Oden Sends Vol’s Packing

Last night’s thrilling victory propelled the Ohio State Buckeyes to the Elite Eight, where they will meet the Memphis Tigers.  Greg Oden blocked a last-second shot attempt by Ramar Smith of the Tennessee Volunteers to but the game away for the Buckeyes, who won 85-84.
 

The Buckeyes went down by as much as 19 points in the first half.  The Vol’s aggressively attacked the Buckeyes inside and out, hitting plenty of threes and getting Ohio State’s star center Greg Oden in foul trouble early and often.
 

However, the Buckeyes cane back steadily, taking the lead near the mid point in the second half.  The rest of the game was a series of ties and lead changes with both teams trying to deliver knockout punches before regulation. 
 

When Ohio State’s Yet Conley missed his second free throw attempt with less than seven seconds left, Ramar Smith grabbed the rebound and took off for the opposite basket. 
 

As his shot reached its apex, time expired, and Greg Oden slapped it into the crowd.  The Buckeyes have survived and advanced another close one last night, but how many more close finishes to they have left in them?
 

If you would like to see first-hand if the Buckeyes can survive more heart-attack finishes, then you ought to get NCAA Tournament tickets at StubHub.com for their next upcoming game.    


 

Permalink - Posted in General on March 23, 2007 - Post a comment

Rebels-Ducks in Sweet Sixteen of Tourney

The Oregon Ducks face the UNLV Rebels tonight in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament.  The Rebels are the lowest seeded team remaining in the tourney as a No. 7 seed, while the Ducks enter the game as a No. 3 in the Midwest region.
 

The winner of this game will advance to meet the winner of the Butler-Florida match up, which will play earlier tonight.  Both the Ducks and the Rebels do best when they shoot well from outside.  Although UNLV has a better defensive presence inside with Joel Anthony, they don’t have consistent scorer in the paint.  Expect whichever team gets hot from outside in the second half to win this one. 
 

If neither team can muster some great shooting, then it will be up to the guards, Aaron Brooks for Oregon and Kevin Kruger for UNLV, to drive to the basket and make things happen.
 

This should make for a fun, high scoring game if both teams decide to trade buckets.  Since the game is played in St. Louis the court will probably be fairly neutral, giving both teams a level playing field as far as confidence goes. 
 

If you’d like to see the winner of this game play either Florida or Butler in the Elite Eight next week, then take a look at StubHub.com for some great NCAA Tournament tickets.


 

Permalink - Posted in General on March 23, 2007 - Post a comment