OSU 78, CSU 57

Patrick Tatham is officially listed in the Cleveland State media guide as 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds. Those measurements are, to be sure, rather generous.

That was made abundantly clear when Tatham was asked to guard Ohio State’s superb 7-foot freshman center Greg Oden.

Greg Oden missed the first seven games of the season recovering from surgery on his right wrist. He made his college debut during last week’s romp over Valparaiso, but compared his performance with the tentative first steps of a toddler.

There was nothing timid about Greg Oden’s play during Saturday’s 78-57 romp over Cleveland State at Value City Arena. He hit on all eight of his field-goal attempts and finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots. And based on Greg Oden’s comments afterward, the NCAA is about to see just why he’s perhaps the most highly anticipated young center in a generation.

“It felt good to finally dunk,” he said. “I finally got it out of my system. It felt great to yell and glare into the camera. I’ve been waiting a long time for that.”
Greg Oden and the Buckeyes thoroughly dominated the interior, out rebounding the Vikings 45-21 and, not surprisingly, outscoring Cleveland State inside the paint by a 40-16 margin.

“That is what I would call an experience,” Vikings coach Gary Waters said.
But for all of Ohio State’s advantages in size, it didn’t necessarily equate to a blowout until the final five minutes. In fact, for the better part of a half, Cleveland State’s hot perimeter shooting erased a double-digit deficit and made for a fairly competitive game.
After trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half, the Vikings bounced back with three consecutive 3-pointers, two of which came from senior guard Carlos English, closing the gap to 32-28 with 5:11 remaining.

But Ohio State’s response came swiftly and decisively. Ron Lewis, a senior guard, and Mike Conley Jr., a freshman point guard, each tipped in missed shots. And Lewis capped it with a 3-pointer in the final minute to enter halftime with a 41-31 bulge.

The Buckeyes put the game away in the second half, as Othello Hunter, a junior forward, had his best performance of the season, scoring 11 points in the final 20 minutes. Hunter finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, six of which came off the offensive glass.

“He’s not one of the guys we put a lot of emphasis on and he really had a good game,” Waters said. “Greg Oden’s going to have what he had because he’s that good. But Hunter, we didn’t expect him to be in the equation.”

Perhaps that’s because of Greg Oden’s ability to draw multiple defenders, affording teammates open looks at the basket.

“He makes it easy to play because most guys will go for him,” Hunter said. “When that happens, I am wide open. It also gives me a chance to get easy rebounds.”

Ultimately, the attention of opponents, the fans and the media always comes back to Greg Oden. And with increased frequency, he is showing why.

In the first five minutes of the opening half, he scored four baskets, each highlighting a different point in his game. Posting upon the right side, he spun and nimbly made a left-handed runner underneath. He showed his right-handed hook shot, as well as a feathery touch on a tip-in.

But it was the violent dunk off an offensive rebound that seemed to reverberate at Value City Arena. Tatham, who was guarding Greg Oden, was blown five feet backward during the play. Buckeyes coach Thadd Matta leapt off his chair and pumped his fist.
Still, this is only the beginning, said Matta.

“I’m still just trying to get him in as much as we can within the context of the game,” he said. “I think he was a little more at ease today. He wasn’t quite as nervous (as last week). The pressure, if you will, of ‘Greg Oden Returns’ is now off of his back. I don’t think he’s 100 percent yet, but as far as getting his feet wet, this is really his second exhibition game.”

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