Buckeyes Fall To Defending Champs, 86-60 – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 23, 2006
Box Score | Notes
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Al Horford had 11 points and 11 rebounds in his return from a sprained ankle to key Florida’s second-half run and help the fifth-ranked Gators defeat No. 3 Ohio State 86-60 on Saturday.
Freshman center Greg Oden was in foul trouble much of the game and finished with seven points and six rebounds.
Gators coach Billy Donovan had said Horford would not play against the Buckeyes, but the 6-10 junior practiced Friday without any setbacks and was inserted into the game early.
He was much more effective late, though.
Ohio State (10-2) used a 9-0 run to start the second half and erase a 38-29 deficit. But then Horford took over.
He had two jumpers, two dunks, a layup, a free throw and several rebounds over the next few minutes to help the Gators (11-2) put the game away.
Taurean Green and Corey Brewer also came up big in the 33-9 run that turned a tie game into a rout and had the largest crowd in the O’Connell Center’s history (12,621) in a frenzy.
Green had 10 points, including two 3-pointers, in the spurt. He finished with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
Brewer, who had a 102-degree temperature in Florida’s first loss against Kansas and sat out the second loss at Florida State, slashed through the Ohio State defense for most of his 18 points.
The Buckeyes shot 37.5 percent — well below their season average — and were outrebounded 42-25.
Mike Conley Jr. led Ohio State with 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals. But he didn’t get much from the rest of the “Thad Five,” coach Thad Matta’s highly touted recruiting class.
Oden, David Lighty, Daequan Cook and Othello Hunter were a combined 5-of-20 from the field.
Oden was 2-of-6, hampered by Horford, Noah and Chris Richard.
