#3 Ohio State 91, Youngstown State 57 (Final)

[nwbuckeye]

Having just watched my second favorite b ball team (the zags) beat unc a day ago, I have a feeling that they are gonna be a little extra riled up to play against our Buckeyes. I was not impressed by their big guys and not having MR Oden is gonna be disappointing, but as long as we shoot a decent percent from the field I say we will beat em.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Scout.com (Steve Helwagen)

Game wrap-up.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Roundup

Buckeyes crush Youngstown State

Average victory margin is 26 points; Tar Heels await. Wisconsin falls

Associated Press

Freshmen Daequan Cook and Mike Conley Jr. and backup center Matt Terwilliger led a first-half onslaught to power No. 4 Ohio State past Youngstown State 91-57 in Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Friday night.
Terwilliger, a junior forward, scored 10 points in the first half to surpass his career high by a point. He also attempted his first collegiate 3-pointer and made it.
The Buckeyes (6-0) tuned up for a showdown Wednesday against No. 2 North Carolina.
Ohio State is winning by an average margin of 26 points. And the Buckeyes are without heralded 7-footer Greg Oden.
Ivan Harris had 19 points, Cook had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Ron Lewis 16 points, Terwilliger 12 and David Lighty 11. Jamar Butler added nine assists, and Conley had eight points, five assists and five steals.
The Penguins (2-4) hung around for seven minutes before Ohio State's defense, hurried shots and loose ballhandling turned the game into a rout.
The Buckeyes were ahead 54-25 at the break and hit 13-of-29 3-pointers in the game.

[coastalbuck]

Gotta say I like the gray uniforms... I'll like them better when I see a certain 7 foot + body in one... Really looking forward to UNC, they have superior athletes too, you gotta love the matchup. We will need to be careful inside with them, can't let them just stuff it into the post.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OHIO STATE 91 YOUNGSTOWN STATE 57

Buckeyes done with appetizers
No. 2 North Carolina next for untested Ohio State

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


Ohio State's Jamar Butler comes up with a steal in the second half.


Now for some meat to go with those, er, tomatoes.
The Ohio State men?s basketball team devoured the last of the vegetable tray ? for now ? with a 91-57 victory over Youngstown State last night in Nationwide Arena.
Five-star fare is next. The fourthranked Buckeyes (6-0), after six consecutive home wins by an average of 26 points over mid-major opponents, play at No. 2 North Carolina on Wednesday. The Tar Heels will be their first ranked opponent.
"I?m curious to see how we play," guard Ron Lewis said. "It?s a big step for us. It?s on national television and it?ll really tell what type of team we are, up against a great team."
Lewis was one of five Buckeyes to score in double figures against the Penguins (2-4), who fell behind by double figures in the first nine minutes, trailed by as many as 32 points before halftime and never recovered.
Ivan Harris scored 19 points to lead Ohio State, but it was the tag-team scoring effort of Daequan Cook, Matt Terwilliger and Lewis that ignited the Buckeyes at the outset.
Cook finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first career doubledouble, Lewis had 16 points and Terwilliger a career-high 12, including his first three-point basket.
John Barber led Youngstown State with 16 points.
Harris, Cook and Terwilliger did their damage off the bench but played 19 minutes or more in coach Thad Matta?s equitable rotation.
"I think you can go through all six games and we?ve had some moments where everybody?s given us something that?s been very productive for our system," Matta said. "Now the big thing is continuing to build that and alleviating the careless plays."
Cook came off the bench and hit four of his first five shots, including three threepointers, to get the rout started. Cook, who finished the half with 15 points, had 11 in a little more than four minutes as the Buckeyes took a 20-12 lead.
Terwilliger flamed next, scoring 10 points in less than three minutes as the margin ballooned to 34-14. His three from the right wing with 6:41 left capped the burst.
"I thought (the defender) was going to jump out," Terwilliger said. "He didn?t, so I just let it fly."
After the Penguins narrowed their deficit to 20 points with 2:24 remaining, Lewis scored 10 points in a little more than a minute on a trio of three-pointers and a free throw.
"It goes back to our point guards," Lewis said, speaking of Mike Conley Jr. and Jamar Butler, who combined for 14 assists and only three turnovers. "Jamar and Mike do a great job of finding us. Our job is to knock the shots down."
The Buckeyes were still without 7-foot freshman Greg Oden, but he appeared to have cleared another hurdle in his return from surgery on his right wrist. He wore no brace on the wrist during the game, gently slapped some low-fives with the hand during pregame warm-ups and worked on its flexibility while sitting on the bench, using his left hand to pull back the fingers on his right.
"I?d feel better if Greg was healthy and we were going to North Carolina," said Matta, who said Oden will not play against the Tar Heels. "But this is a unique opportunity for us at this stage.
"They have a great basketball team. It will be a great environment. We?ll go down and play and try to get a feel for where we are after that." bbaptist@dispatch.com

Saturday, November 25, 2006

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

UNC awaits as OSU rolls again

Saturday, November 25, 2006

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


COLUMBUS No. 4 Ohio State couldn?t have played much better through its first six games. The question is how much the young Buckeyes have learned as they prepare to take on No. 2 North Carolina next week.
Freshmen Daequan Cook and Mike Conley Jr. and backup center Matt Terwilliger led a first-half onslaught to power Ohio State past Youngstown, 91-57, on Friday night.
?It?s a big step for us,? senior Ron Lewis said of the showdown in Chapel Hill on Wednesday night against the Tar Heels. ?It?s on national television, and it?ll really tell what type of team we are, up against a great team.?
The words Youngstown State were never spoken by Coach Thad Matta or three players during postgame interviews. North Carolina, however, was mentioned repeatedly.
?It?s kind of irrelevant if I think we are or are not (ready),? Matta said. ?At the same time, if you had asked me if we?d be 6-0 going into North Carolina, I would not have been so sure we would be here. There were so many unknowns.?
No team has come closer than 12 points against Ohio State, which is winning by an average margin of 26 points. And the Buckeyes ? with three freshmen and a junior-college transfer thrown into the top eight players ? still are without heralded 7-foot big man Greg Oden, a two-time national prep player of the year who is close to returning from June 16 surgery to repair ligament damage in his right wrist.
?I?d feel better if Greg was healthy going into North Carolina,? Matta said not too surprisingly. He confirmed that Oden will not play against the Tar Heels.
Ivan Harris had 19 points, Cook had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Lewis 16 points, Terwilliger 12 and David Lighty 11. Jamar Butler added nine assists and Conley had eight points, five assists and five steals.
Terwilliger, a junior forward, scored 10 points in the first half to surpass his career high by a point.
John Barber scored 16 points, Quin Humphrey 15 and Keston Roberts 11 for the Penguins (2-4), who fell to 0-16 against Big Ten opponents and 0-4 against Ohio State.

YOUNGSTOWN ST. (2-4) Barber 5-19 4-4 16, Booth 0-3 0-0 0, Humphrey 7-16 0-0 15, Davis 2-5 0-0 4, Roberts 5-13 0-0 11, Holmes 2-5 0-0 4, Niemi 1-1 0-0 3, Mrozik 0-0 0-0 0, LaForme 0-0 0-2 0, Cotal 0-1 0-0 0, Liles 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 24-67 4-6 57.
OHIO ST. (6-0) Lighty 4-8 2-4 11, Hunter 1-5 0-0 2, Conley 4-9 0-1 8, Lewis 5-10 3-4 16, Butler 1-6 0-0 3, Harris 7-11 2-2 19, Peters 0-1 0-0 0, Cook 7-12 0-0 17, Titus 1-1 0-0 3, Terwilliger 5-6 1-1 12. Totals 35-69 8-12 91. Halftime?Ohio State 54-25. 3-Point Goals?Youngstown St. 5-16 (Barber 2-5, Niemi 1-1, Roberts 1-3, Humphrey 1-5, Davis 0-1, Cotal 0-1), Ohio St. 13-29 (Harris 3-5, Cook 3-5, Lewis 3-7, Terwilliger 1-1, Titus 1-1, Lighty 1-3, Butler 1-5, Conley 0-2). Fouled Out?None. Rebounds?Youngstown St. 37 (Humphrey, Liles, Roberts 5), Ohio St. 45 (Cook 11). Assists?Youngstown St. 10 (Davis 5), Ohio St. 21 (Butler 9). Total Fouls?Youngstown St. 12, Ohio St. 12. A?17,463.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

<H1 class=red>Buckeyes pummel flightless Penguins

</H1>

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Doug Lesmerises

Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbus- Time to find out how Mike Conley's quickness, Daequan Cook's hops and David Lighty's defense handle some real competition. In a final tune-up Friday night before traveling to North Carolina on Wednesday for the ACC / Big Ten Challenge, Ohio State sprinted past Youngstown State, 91-57.
The Buckeyes (6-0) have outscored opponents by an average of 87-61. Loyola, a 12-point loser, is the only team to stay within 20 points. It won't be that way against the Tar Heels.
"I'm curious to see how we play," said OSU swingman Ron Lewis. "It's a really big step for us, and it's on national TV and it will really tell what type of team we are."
The Buckeyes, currently ranked third in the coaches poll and fourth in the AP, will go in as the higher-rated team. The Tar Heels (4-1), currently second in both polls, will drop after their loss to Gonzaga on Wednesday.
"If you told us before the season, 'You'll be 6-0 going into North Carolina,' I wasn't so sure that we would because there were so many unknowns," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "I would feel better if Greg was healthy and we were going to North Carolina, but this is a unique opportunity for us at this stage."
Ahh, Greg Oden. The freshman big man was once again in street clothes on the bench, still out with his right wrist injury.
And though he continues to progress, Matta said there would be no Oden surprise for Carolina -- his target return date still a month away.
Against the Penguins (2-4), five Buckeyes scored in double figures, led by 19 from Ivan Harris. Cook added 17 and 11 rebounds, Lewis scored 16, Matt Terwilliger 12 and Lighty 11. For the fifth time in six games, the Buckeyes made more than half their shots, shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from 3-point range. That included the first career 3-point attempt, and make, from the 6-8 Terwilliger.
"That's something I worked on all summer," Terwilliger said.
Jamar Butler scored just three points, making one of his five 3-point attempts, but handed out nine assists. Matta was happiest, though, with the defense in the first