Ohio State's Giant Provides Bigger Presence

Ohio State Coach Thad Matta told Oden at halftime, "You should be well rested."

After that disappointing preliminary, the second half was pure exciting brinksmanship between the big men. Oden's first points of the night came with a tap-in over Hibbert with 17:57 to go. And it was on. In one dazzling exchange, Oden spun and hit a jump hook, only to watch Hibbert answer with a spin of his own and a step-through to cut Ohio State's lead to 42-38.

"He shot over me a bunch of times, so you see what he can do," Oden said.

But when Hibbert committed his fourth foul and went to the bench with a little less than nine minutes left, just after Georgetown had tied the game at 44, Oden commandeered the game.

"I was at the wrong place at the wrong time some times," a disheartened Hibbert said afterward. "I just have to make better plays, play smarter."

Oden seized the opportunity in Hibbert's absence. His shoulder-shake and move to the rim for a layin was the first of seven straight points for the Buckeyes. "We just wanted to take advantage of Big Roy going out," he said. With 6:37 to go, Oden went tomahawking to the basket again for an attempted slam over Jeff Green, who fouled him. The ball popped out, but there was something emphatic and physically dominating about the move, and his free throw gave the Buckeyes a 51-44 lead.

Still another commanding Oden move effectively squelched the Hoyas' hopes with 2:14 to go. This one wasn't a lunge for the rim. Instead, Oden faced up to the basket and threw in a jumper for a 58-52 lead. When Hibbert couldn't answer, missing a baby hook on the other end, the game was all but over.

Other players made big, even difference-making contributions for their teams, especially guards Jonathan Wallace, with 19 points for the Hoyas, and Mike Conley with 15 for the Buckeyes. But it was the action on the low block that was most captivating, and it there that Oden wrested away the game in the second half.

"I thought he stepped up, made some huge plays," Matta said.

Hibbert, too, had made big plays, and finished with the better stat line, with 19 points and six rebounds. But in the game within the game that everyone came to see, big vs. big, the younger player had come up larger.