Men’s Basketball Final Four Flashback – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Buckeyes take on Florida Saturday in a rematch of the 2007 NCAA Championship game. Relive Ohio State’s run to the Final Four.
First Round: Ohio State 78, CCSU 57
Mar. 15, 2007, Lexington, Kentucky
LEXINGTON-Greg Oden finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season as the Buckeyes won their 18th straight game in the First Round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament against Central Connecticut State. Jamar Butler scored 17 points and Ron Lewis added 13 for the Buckeyes. Ohio State needed less than 5 minutes to build a double-digit lead and kept the pressure on well into the second half. Javier Mojica led Central Connecticut with 19 points. With the Blue Devils double- and triple-teaming Oden, Butler and Lewis had plenty of wide-open looks from the outside and took full advantage. Five of Ohio State’s first six field goals were 3-pointers, and by the time the Blue Devils caught their breath, they were down 17-3. CCSU eventually collected itself, but by then the Buckeyes and Oden had left little doubt about their dominance.
Second Round: Ohio State 78, Xavier 71 OT
Mar. 17, 2007, Lexington, Kentucky
LEXINGTON-Ron Lewis’ long 3-pointer with two seconds left forced overtime, then Mike Conley Jr. dominated the extra period for a 78-71 victory over Xavier in a second-round South Regional game. The Buckeyes’ rallied from an 11-point deficit in regulation. Ohio State trailed 55-44 with 7 1/2 minutes left, and was still down 61-52 with 2:54 left. Oden fouled out with under 10 seconds to play. Xavier’s Justin Cage then made of one of two foul shots with 9.3 seconds left for a 62-59 lead, giving Ohio State its last chance. Lewis came down and, with two defenders flying at him, swished the tying 3-pointer from several feet beyond the arc. With Oden on the bench, fellow freshman – and high school teammate – Conley took over. He scored 11 points in overtime and the Buckeyes were never threatened again in winning their 19th straight game. The Buckeyes, who finished No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll, advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time since 1992. Ohio State leads to the series 3-1, with Xavier’s only victory coming in the opening round of the 1984 National Invitation Tournament.
Regional Semifinal: Ohio State 85, Tennessee 84
Mar. 22, 2007, San Antonio, Texas
SAN ANTONIO-Top-seeded Ohio State fell behind by 20 points before halftime but senior Ron Lewis and freshman Mike Conley Jr. lifted the Buckeyes past Tennessee, 85-84, in the semifinals of the NCAA South Regional. Lewis scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half and Conley had nine of his 17 from the foul line – including the winner with 6.5 seconds left. But Conley missed a second shot, giving Tennessee one last chance. Ramar Smith grabbed the rebound and went all the way to the rim with Conley defending him. They went up together and time expired with his ball in the air. Then it was freshman Greg Oden to the rescue, swatting the ball into the Volunteers’ cheerleaders and dropping back to earth himself with his biggest smile of the night, while Smith planted himself facedown in front of the Tennessee bench. The Buckeyes won their 20th-consecutive game.
Regional Final: Ohio State 92, Memphis 76
Mar. 24, 2007, San Antonio, Texas
SAN ANTONIO-The top-seeded Buckeyes defeated Memphis 92-76 to advance to the NCAA Final Four for the ninth time in program history. Controlling the paint on offense and defense, Ohio State freshman center Greg Oden triggered a 20-8 surge that put the Buckeyes back in charge. The second-seeded Tigers tried hanging in by fouling, but Ohio State foiled that plan by making 20-consecutive free throws. The Buckeyes’ 21st straight win takes them to Atlanta for a national semifinal matchup with Georgetown. In only 30 college games, Oden has taken over plenty of them. None, however, was as impressive as this one, mainly because it was so important. In only 24 minutes, Oden made 7-of-8 shots and was 3-of-6 from the line with a block that came on the first defensive stand after he returned with three fouls. Mike Conley Jr. – the son of a former Olympic star and Oden’s high school teammate – set the pace for the Buckeyes with hard-charging drives. He scored 19 points and led Ohio State to its second-highest scoring game of the season. He also was named the top player in the region. Ron Lewis continued his steady tournament play with 22 points and six rebounds. Jamar Butler added 12 points. The Buckeyes made 51 percent of their shots, and were 35-of-41 from the foul line, never giving Memphis a chance to get back in the game down the stretch. Jeremy Hunt led the Tigers with 26 points, 17 in the first half.
National Semifinal: Ohio State 67, Georgetown 60
Mar. 31, 2007, Atlanta, Georgia
ATLANTA-Mike Conley Jr. helped lead the Buckeyes to its first national title game since 1962 with a 67-60 victory over Georgetown. Conley finished with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds for Ohio State. Greg Oden added 13 points – all in the second half – and eight rebounds in 20 minutes. Jeff Green, the Big East player of the year who had been scoring a team-best 15.8 points in the NCAA tournament, had just nine points, and took only five shots the entire game. He did have 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough – not when he went almost 17 minutes in the first half and 14 minutes in the second without a shot. The Hoyas had 14 turnovers – leading to 22 Ohio State points – and were outrebounded 37-30. It was the 22nd straight victory for the Buckeyes. The loss was only the second in 21 games for the Hoyas.
National Champinoship: Florida 84, Ohio State 75
Apr. 2, 2007, Atlanta, Georgia
ATLANTA-The Ohio State men’s basketball team fell to Florida, 84-75, in the 2007 NCAA Tournament Championship game in the Georgia Dome. Freshman center Greg Oden led the Buckeyes with 25 points and 12 rebounds, his 14th double-double of the season. Florida led 40-29 at the half with the help of a 6-for-9 3-point clip. It was just the sixth time this season Ohio State has trailed at the break. The Buckeyes cut the Florida advantage to seven twice in the second half, the second after Ron Lewis converted a driving lay up to make it 51-44 with less than 13 minutes to play. Florida pushed its lead back out to 14 at 61-47 after Chris Richard converted an old-fashioned 3-point point with nine minutes to play. Ohio State again made a push and sliced its deficit to 66-60 at the 5-minute mark after Oden connected on two free throws. Again Florida countered. This time, Taurean Green nailed the Gator’s 10th 3-pointer of the night. Al Hordford sunk a 12-footer to up Florida’s lead to 73-62 with a little more than three minutes to play. The Gators never looked back, winning their second national championship in a row. Mike Conley pitched in 20 for the Buckeyes and joined Oden on the 2007 All-Tournament team. Ron Lewis was the third Buckeye to score double figures with 12 points and Ivan Harris added seven in their final game as Buckeyes. Ohio State made its fifth appearance in the national title game. The Buckeyes last won the NCAA championship in 1960, with a 75-55 victory over California.
