Mike Conley Jr and Greg Oden going Pro?
March 28, 2007 1:05 pm EST
As the Buckeyes prepare for the Final Four and Georgetown, ESPN is reporting that 'several sources' have indicated both Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr will be leaving for the NBA at the end of this season. Chad Ford covers the NBA draft and is reporting with 99% certainty they will leave, regardless of whether or not Ohio State wins the National Championship. Many have speculated that Greg Oden would leave and be one of the top two picks in the draft. But as recently as last week, Mike Conley Sr, Mike's father reported that his son would return for next season. Ford has project Conley to be a top 10 pick in the draft if he were to leave college this season. As Buckeye fans, we can only hope this story will not be a distraction for the team. Mike Conley Sr. has again come out and says these stories from ESPN are untrue, I guess we will all know this time next week. Stay tuned! - Gregg
Oden Named a Finalist for the Wooden Award
March 28, 2007 12:30 pm EST
Greg Oden is one of five finalists who have been invited to attend the Wooden Award presentation April 7 in Los Angeles. The award, named for former UCLA coach John Wooden, is given annually by the Los Angeles Athletic Club to the player of the year in college basketball. Along with Oden, players invited to the ceremony are Kevin Durant of Texas, Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina, Acie Law of Texas A&M and Alando Tucker of Wisconsin. This year marks the first time in the award's 31 years that two freshmen, Oden and Durant, are among the five finalists. - Gregg
Oden named to the AP 1st Team All-American List
March 26, 2007 6:15 pm EST
In spite of missing the first nine games of the season and playing the rest of the year with a cast on his hand, Freshman Greg Oden was named to the 1st-Team All-American's by the AP. In addition, Freshman Kevin Durant of Texas was also honored. Oden and Durant were joined on the team by seniors Alando Tucker of Wisconsin and Acie Law IV of Texas A &M and junior Arron Afflalo of UCLA. The voting was conducted before the NCAA Tournament.
The last Buckeye to be named to the 1st team was Jim Jackson in 1992. Other 1st-Team All-Americans for Ohio State include: Dick Schnittker (1950), Robin Freeman (1955, 1956), Jerry Lucas (1960, 1961, 1962), and Gary Bradds (1963, 1964) - Gregg
Basketball Recruits named to AP All-State team
March 20, 2007 9:15 AM EST
7-foot-2 Kosta Koufos and 6-7 Jon Diebler were named yesterday to the 2007 AP Division I and II All-Ohio boys basketball teams. - Gregg
Pre-game Notes : Penn State
February 14, 2007 8:00 am EST
OSU has now climbed to #2 in both major polls, passing two of the three teams that have defeated them this season. The Buckeyes 8 game win streak in the Big Ten is their longest since 1991, their longest streak was in 1971 with 10 wins. They have won 5 of their last 6 contests at the Bryce Jordan Center and Coach Matta is 2-0 there. - Gregg
Mike Conley Jr Named Co-Player of the Week In the Big Ten
February 12, 2007 6:15 pm EST
Mike Conley Jr. has been named co-Big Ten player of the week after helping lead OSU to a pair of home wins. Conley, who leads the Big Ten in assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio, shared the award with Wisconsin's Alando Tucker.
Conley is averaging 18.5 points and five assists while connecting on 61 percent of his shots from the field, 75 percent of his three-point attempts and 86 percent of his free throws. He scored a career-high 23 points in a victory over Michigan, making 9-of-12 shots from the field. He also had six assists and just one turnover. For the season, Conley has 157 assists to go with 58 steals. He already owns the Ohio State freshman record for assists in a season and is moving up on OSU's all-time Top 10 list for assists in a season. He's tied with Larry Bolden for fifth place and trails No. 4 Curtis Wilson by five.
Ohio State (22-3, 10-1) tied a school record for home wins in a season with the victory vs. Purdue on Saturday. - Gregg
Pre-game Notes : Michigan
February 6, 2007 8:00 am EST
Ohio State has the 6th longest home winning streak in the nation, presently at a count of 22 games, including the game they played at Nationwide Arena in December. The last home lose was to Michigan State last year. Coach Matta is current 3-0 versus th Wolverines. Coach Amaker is 39-49 in Big Ten games during his six years as head coach of Michigan. The Maize and Blue have lost their last three games, Ohio State has won their last seven. The 20 wins this year is the second quickest the Buckeyes have ever reached that mark, in 1990-91 they were 20-1. After nine games, OSU leads the Big Ten in scoring defense at 57.2 ppg, defensive field goal percentage at 39%, and blocked shots at 5.8 per game. - Gregg
Buckeye Recruit to Play Televised Game
February 5, 2007 9:25 pm EST
Kosta Koufos of Canton Glenoak, the 7-1 center in our 2007 basketball recruiting class, is among 20 high school seniors to play in the Jordan Brand All-American Classic on April 21 in Madison Square Garden. This game will be televised on ESPN2. He may also be selected to play in the McDonald's All-American game as well. Koufos is presently averaging 26.9 points, 16.1 rebounds and 8.3 blocked shots per game. - Gregg
Buckeyes Double-up Spartans
February 3, 2007 7:00 pm EST
For the first time since 1970-71, Ohio State wins in East Lansing in back-to-back seasons. Greg Oden had 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks to lead the fourth-ranked Buckeyes to a 63-54 win over Michigan State. And they may be second ranked by Monday as both #2 Wisconsin and #3 North Carolina had losses this past week.
Going into the game, Ohio State was only 2-12 in the Breslin Center and had not won at Michigan State in consecutive years since Jim Cleamons had led them in victories in both 1970 and 1971. Now Coach Matta evens his record against Coach Izzo at 3-3.
The Buckeyes (20-3, 8-1 Big Ten) kept pace with Wisconsin atop the conference standings with their seventh straight win since losing on the road against the Badgers. Meanwhile, Michigan State (17-7, 4-5) has lost three straight and will have to stop the slide soon to earn an NCAA tournament bid for the 10th straight year.
Ohio State led by as much as 11 in the first half and Oden put it ahead 55-46 with five minutes left to play. A Drew Neitzel led rally pulled the Spartans within three with 53.1 seconds left, but they couldn't get closer and lost at home for the first time in 15 games this season. Ohio State's perimeter players put together solid games as Othello Hunter added eight points and eight rebounds. - Gregg
Pre-game Notes : Michigan State
February 3, 2007 8:00 am EST
Ohio State's win in East Lansing during the 2005-06 season ended a ten game losing streak in the Breslin Center. This will be the second team in a row the Buckeyes will play that is unbeaten at home, as Michigan State is 14-0 this year in front of the home fans. A win tonight will give Coach Matta is seventh 20 win season in 7 years of coaching. - Gregg
Pre-game Notes : Purdue
January 31, 2007 8:00 am EST
OSU has won 11 of the last 12 games against Purdue, but Purdue is undefeated in Mackey Arena this season. Six of twelve categories in the Big Ten are led by Mike Conley Jr or Greg Oden at this time. Oden is shooting 57% from the floor in conference play. - Gregg
Buckeye Big Man Brings Big Road Win
January 24, 2007 11:15 am EST
Northwestern was thinking possibility, Greg Oden came to play. Grabbing seemingly every rebound, and with Ivan Harris collecting the rest, Oden almost single-handedly kept the Wildcats in check down the stretch, enabling the fifth-ranked Ohio State men’s basketball team to escape an upset with a 59-50 win over the Wildcats.
Northwestern, which last beat a top-five team here 28 years ago, had five possessions in the last four minutes thanks to the Buckeyes playing keepaway by collecting six offensive rebounds in that span. Oden had four and turned three into points.
Oden had 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds for his sixth double-double in 13 games. Harris led Ohio State with 18 points, 14 in the first half, and added seven rebounds, five off the offensive boards. Oden also had five offensive rebounds. Northwestern totaled 19 rebounds as a team.
The win moved Ohio State (17-3, 5-1) into sole possession of second place in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin. The Buckeyes entered the week tied for second with Indiana, which lost Tuesday at Illinois, and Michigan, which lost last night at Wisconsin. Northwestern (11-9, 1-6) lost for the second time in eight nights to Ohio State, which beat the Wildcats 73-41 last week in Value City Arena. It also was the Buckeyes’ 15th straight win over Northwestern, which has not beaten them since 1998.
Tim Doyle led Northwestern with 15 points and sparked the Wildcats during a second half in which they trailed by not more than six points in a 12-minute span. Northwestern, iced by Ohio State’s zone in Columbus last week, shot the Buckeyes out of it early and forced them to play man-to-man with 6:44 left in the first half. Northwestern led 20-11 in the first 11 minutes but went more than eight minutes without scoring as Ohio State reclaimed the lead and went to halftime ahead 27-24. The Buckeyes, who missed 7 of 9 three-point attempts in the first half, made their first three of the second — Butler from the right wing, Mike Conley Jr. from the top of the key and Ron Lewis from the left wing — to open a 36-26 lead with less than 17 minutes left. Northwestern whittled the margin as close as one point with 10:47 remaining, but Ohio State scored in every situation it needed to in the next six minutes and never gave the Wildcats a chance to take the lead. - Gregg
Pre-game Notes : Northwestern
January 24, 2007 8:00 am EST
Ohio State has beaten Northwestern 14 straight games, including 6 in a row at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Buckeyes are the only Big Ten School that Bill Carmody has not beaten in the 7 years he has been at Northwestern. Greg Oden has made 13 consecutive free throws, while Othello Hunter has 10 straight. OSU is 46 of 52 from the charity strip the past three games. - Gregg
Conley Directs the Buckeyes over the Wildcats
January 17, 2007 10:30 pm EST
Mike Conley Jr had 17 points and 10 assists to lead Ohio State to a home win over Northwestern 73-41. Jamar Butler added 16 points to give the starting back court 33 points. Greg Oden was held to just 5 points but led the team with 6 rebounds. Much of the lopsided win can be attributed the poor shooting of the Wildcats who were only 32% for the game. For a big part of the contest, Ohio State found themselves playing a zone which may have been part of the reason for the lower percentages for Northwestern.
"We came out and we were shocked because we weren’t expecting to play zone," guard Jamar Butler said. "Coach told us what we were going to do right before we took the floor. So we were a little surprised. But it worked."
Craig Moore led Northwestern with 11 points, including three 3-point goals. But they all came in the second half when the game was already decided.
Ohio State (15-3, 3-1) beat Northwestern (10-8, 0-5) for the 14th consecutive time and the 27th in a row in Columbus. The Wildcats’ last win here was in 1977. It was the fewest points by a Big Ten team against Ohio State since Northwestern scored 40 in 1997. And it was the Buckeyes’ largest margin of victory against a conference team since a 35-point home win over Penn State last season.
"It was a great team effort," Matta said. "I think everybody did a good job of what we wanted them to do going in in executing the game plan and having an understanding of where we were looking to strike or what we wanted to do defensively."
The only mystery left after the game was 'why did Oden shave his beard?' - Gregg
Men's Basketball Post Non-Conference Win over Tennessee
January 13, 2007 4:10 pm EST
The Volunteers had their best player at the free-throw line and could have sealed the victory but the 82% shooter missed the front end of a 1-and-1, giving the Buckeyes the window they needed to beat Tennessee 68-66. Then with 11 seconds on the clock, Ron Lewis hits a 3-pointer which proved to be the game-winner. Up until that shot, Ohio State was only 3-13 from behind the arc.
Tennessee (13-4, 1-1) did just about everything they needed to do to win the game. They outscored the Buckeyes in Points Off Turnovers 18-4, outscored them in the paint 40-34 (in spite of a 24 point performance from Greg Oden), and outgained the scarlet & gray 22-10 on fast breaks. But the one stat that really seemed to hurt them the most was their 5-11 shooting from the foul line. Ohio State (14-3, 2-1) on the other hand, was 18-20 from the charity stripe.
The win gives the young OSU basketball team their first win over a top 20 team, and keeps them undefeated at home for the 2006-07 campaign. It was also a bit of a coming out part for Mr Oden. It never would have happened without a Herculean effort from center he big center. Oden played his most dominating game so far - 24 points, 15 boards and several shots altered on defense - to lead the Buck. Mike Conley Jr, his high school teammate, added 16 points.
"He's a dominant player," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said of Oden, last year's national high school player of the year who was highly recruited. "He's got a chance to be Bill Russell at 7-foot. He's got a chance to be a real impact player."
Oden hit 9-of-13 shots from the field, all six of his foul shots - shooting left-handed because he still wears a brace on his shooting hand from surgery to reattach a ligament in his wrist - and adding four assists, three blocked shots and a steal.
OSU led they entire second half until Tennessee's Chris Lofton scored with 56 seconds remaining to give the Volunteers a 64-63 lead. But his missed free throw with 23 seconds left allowed the Buckeyes one more chance which they got the most of with Lewis's 3-point shot. - Gregg
OSU vs. SEC - Round 3
January 11, 2007 4:51 pm EST
Tired of hearing of SEC superiority and speed? So, you want a little satisfaction. Well, we'll have another shot at it this Saturday as Thad Matta and his Ohio State basketball guys host # 20 Tennessee at 1:00 PM at the Schott. A little research shows Tennessee to have three losses like Ohio State, one of which is a shared loss with Ohio State in a loss to North Carolina. So if you want one last shot at payback, tune is Saturday. This game will have much more on the line, at least for us.
Buckeyes Can Not Come Back From 16-point Deficit to Badgers
January 10, 2007 12:15 am EST
Down by 3 at halftime, Ohio State was able to match the Badger scoring in the second half, but it was a 21-5 run midway through the final period that proved to be the difference. During that stretch, Wisconsin was getting their scoring from offensive rebounds. They managed 13 of its 14 offensive rebounds and 14 of its 18 second-chance points after halftime. Ohio State tried to come back from a 10-point deficit in the final 45 seconds by fouling the Badgers on every possession in hopes of making up ground by trading baskets for free throws. Thanks to a pair of three-point baskets by Ron Lewis and two dunks by Greg Oden got the Buckeyes as close as 71-69 with 8.9 seconds left. But down by three with the ball, Jamar Butler’s threepoint attempt from the right wing as the clock expired banged off the back of the rim.
Ivan Harris led Ohio State with 17 points. Lewis added 14 points and seven rebounds, Butler 12 points and Oden 10 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots. Daequan Cook led the team with nine rebounds in just 14 minutes of playing time. The Buckeyes (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten) lost its sixth straight game in the Kohl Center and for the third time this season on a top-10 team’s home court. The other losses were at North Carolina and Florida.
The Buckeyes have lost their past five games against ranked teams since a win at Michigan State last season.
Taylor scored 25 points to lead Wisconsin (16-1, 2-0), which won its 12 th consecutive game and improved its Big Ten record in the Kohl Center to 40-2 under Ryan. Alando Tucker, the conference scoring leader, was held under his average with 17 but had six as the Badgers opened a 57-41 lead in the first 10 1 /2 minutes of the second half.
Ohio State, which has played three of its past five games on the road has its next three and four of its next five in Value City Arena, where it is 10-0 this season. - Gregg
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OSU Basketball Archives
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