Postgame Notes From No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Xavier – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 17, 2007
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Second Round NCAA Tournament
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
With the overtime victory, Ohio State advanced to the Sweet 16for the first time since 1992. That year the Buckeyes were a No. 1seed and defeated No. 4 North Carolina (80-73) in the regionalsemifinal but fell to No. 6 Michigan in overtime (75-71) in theregional finals. That overtime game against Michigan March 29, 1992was the last time the Buckeyes went into overtime in an NCAAtournament game. The game vs. Xavier was Ohio State’s firstovertime game of the season. The Buckeyes are 36-48 all-time inovertime games with a 4-9 mark in neutral sites. The game was thefirst meeting between Ohio State and Xavier since 1984. OSU leadsthe all-time series 3-1. Ohio State’s matchup with Xavier was thefifth game against an Ohio team this season, the most times anyBuckeye team has faced intrastate opponent in a season. TheBuckeyes are 5-0 against their Ohio opponents this year, alsodefeating Kent State (W 81-59), Youngstown State (W 91-57),Cleveland State (W 78-57) and Cincinnati (W 72-50). Ohio Stateimproved to 34-18 in NCAA tournament games. As a No. 1 seed, theBuckeyes are now 7-2. Head coach Thad Matta made his sixth NCAAtournament appearance. He is 10-5 in NCAA tournament games. This isthe second time in his career Matta has advanced to the Sweet 16.The last time was with Xavier in 2004 when the Musketeers made itto the Elite Eight. The Buckeyes are 29-13 all-time vs. Atlantic 10Conference teams. Ohio State, ranked No. 1 in both of the mostrecent ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press polls, is 57-4 all-timewhen playing as the top-ranked team. The win was Ohio State’s19th-consecutive dating back to a 68-66 home victory againstTennessee Jan. 13. Ohio State took a 29-25 lead into halftime. TheBuckeyes are 30-1 when leading at the half this season. Ron Lewisfinished with a team-high 27 points, tying for the ninth-highestpoint total by a Buckeye in an NCAA game (ties Jerry Lucas vs.Cincinnati, March 25, 1961, and Michael Redd vs. Murray State,March 11, 1999). Lewis scored 7 of Ohio State’s first 9 points inthe game. He shot 8-of-13 FG, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.Lewis and Mike Conley Jr. combined for a perfect 13-of-13 mark fromthe free throw line. Lewis hit all six of his attempts while Conleymade his seven, including 4-of-4 in the overtime session. With 21points, Mike Conley Jr. became the second Buckeye and 15th playerin Big Ten history to record at least 350 points, 150 assists, 100rebounds and 50 steals in the same season. Conley now has 370points, 218 assists, 115 rebounds and 79 steals. Scoonie Pennaccomplished the feat for Ohio State in 1998-99 with 609 points,150 assists, 140 rebounds and 70 steals. Conley scored 11 of theteam’s 16 overtime points, making all three of his overtime FGs.Conley entered the game with seven blocks in the entire season, butled the Buckeyes with three vs. the Musketeers. Greg Oden recordedhis 13th double-double of the season with 14 points and 12rebounds. It was his fourth double-double in as many games. OhioState is 519-246 all-time when at least one Buckeye has adouble-double. Oden was called for his fifth foul with 9 secondsleft in the second half to foul out of a game for the first time inhis career. Ohio State improved to 20-1 when scoring 70 or morepoints. All 62 points by Ohio State in regulation were scored byfour Buckeyes. Daequan Cook hit a 3-pointer in overtime for theonly basket not scored by Lewis, Conley, Oden or Jamar Butler. TheBuckeyes set a single-season record for made 3-pointers with 266and tied their mark for the most attempted in a season with 718.The Buckeyes next play Thursday in the South Regional in SanAntonio against the winner of the Tennessee/Virginia game that willbe played Sunday at 12:10 p.m. in Columbus.
