Post Game Notes From No. 4 Ohio State vs. Cincinnati – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2006
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John Wooden Tradition
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Ind.
Attendance: 18,356 This is the ninth meeting between Ohio Stateand Cincinnati in a series that dates back to 1905. The Buckeyesnow lead the series 5-4. Ohio State is 67-46 all-time against thecurrent members of the Big East Conference. The Buckeyes have awinning record over 14 of 16 current Big East teams. Rutgers (0-1)and South Florida (0-2) are the only teams that have winningrecords against the Buckeyes. This was the first meeting betweenOhio State and Cincinnati since March 24, 1962 when UC defeated theBuckeyes 71-59 in the NCAA championship game. Thad Matta is 3-1 asa head coach against the Bearcats. This was the fourth opponentfrom Ohio the Buckeyes have faced this season, the most in-stateopponents for OSU since the 1992-93 season. The Buckeyes also haveplayed Kent State, Youngstown State and Cleveland State. Ohio Stateis 204-52 when playing with an AP Top 10 ranking and 303-92 whenplaying with an AP Top 25 ranking. This was the second-consecutivegame with the OSU starting combination of Mike Conley Jr., JamarButler, Greg Oden, Ivan Harris and Ron Lewis. After missing hisfirst field goal ever as a Buckeye (vs. Valparaiso, Dec. 2), GregOden made 17 field goals in a row. He missed the second FG of hiscareer with 14:43 remaining in the second half. For the game, Odenwas 6-for-7 in field goal shooting and 2-for-3 from the line for ateam-high 14 points in 27 minutes. In his first three games thisseason, Oden is 17-for-19 FG shooting (89.5 percent). In just histhird game, Oden recorded his second double-double with 14 pointsand 11 rebounds. In the first 10 games of the season, OSU playershave recorded five double-doubles, including three by freshmen(Oden – 2, Daequan Cook – 1). Oden had five blocks to tie hissingle-game OSU individual high. In just three games this year, hehas totaled 13 blocks. Jamar Butler finished the game with oneassist and one turnover. In his last six games, Butler has had 28assists with just 6 turnovers for a 4.7-to-1 assist-to-turnoverratio. Ohio State held Cincinnati to zero field goals and just 2free throws in the final 9:44 of the first half, outscoring theBearcats 26-2 during that span. With three points, Jamar Butlersurpassed the 500-point milestone for his career. Now in his thirdseason, Butler has 501 career points. Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr.are 5-0 in Conseco Fieldhouse. The Indianapolis natives ledLawrence North High School to three Indiana state titles at thevenue along with a regular-season victory. Ivan Harris was 3-for-5beyond the arc, scoring half of OSU’s 3-pointers (6-for-23). MikeConley Jr. grabbed a career-high eight boards, all defensive, tofinish second on the team in rebounding. He led the Buckeyes withseven assists and added eight points and two steals without aturnover. Cincinnati missed its first 18 3-pointers, making its19th attempt (by Branden Miller) with 6:03 remaining in the game.The Bearcats finished the game 2-for-24 (8.3 percent). Overall, theBearcats were 19-of-73 FG shooting for 26 percent. They were6-for-32 in the first half (18.8 percent). Ohio State had 24 benchpoints compared to eight by Cincinnati. UC’s Deonta Vaughn, whoentered the game averaging a team-high 16.6 points per game, washeld to just five points. The Buckeyes held the lead the entiregame, with the largest lead peaking at 35 points. Ohio State nextreturns to Columbus to face Iowa State at Value City Arena Tuesdayat 8 p.m. During half time of that game, the Big Ten champion OhioState football team will be recognized for its perfect 12-0 regularseason. Several Buckeye football student-athletes also will behonored with individual season awards.
