to be building up steam for the football clash Saturday between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan at nearby Ohio Stadium.
The Buckeyes wore gray uniforms for the first time in 10 years.
"I told them during the first timeout that those uniforms are going back if they didn't start playing defense," Matta said with a laugh.
Ohio State is still without prized 7-foot freshman center Greg Oden, who is recovering from surgery on his right wrist to repair a ligament injury and is expected to return around Jan. 1.
"They did what they did tonight without a post presence," Neubauer said. "You put four very deep shooters ... with a post presence in there and they're going to be incredible."

Terry Gilliam/Associated PressDaequan Cook pulls up for a jumper over Eastern Kentucky's Adam Leonard on Friday night in Columbus. Cook hit 10-of-13 shots from the field and added four rebounds and two assists to his 22-point effort.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Scout.com (Free)

Game wrap-up by Steve Helwagen.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Here are some pics from the game.....

Eastern Kentucky's Julian Mascoll (23) looks to pass as Ohio State's Ron Lewis (12) applies pressure in the backcourt during the first half a basketball game Friday, Nov. 17, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State won, 74-45.

Ohio State's Daequan Cook (31) shoots over Eastern Kentucky's Adam Leonard (10) during the first half a basketball game Friday, Nov. 17, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

Ohio State's Jamar Butler (14) drives to the basket for two past Eastern Kentucky's Jamaal Douglas (34) during the first half a basketball game Friday, Nov. 17, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

Ohio State's Mike Conley (1) drives to the basket past Eastern Kentucky's Julian Mascoll, rear, and Mike Rose (20) during the first half a college basketball game Friday, Nov. 17, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State won 74-45. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

Ohio State's Ron Lewis, left, knocks the ball away from Eastern Kentucky's Adam Leonard, right, during the first half a basketball game Friday, Nov. 17, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)