Light(y)'s Out

Ohio State will participate in the 2007 Final Four in Atlanta after defeating Memphis 92-76 early this evening...and who isn't impressed with the composure and consistent ability of this team to battle back? This game had all the usual elements...announcers continually praising Greg Oden (Shown above looking semi-retarded), five or more comments about Thad Matta's gum on the floor, Conley using the hesitation move to perfection and Jamar Butler knocking down a long distance 3-pointer down the stretch from almost half-court. Perhaps the best sign was that they actually outplayed Memphis for a good part of this game (Well besides the stretch of about 8 minutes where the Tigers couldn't miss a shot regardless of the level of difficulty). Also, they were able to score 90 points, which shows the versatility of this team to win games in the 50's and also high scoring affairs (They'll need it if they draw UNC in the next round...as we noticed from the first matchup).

David Lighty played big minutes in the first half, and showed off his natural leaping ability on a number of occasions. Greg Oden went down with his third foul just 2:30 into the second half, and Memphis was able to gain a five point advantage with him on the bench. When he returned, Ohio State took over the game, and he (For once) was a dominating presence in the paint and really did change the game. Congratulations to Memphis for again having the most athletic team on the planet, and not reaching their potential...maybe next year they'll think of putting some more challenging out of conference games into their schedule to prepare them for the big boys in the tournament. Who's next for the Buckeyes...will it be North Carolina or the thieves from Georgetown who should have been on a plane home last night if it weren't for a set of blind referees? It might be nice to knock Georgetown and return the favor from last year, so I'll be pulling for the Hoyas...Go Buckeyes!

AP Photo