Five down, one to go
The Buckeyes earned their first trip the the national title game since 1962 with a 67-60 win over Georgetown and will face the defending national champion Florida Gators Monday night in the ATL. The refs tried to keep this one close but the Buckeyes were simply the better team. Seriously, Ted Valentine is a joke. I get the feeling he's more worried about showing off for the cameras than he is about calling a good game.
Mr. Everything, Mike Conley, led OSU with 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds while Greg Oden had 13 and 9 in only 20 minutes of action. Oden was whistled for his 2nd foul just 2:41 into the game limiting him to 3 first half minutes but he responded with a huge second half. Jamar Butler finished with 10 points and Ron Lewis had 9 points and 5 rebounds. Ivan Harris stepped up on the glass grabbing 7 rebounds, 5 offensive, and chipped in 9 points. David Lighty stepped up again with 5 points and 3 rebounds but his main contribution was holding Jeff Green to 9 points on just 5 field goal attempts. The Buckeyes outrebounded the Hoyas 36-29 and turned 14 G-Town turnovers into 22 points.
The matchup with Florida will mark the first time ever that the same schools have played for the national championship in both football and hoops in the same season. Obviously, the Buckeyes will have their hands full. As you recall, Florida put a 26 point thrashing on OSU back in December. Of course, Oden was just getting back on the court after wrist surgery and the game was in Gainesville but there's no doubt who will be the underdog in the rematch Monday night for all the marbles. The opening line has Florida listed as a 4 point favorite - I expect it will increase to at least 5 by tip-off. Get your DVR's ready, it could be the Buckeyes turn to shock the world.
