#4 Ohio State 78, Cleveland State 57 (Final)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Scout.com (Kyle Lamb)

Game wrap-up.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

Oden at center of attention

Sunday, December 10, 2006

By RUSTY MILLER AP Sports Writer


COLUMBUS Most big men dream of being guards. Not Greg Oden.
The 7-foot freshman made all eight of his shots from the field as taller, deeper Ohio State controlled inside Saturday in the fifth-ranked Buckeyes? 78-57 victory over Cleveland State.
?When Greg committed to us, I said we got the only big guy in the country who wants to be a center,? Head Coach Thad Matta said with a smile. ?We?ve always said he?s got a high basketball IQ. He knows where he?s good and what he does best.?
Despite foul trouble that limited him to 23 minutes, Oden had 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, three blocked shots and a steal.
Othello Hunter led the Buckeyes with a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Mike Conley Jr. added 12 points and five assists. Ivan Harris had 8 points and a career-best 10 rebounds for Ohio State.
Hunter said he benefited from playing against Oden in practice and then playing with him in the game.
?I like it. It?s kind of easy,? he said. ?It?s me and him out there, and most guys will go for him.?
J?Nathan Bullock had 21 points and Joe Davis added 12 for Cleveland State, which resorted to a deliberate offensive approach to try to take time off the clock. The Vikings slowed things down considerably after losing Victor Morris to what Head Coach Gary Waters said might be a broken bone in his right foot. The Buckeyes outrebounded the Vikings, 45-21.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

Would much rather see the D and rebounding from Harris than his scoring - not that he wont be delivering both. Kudos to Matta for finally getting the best out of Ivan. It is unexpected.


This team is still struggling to find an identity with Oden in the lineup. I loved the way the were playing three games back - pushing the ball up court and pulling the trigger as soon as someone was open. No question they will be better with Oden, but there is an adjustment going on.

I was also very impressed with how much quicker Oden was getting up court. Perhaps CSU was slowing us down more than I appreciated, but Oden was not trailing the play as he was the week before.

Also gotta remember that this was finals week, so focus should have been elsewhere. Not the best time to be adjusting to a change in the lineup - but there is no bad time when that change is Oden. (By my count he had 8 points and 3 rebounds in the first 3-4 minutes of the game.)

I love to watch other teams try to go low when Oden is in the game. Bullock kept backing off but finally tried to put one up late in the game and it came right back at him. He is so quick it makes him much bigger than his size. This may be even more fun against premier athletes who are harder to convince.

personally i think he just had an off night shooting. i believe you can get both out of him. you may not see as much of him with the three ball, but hell continue to be a threat from thier. but i also like how i saw him in the short corner, on the elbow etc open a take the pass, and the shoot. once or twice ivan read the play but the ball on the floor and attacked the rim.

the improvement of hunter has been the most suprising, as he is growing leaps and bounds every game, but ivan is not far behind. ive never felt as negative as some people you could see it in flashes, but he seems to be elevating his game. call it the senior wake up call if you like, but something has gone off in his head.

the guys in white were getting mauled on the perm, i promise you youll see it some in the b10. but the way the game was called didnt help, but you have to fight through the refs.

i dont feel they are struggling with an identity, be realistice theyve played two games and practiced how many times with their full squad. the number of times these guys have played together they would yet to be through the exhb season.

i believe the team didnt practice mon through thurs, so you saw some rust and sluggishness.

i think youll see oden get up and down the court better each week as his conditioning continues, you cannot simulate game pace.





on a side note, did anyone else take a look at the dispatch box score for hs games yesterday? littered with ronnie stokes kid, both of clark kelloggs kids (the older one who dropped 25 and his frosh son had a bucket) along with jay bursons kid in their.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Vikings wiped away and out by Buckeyes' glass cleaning


Sunday, December 10, 2006 Joe Maxse
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- Cleveland State went into Value City Arena on Saturday wanting to rebound from Tuesday's 33-point loss at Kansas State. The Vikings did, in a way, as they gave fifth-ranked Ohio State a tussle at times before falling, 78-57.
While a 21-point defeat might not sound uplifting, if CSU had been able to collar a few rebounds with any consistency, this one could have been a bit closer.
"We thought we'd do better," said CSU coach Gary Waters, whose club was outrebounded, 45-21. "They just dominated and I have to give them that. Give that to their athleticism. I didn't think they would get us by 24 rebounds."
The Buckeyes (8-1) relied on the 1-2 rebounding punch of senior Ivan Harris (eight points, 10 rebounds) and junior Othello Hunter (17 points, 11 rebounds) to clean up on the glass - 32-6 at one point. Hunter did his damage playing 13 minutes off the bench.
In the same vein, 7-0 freshman center Greg Oden showed his prowess by going 8-for-8 from the field - including five dunks - for 16 points and four rebounds. Ten of his points came in the first half when he played only six minutes.
"I played all right," said Oden, still nursing his injured right wrist. "I'm slow. I get tired. I just took the easy route and took my time."
The latter was said in a joking manner when Oden was pressed to assess the state of his game.
CSU (5-6) looked to be in a daze early as the Buckeyes scored the first 12 points, the Vikings committing four turnovers and missing two 3-pointers. But they rallied twice in the first half to tweak the nerves of the 17,158 on hand.
A 3-pointer by sophomore J'Nathan Bullock got CSU within 16-13. After falling behind by 14, another Bullock triple capped a 13-3 run to pull the Vikings within 32-28 with 5:19 left.
CSU took a hit right then when starting point guard Victor Morris went out for the rest of the game with an injured right foot. The extent of the injury will be determined.
Trailing, 41-31, at the break, the Vikings could get no closer as they were forced to shoot from the perimeter. Half of CSU's 52 shots were 3-pointers as they connected on 10.
"After the Kansas State game we had to regroup," said Bullock, who had 17 of his game-high 21 points in the first half. "I think we accomplished that. [Oden] is a 7-footer and he did what he was supposed to do."
That was clog the middle, keep the ball in play off the glass and force passes to the perimeter.
"Greg has that effect," said OSU coach Thad Matta. "You think a little more inside. I'm still trying to get him in the context of the game and didn't play him as many minutes [22] as I wanted."
That was more than enough time to influence the outcome.
The Vikings have the week off to concentrate on final exams before traveling to Central Michigan on Dec. 17. The Buckeyes go to Indianapolis on Saturday for a much-anticipated contest against Cincinnati, a team they haven't played since the Bearcats beat Ohio State in the 1962 national championship game.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-5168

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Photos from the game.....

Ohio State's Ivan Harris, left, takes a shot over Cleveland State's J'Nathan Bullock during the second half an NCAA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State's Greg Oden, left, shoots over Cleveland State's Patrick Tatham during the second half a college men's basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State's Greg Oden, left, blocks the shot of Cleveland State's Renard Fields during the second half a college men's basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Ohio State's Othello Hunter, right, shoots over Cleveland State's Kevin Francis during the second half a college men's basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Cleveland State's J'Nathan Bullock, left, drives the baseline past Ohio State's Greg Oden during the first half an NCAA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Ohio State's Greg Oden, right, defends against Cleveland State's Victor Morris during the first half an NCAA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Cleveland State's Victor Morris, left, passes the ball around Ohio State's Othello Hunter during the first half a college men's basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Cleveland State's Joe Davis, top, is fouled by Ohio State's David Lighty while taking a shot during the first half a college men's basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

 

[Best Buckeye]

While we had an easy win. I enjoyed it , as I do all Buckeye games.
It was easy to see that we were going thru growing pains. Cook was not his usual self. The scoring was switched from outside and slashing to inside.
However , the rebounding lookes fabulous.
The team has to learn how to play with a big man instead of the lightning strike offense we did have. We also had a lot of trouble with their press and their zone late in the game.
They will work their way through these things but until we do we are vulnerable.
I am confident we will.

 

[Taosman]

The defense needs to be consistent!
That's what hurts this team the most.