Ohio State Buckeyes 7-footer Greg Oden experienced something Tuesday night he had yet to experience in his college career – he had his shot blocked.

Even more astoundingly, he had his shot blocked by 6-foot-7 195-pound Iowa State forward Wesley Johnson.

Then again, it’s tough to have your shot blocked when you don’t miss shots at all. Greg Oden was an astounding 17-for-19 from the floor in his first three college games.

His numbers through his first four games are still nonetheless unbelievable. The 18-year-old Greg Oden is averaging 15.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per games despite averaging just 27 minutes per game and playing with a plastic cast to protect right hand and wrist injuries that forced him to miss the Buckeyes’ first seven games.

It can be argued it’s easy to be so dominant when you are at least three inches taller then everyone else on the floor, and your team is playing against the likes of Valparaiso, Cincinnati and Cleveland State. Greg Oden’s first real test will some on Saturday afternoon against the Florida Gators in a game dubbed the “BCS Basketball Championship” – a reference to the fact that these two schools will meet on Jan. 8 for college football’s national championship.

Both schools also have national basketball title hopes this year. Sportsbooks made the Buckeyes the national championship favorites at +500 when Greg Oden returned. The defending national champion Gators opened the season as the favorites and are currently No. 2 at the books at +600. They returned all five starters from last year’s team and have shown no signs of complacency this season when healthy.

Health is the key word for Florida this season. The Gators have been plagued by ailments all year. A bout of mononucleosis forced junior forward Corey Brewer out of the better part of four games. Junior center Joakim Noah has played through an upper respiratory infection for the better part of the season. Junior forward Al Horford – the Gators’ leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker – has a high ankle sprain and the Gainesville Sun is reporting he is not expected to play against the Buckeyes unless “something miraculous” happens.

Ohio State is wary of any news concerning Horford. The Buckeyes insist they don’t believe the reports (Horford is officially listed as day-to-day) and will prepare for the game as if Horford is playing.

Horford’s size and strength (6-foot-10, 245 pounds) make him among the few on the Gators – maybe one of the few players in the country – that can contain the 285-pound Greg Oden. Horford is also the best rebounder on the floor wherever he goes. Ohio State included. Noah is 6-foot-11, but is giving up more than 50 pounds to Greg Oden. That means Noah will likely split time guarding Greg Oden with 6-foot-9, 255-pound reserve forward Chris Richard.

“Certainly Horford is a major part of that team,” says professional handicapper Rob Veno. “Noah physically doesn’t matchup with Greg Oden. Maybe he has a little more speed, but that’s just a bad matchup for the Gators overall.

“One thing Richard allows you to do is be physical for five fouls. Maybe Florida gets lucky and a couple of those fouls are called on Greg Oden.”

Horford’s absence also limits the Gators’ strength – its scoring in the middle. They lead the nation with a 54.5 team field goal percentage. Florida will have to rely more on its outside shooting against the Buckeyes. In their last game, the Gators attempted a season-high 36 3-pointers in an 88-67 win over Stetson. They rank 12th in the nation in over 3-point shooting percentage, hitting 42.4 percent.

“Florida is diverse enough to take on a different offensive identity and offensive style in every game they play,” says Veno. “They are going to have to treat game individually until Horford comes back.”

 

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