No. 1 Buckeyes Advance To NCAA Title Game With 67-60 Win Over Georgetown
ATLANTA (AP) - Not even three minutes into the game, and the whistle blew. Greg Oden dropped his head and started a slow walk to the bench.
Two quick fouls, and he was done for the half.
The turning point in the game, for sure. But not in the way anyone expected.
Take Oden away from Ohio State and the Buckeyes still play for the national championship. Take Roy Hibbert away from Georgetown and ... the Buckeyes still play for the national championship.
That much-anticipated matchup between Oden and Hibbert fizzled because of foul trouble. Instead, it was Mike Conley and the rest of the Buckeyes who carried top-seeded Ohio State to its first national title game since 1962 with a 67-60 victory over Georgetown on Saturday night.
"I just sat back and watched my teammates take over," Oden said.
The Buckeyes will face defending champion Florida for the championship Monday night in a title rematch - of sorts. This one comes on the hardwood, not the grass. The Gators upset the Buckeyes at the BCS title game in January.
Conley finished with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds for Ohio State (35-3). Oden added 13 points - all in the second half - and eight rebounds in 20 minutes.
"When he goes down with two fouls, our guys did a tremendous job stepping up," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "Michael was tremendous."
Hibbert was tremendous, too. He scored 19 points, had six rebounds and one blocked shot in 24 minutes for the Hoyas, and he more than held his own against the younger, more celebrated Oden.
Problem was, he spent too much time as a spectator.
So did the rest of the Hoyas.
I am ecstatic that my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes get to play for a National Championship for the second time this year. As fate would have it, Florida also won their semi-final game. So the two teams that played for the National Championship in football, will also play in the basketball championship.
I only hope that the Buckeyes put up a more respectable game than the football team did. I don't think I could go on after another loss to Florida.