Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Put It All Together to Gain Road Win at Purdue
By John Porentas

The talk has been that the No. 5 Buckeyes (19-3, 7-1 Big Ten) have lacked some chemistry since freshman center Greg Oden entered the OSU lineup. It looked like they found it in OSU's 78-60 win over Purdue (14-8, 3-5 Big Ten) at West Lafayette before a crowd of 13,961.

Prior to Oden's insertion into the lineup the Buckeyes were a guard-oriented, up-and-down the court team. Since Oden has been inserted in the lineup, however, the Buckeyes have had trouble playing to and through Oden while maintaining their ability to run and take advantage of their guards. Against the Boilermakers, however, that changed.

OSU got production from every position on the floor and from nine different players in handing the Boilermakers their first home defeat of the season. The Buckeyes got out and ran when they could, made three point shots when they had them and went down low often enough to make defending them a nightmare for Purdue.

The Boilers were able to hang with the Buckeyes in the first half on the strength of some hot outside shooting. Purdue's first four field goals in the game were thee pointers, the fourth staking them to a two point lead at 12-10, but Purdue could not get much going down low despite the fact that Oden sat out much of the first half with foul trouble. Oden logged just six minutes in the first half and was spelled by backups Othello Hunter and Matt Terwilliger. Despite the absence of Oden for most the half, the Boilers could not take control of the game. OSU led most of the way, going up by as many as nine points before the intermission. A run by Purdue late in the half cut that lead to just two at 33-31 as the half came to a close, but that would prove to be as close as the Boilers were going to get.

After hitting four-of-ten threes in the first half Purdue went cold from long range in the second hitting just two-of-14 (14.3 per cent). While Purdue was struggling, the Buckeyes were clicking.

The Buckeyes opened the second half with a six point run to build a lead of nine and the Boilermakers were not really able to threaten them in any significant way the remainder of the game. OSU was able to answer every Purdue run with a play of their own to hold the Boilers at bay. Purdue did close to within five at 50-45, but OSU answered that run with an eight point spurt of their own to go up 58-45. When Purdue closed to single digits again at 58-49 OSU senior forward Ivan Harris hit a three to put the Buckeyes back up 12.

With the Boilers concentrating on the OSU inside game the OSU guards went off on them. Guards Mike Conley, Jamar Butler and Daequan Cook all scored in double figures with 18, 16 and 12 points respectively. Conley added six assists and Cook registered a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds to go with his scoring effort.

Purdue's final chance came when the pulled to with eight at 68-60 and had possession of the ball, but a steal by freshman forward David Lighty followed by a lay up by Lighty pretty much sealed the deal for Buckeyes. The play was the start of a 10-0 run by the Buckeyes to end the game and establish the final score of 78-60.

"In the second half we did a good job of taking good shots," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta. "We had a stretch there were we got great shots and our defense was better," said Matta.

Purdue's scoring came from forward Carl Landry who totaled a team-high 16 points and Tarrance Crump who added 11. Second-leading scorer David Teague was limited to just seven points on three-of-10 shooting. Purdue's three starting guards combined for just 13 total points. OSU's three starting guards combined for 41, and Cook added another 12 off the OSU bench.

"I think our guards got out there and played tonight and we got a win," said Butler. ''We just got to open spots and found each other.''

"We got some good shots out of transition and knocked down some threes," said Matta. "I like to play fast. I'd like to play even faster. The big thing was we made some great decisions when we got out and ran," Matta said.

Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter lamented the fact that his team could not take advantage of their opportunity to make a run on the Buckeyes as Oden sat out most of the first half with foul trouble.

"We missed an opportunity to take advantage," said Painter. "Their guards stepped up and picked up the slack, especially Conley and Butler. They're both very good players.

"When Oden goes out, they're not bringing in some guys off the street (to replace Oden). Hunter is one of the best big men in the Big Ten, and Terwilliger is very experienced, practiced against Terence Dials all last year and Oden this year. Those guys came in and filled in well beside the play of their guards."

Notes:

* According to Thad Matta Greg Oden was not able to get to the team hotel to join the Buckeyes until 4:45 PM, just 25 minutes before their schedule departure for the arena. When he arrived, Oden expressed a desire to get in a nap. Matta told Oden he could take as long as he wanted to compose himself after attending memorial services for his best friend today. According to Matta, Oden was told he could skip the game if he wanted, but Oden did arrive at the arena in plenty of time to play.

* The Buckeyes wore a back stripe on their uniforms for the game. According to OSU officials, that stripe will not be worn going forward.

* OSU's win, coupled with Wisconsin's loss to Indiana in Bloomington, puts the Buckeyes in a first-play tie in the Big Ten regular-season title race with the Badgers. OSU lost to Wisconsin in Madison. The two teams will meet in Columbus in February. Wisconsin and OSU are now both 7-1 in Big Ten play. Indiana stands at 6-2 with one of those losses coming at the hands of the Buckeyes in Columbus. OSU and Indiana will meet just once in Big Ten regular-season play.

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