Oden Steps Up With Big Second Half For Ohio State – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 31, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) – Greg Oden had plenty of time to rest up for his big second half.
After playing only three foul-plagued minutes in the opening half, Oden had 13 points and nine rebounds after the break to help power Ohio State past Georgetown 67-60 on Saturday night in the Final Four semifinal.
Oden finished with four fouls for the fourth straight NCAA tournament game, but he made the most of his 20 minutes on the court.
“In the second half, I just wanted to come in and impact the game,” Oden said.
And he certainly did.
Oden avoided fouling out against the Hoyas while battling 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert. It was the first time the 7-foot Oden has faced a bigger center, and the freshman asserted himself in the second half after having no points or rebounds at the break.
Oden scored on hook shots and on a powerful two-handed jam, and even tried a tomahawk jam, soaring toward the rim from just past the foul line. Oden missed the jam, but drew a foul and made a free throw.
The big second half didn’t surprise Oden’s teammates.
“When he gets in there, he goes to work,” said Jeff Lewis, who had nine points and three steals.
While Oden has fouled out of a game only once – in the Buckeyes’ second-round NCAA tournament game against Xavier – coach Thad Matta has grown accustomed to having his center in foul trouble.
When Oden picked up his second foul at the 17:19 mark, Matta didn’t plan for him to miss the rest of the half.
“When he came out, I told him to get ready because you may have to play with two,” Matta said.
Georgetown led 5-3 when Oden left the game. In the next 11 minutes, the Buckeyes went on an 11-2 run to take a 14-7 lead they held the rest of the half.
With no contribution from Oden, who leads the team in scoring and rebounds, Ohio State led 27-23 at halftime.
“I just sat back and watched my teammates take over,” Oden said. “They did a great job in the first half, rebounding without me in there.”
Even with his team’s success, having to watch wasn’t easy.
“It was real tough the first half, just sitting there,” Oden said. “I wanted to contribute, but teammates stepped up and did a great job and got a lot of offensive rebounds.”
Oden’s first two fouls came on offense. He was called for an illegal pick less than a minute into the game and then was called for a charge.
“What happened?” Oden asked, repeating the question. “The ref blew the whistle. It was just me being out there and being excited. I mean, I can’t lower my shoulder and I can’t move setting ball screens.”
Without Oden in the middle, Ohio State’s super-quick perimeter players had more room and freedom to drive to the basket. The Buckeyes outscored the Hoyas 13-1 in points off turnovers in the half.
“When he came out of the game, all of us had that mind-set that we had to step up our play without him in the game,” said freshman point guard Mike Conley Jr., who had 15 points and six assists.
Oden’s value became more clear in the second half.
The fresh Oden scored eight of Ohio State’s first 15 points after the break. His two-handed jam about 5 minutes into the half seemed to spark his confidence.
“As I told Greg at halftime, he should be well-rested,” Matta said. “He stepped up and made some huge plays.”
But with 11:50 left to play, Oden picked up his third foul and again left the game.
Oden’s absence caused an immediate momentum shift for Georgetown, which erased Ohio State’s six-point lead and tied it at 44.
Another momentum change came exactly three minutes after Oden’s third foul.
With Oden sitting at the scorer’s table waiting to come back in, Hibbert was called for his fourth foul. Hibbert left, Oden came in, and the Buckeyes scored seven straight points, a streak sparked by a basket by Oden.
Oden picked up his fourth foul with 2:36 left, but stayed in, scoring his last basket about 20 seconds later.
