An Ohio State Sports Blog
UPDATE:
Confirmed. Oden will declare tomorrow, and will hire an agent. He’s gone, folks.
Mike Conley and Daequan Cook will also enter the draft, but will not hire agents, preserving a way to return to OSU if their projected draft status is not favorable. They have until June 18th to make a final decision.
Image credit & copyright AP (Gerry Broome)
Here we are, mere hours from yet another OSU vs. UF matchup for all the marbles. Sounds vaguely familiar.
If Terwilliger tackles Conley Jr. after making a sweet reverse layup, I will probably breakdown in tears.
Okay, so let’s not dwell on the past. We’ll just forget how the last game ended up and look forward to being the underdog that no one thinks has a chance.
A few thoughts before the game starts:
If Oden is whistled for a ticky-tack foul in the first three minutes of the game, I’m punching someone in the face. There will be bloodshed. If the refs care about Zeke’s pretty face, they’ll swallow their whistles for a while.
If he survives the first few minutes without a foul, Oden is going to have a huge game. Mark it down.
I’m not opposed to assigning one of our bench players as a “pony-tail puller.” I’m just saying.
How are you guys feeling about the game? Nervous? Excited? Wishing this could be a rematch of the football teams?
Halftime
#1 Ohio State: 29
#1 Florida: 40
It’s all about the three right now — Florida can’t miss and OSU can’t seem to make. Frustrating as the 11-point deficit is, I’m confident. Oden has been devouring anyone they throw at him. Noah is a joke, Horford can’t stop him and Richard is just a human foul-out. How can Noah sit after three and a half minutes?
I was most worried about Humphrey killing us with his three, but it’s been Brewer. Stop his and his 12 foot arms and I think OSU will be in good shape.
Final
#1 Ohio State: 75
#1 Florida: 84
If there’s any consolation to be found in this loss, it’s that Joakim Noah had absolutely nothing to do with the Gators victory. That is consolation enough for me. I have no malice towards any Gator not numbered 13. They’re a great team and they played flawlessly. Brewer played huge in the first half and Horford played great in the second. They didn’t miss their shots, all the balls bounced their way and they made good on their opportunities. Missing almost 90% of our threes was our back-breaker.
Did you see that last shot of Oden at the end of the game? That was his “I’m coming back next year” face. Just watch. The country got to see what he can do when he’s not being hampered by foul trouble. He is nigh unstoppable. Throw in one perimeter player that was hitting their shots and this game was much closer.
We tip our hats to the Buckeye Basketball team. They took us for a thrill ride all season long, all the way to the top. We’ve enjoyed the great games, the heart-stopping comebacks, everything.
Thanks for the great season, OSU!
Here we go, let’s see how long Oden can stay on the floor.
16:30, 1st half
#1 Ohio State 6
#2 Memphis 0
Good start to the game, Oden is asserting himself early on both ends. Good to see.
9:14, 1st half
#1 Ohio State 17
#2 Memphis 15
After starting out hot and fast, Ohio State has cooled off and Memphis has worked itself back into the game.
Good to hear the Raftery is still afflicted with that verbal tic of his.
6:22, 1st half
#1 Ohio State 23
#2 Memphis 23
First let me say how happy I am that the Buckeyes haven’t had a first half let down. The three isn’t dropping for them yet (but is naturally falling left and right for Memphis) but if they stay close, they will be just fine when it finally does drop.
And remember those things that Dorsey said about Oden being overrated? I wonder if that’s what he’s thinking about while he’s on the bench.
0:39.2, 1st half
#1 Ohio State 41
#2 Memphis 35
Mike Conley Jr.’s dad might be an olympic triple-jumper, but David Lighty almost jumped out of the Alamodome.
Mike Conley will simply not be denied.
Halftime
#1 Ohio State 41
#2 Memphis 38
Maybe it’s just me, but the first half was relatively lack-luster. Maybe it was the slow start from three-land. Maybe it gets old watching Conley break down defenses and embarass defenders, but the first half didn’t feel like an Elite Eight game. Maybe it was because Ohio State looks like they actually want to play two full halves of basketball today.
18:29, 2nd half
#1 Ohio State 40
#2 Memphis 45
It’s great to see Matta bend the ref’s ears, because they are some horrible missed calls right now.
7:31, 2nd half
#1 Ohio State 66
#2 Memphis 64
Sorry for the lack of live updates, watching two kids while trying to watch the game and blog is harder than it sounds.
Memphis has really put itself in a difficult situation. With three players with four fouls each, they are really going to have to play conservatively. Hopefully OSU can finally bring the big boot down on the throat of its opponent and finish them off with authority. Oden sure is having his way inside when he doesn’t have to worry about fouls (or uncalled goal-tendings).
2:09, 2nd half
#1 Ohio State 82
#2 Memphis 72
This is the basketball team we knew was there, the super-talented Thad Five (+3). No letdown, no doubt about it.
Here’s the semi-live blog of Ohio State vs. Xavier.
15:51, 1st half
#1 OSU: 7
#9 Xavier: 4
It must be frustrating for Oden to be constantly getting hammered under the basketball. The guy can’t move without getting four hands slapping him. It must also get old. Watch for some serious dunks.
11:56, 1st half
#1 OSU: 9
#9 Xavier: 8
No one wants to make a shot and the refs seemed to have swallowed their whistles. Oden looks cold and the offense looks out of sync. Ron Lewis has been the lone bright spot thus far.
7:29, 1st half
#1 OSU: 16
#9 Xavier: 13
I’m always impressed how well Oden handles the calls against him. He hardly ever gets flustered. He’s starting to find some range and the ball is moving well for the Buckeyes. Someone other than Butler needs to make some shots outside the arc. Butler’s shot looked nice.
Halftime
#1 OSU: 29
#9 Xavier: 25
If Duncan keeps hitting those threes, it’s going to be a problem, otherwise no one else for Xavier is really doing anything to hurt the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are just getting unlucky bounces and the short end of the referee’s whistle. Matta will whip the boys into shape for the second half.
1:45, OT
#1 OSU: 72
#9 Xavier: 65
The 2nd half live-blogging was interrupted by my son’s birthday party, but right now I would kiss Ron Lewis on the mouth.
Final, OT
#1 OSU: 78
#9 Xavier: 71
Wow, what a game. Freshman Mike Conley, Jr. (did ya know? His dad was an olympic gold medalist) took Xavier’s back court to school and rolled off what, ten straight points? Whatever it was, he couldn’t be stopped. His steal with lss than a minute left was MONUMENTAL.
After stepping back to look at the big picture, I still think Ohio State is still in a good place. They didn’t shoot the ball exceptionally well, had no calls go their way, lost Oden to fouls and still came back from being 11 down. They need to work the ball through Oden more. Even if he isn’t looking to score every time down, he needs to touch the ball. Defense still gets lax at times, too. The competition only gets stiffer from here on out, so they need to bring their A game.
We’ll be doing a semi-live blog of OSU’s games in the NCAA Tournament, starting with today’s game against Central Connecticut. I’m already worried this could get ugly.
15:15, 1st half
#1 OSU: 14
#16 CConn: 3
Whoa, Buckeyes start out fast. Lewis and Butler hitting threes and Oden having his way on the boards. A good way to start things off.
11:06, 1st half
#1 OSU: 19
#16 CConn: 9
The three ball is keeping CConn close, but OSU’s defense is keeping everything else out of the interior. Butler looks extremely confident right now. Oden hasn’t asserted himself much yet, but really hasn’t needed to.
3:29, 1st half
#1 OSU: 29
#16 CConn: 17
Things look to be going as expected. Oden is cleaning the boards with elan, the guard play has been great and defense is playing well. In a word (or two): In control.
Halftime
#1 OSU: 38
#16 CConn: 17
No points for Connecticut in the last few minutes of the first half, as OSU continued to hit its shots. I’ve been telling anyone who’ll listen that OSU is playing the best basketball in the country, right now. I’m especially pleased with the play of Ron Lewis. He’s going through a resurgence and playing extremely well on both ends of the ball. This makes me happy, as I’m a big fan of Lewis. Rumble, big man.
I’m trying to find a flaw from the first half, I just haven’t found it. The only thing I’m worried about was Daequan Cook limping around there at the end of the half. He was clearly favoring his left leg. They can’t let that get worse.
15:47, 2nd half
#1 OSU: 49
#16 CConn: 24
You can’t stop Oden. You can’t even hope to contain him. He is a force of nature, an act of God. (Butler can shoot the pretty well, too)
7:41, 2nd half
#1 OSU: 63
#16 CConn: 46
What more can be said? OSU is simply the better team.
3:09, 2nd half
#1 OSU: 71
#16 CConn: 51
Now let’s just get out of the game healthy.
Final
#1 OSU: 78
#16 CConn: 57
Bring on Xavier/BYU. Who would you rather see? I don’t think it matters.
Just a quick update to remind everyone that there’s still time to join MotSaG’s first-ever contest, the Tournament Pick’em Shindig. We’ve already received a handful of requests, but are hoping for more!
If you previously submitted a request via the Contact form, please send it in again, as there was a problem with the email address the contact form was using. It’s all been fixed now, though, so if you’re interested in participating in the contest, send us an email at motsag-at-gmail-dot-com or contact us with our handy-dandy contact form.
We hope to see you there!
