NCAA Tournament: Why Ohio State Will Win
Writing by admin on Monday, 26 of March , 2007 at 1:16 pm
Now that was a hell of a game.
The 3-point shot is the great equalizer in basketball – particularly at the college level, and the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers proved it by draining 16 of them on 31 attempts Thursday night against the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes.
But the Buckeyes still won. At the buzzer, Greg Oden went up the elevator and came up with a signature block on Ramar Smith to secure an 85-84 victory and a trip to the Elite Eight. It’s not the script OSU fans would have written; the Buckeyes, coming into this matchup only as 4.5-point faves, had to come back from 20 points down to beat Tennessee. And this is the top-ranked team in the nation?
Keep those rotten tomatoes for another day. The Buckeyes showed the heart of a champion against the Vols. Oden may have made the highlight reel with that last-second block, but he was mostly a non-factor in this game, limited by foul trouble to nine points and three rebounds. Yes, Ohio State can win a big game without Oden.
Believe it or not, it should only get easier from here. The Buckeyes will almost certainly be spared the kind of 3-point pummeling they took from Tennessee; the No. 2 Memphis Tigers are up next, and their brand of basketball is much more physical. Just ask the Texas A&M Aggies, who traded blows with Memphis all night long before finally coming up short. Another bruising affair should follow at the Final Four against No. 2 Georgetown.
These are the kind of conditions Oden thrives in. He simply has no equal in college at the center position, which is why NBA scouts have been falling over themselves all year to get a look at the 7-foot behemoth. Imagine how good he’ll be when his right wrist fully heals.
Make your Final Four picks here.
Category: Online College Basketball Betting
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