OHIO STATE, ODEN GET IT DONE BEHIND FRESHMAN, BUCKEYES TRIUMPH.Byline: JILL PAINTER Staff Writer ATLANTA -- Ohio State coach Thad Matta Thad Matta (pronounced MAH-tuh) (born July 11, 1967 in Hoopeston, Illinois) is the current head coach of the Ohio State University men's basketball team. He was hired as head coach on July 7, 2004 after Ohio State had fired previous coach Jim O'Brien. delivered a simple message to Greg Oden Gregory Wayne Oden Jr. (born January 22, 1988, in Buffalo, Oregon) is an American basketball player, currently playing for the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA. While in high school, Oden was named the PARADE at halftime. "I told Greg he should be well-rested," Matta said. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , he expected a lot out of his freshman center. Oden was whistled for his second foul 2:41 into Saturday's NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association semifinal game against Georgetown and sat on the bench the rest of the half. But Oden responded with 11 of his 13 points in the second half -- including a monster dunk -- and Ohio State thwarted another Georgetown comeback with a 67-60 victory at the Georgia Dome Atlanta Falcons • • [ . Ohio State will play Florida for the NCAA Championship on Monday. "I wanted to get in there and just tear the rim down," Oden said with a smile. He nearly did that. But it wasn't at Roy Hibbert's expense. This was billed as a classic duel between the Hoyas' 7-foot-2 Hibbert and Oden, a 7-footer. The made-for-TV matchup was a flop, since the two didn't have much time to battle inside. Hibbert was also plagued by foul trouble but finished with 19points and six rebounds. Georgetown didn't take advantage of Oden's absence, and Hibbert committed his second foul with 6:48 left in the first half after he scored on dunks on two consecutive possessions. He was benched for the rest of the half. When Hibbert went out with three fouls in the second half, Oden scored on consecutive possessions to put Ohio State ahead 42-36 with 12 minutes left. Georgetown had just one second-half lead. The Hoyas had nine turnovers in the first half and 14overall. Ohio State scored 22 points off turnovers -- 13 in the first half as it took a 27-23 halftime lead. Georgetown was down by nine points with seven minutes left against North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. in the regional final and rallied to win. The Hoyas were down by nine Saturday, but had no answers for the Buckeyes. "We gained the lead in the second half, things just didn't go our way," Hoyas guard Jeremiah Rivers said. "We missed a lot of shots. Nobody on the team could get in a groove at the end like we have been." Especially forward Jeff Green Jeff Green may refer to:
"I wouldn't change anything," Green said. "I mean, we played hard. Just things weren't going our way. I went 4 for 5. I didn't want to force anything, so I just took what they gave me." Which wasn't much. Georgetown likes to slow the tempo and run its precision offense, but Ohio State ran and was successful. Point guard Mike Conley Mike Conley might refer to:
"Our style of play is to get up and down," Conley said. "Once we got our style established, that really helped us out." Ohio State played for the national title in football but was crushed by Florida. Now, the Buckeyes have a chance to avenge that loss on the basketball court -- largely because of Oden and the NBA's new minimum age requirement. But Ohio State proved that even without him for much of the game, it could still win. jill.painter@dailynews.com (818) 713-3615 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Ohio State's Greg Oden prepares to slam the ball during a victory Saturday against Georgetown. The freshman scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half. Gerry Broome/Associated Press (2) Ohio State's Mike Conley Jr., from left, Ron Lewis For the college basketball player, see . Ronald (Ron) Lewis (born September 14 1946), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995, representing the 2nd Congressional District of Kentucky. , David Lighty David Maurice Lighty, Jr. (born May 27, 1988 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a sophomore basketball player at The Ohio State University, and was part of Ohio State's 2006 recruiting class, known as the Thad Five. and Jamar Butler celebrate their Final Four victory. Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press |
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