Eleven Warriors

Greg Oden was named as a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award joining Kevin Durant, Alando Tucker, Acie Law IV and Tyler Hansbrough. The award is presented annually to college hoops' most outstanding player.

1460 The Fan reported early Wednesday that Chad Ford of ESPN said a reliable source told him both Oden and Mike Conley would turn pro after this season. A few hours later, Mike Conley's dad refuted that claim insisting Jr. "is not thinking about going pro". Look, I know Conley is the MVP of this squad, but I think he needs at least one more year to work on a consistent perimeter jumper before he makes the leap. Hopefully, Mike agrees.

To get you primed for the weekend, The Morning After has compiled 10 years worth of CBS' "One Shining Moment" tournament finale montages. The Buckeyes didn't get much love in the 1999 version - maybe the NCAA already had a feeling O'Brien was dirty.

With all of the ruckus being made over the success of the hoops team, it's easy to forget about that other Buckeye powerhouse. You know.. the one that plays fall Saturdays in front of 100,000 rabid fans. Those guys. Anyway, spring practice kicks off tomorrow and the first depth-chart of 2007 is out.

Todd Boeckman is listed as the starting quarterback but the Vest was sure to stress that the competition is still open:

"If there were a game today, Todd would line up as the starter, but there's not a game today," Tressel said.

Boeckman, a junior, is big (6'5"-235) and can evidently move, with Tressel mentioning that he ran the fastest 40 time of any of the quarterbacks last season. That group would include that slippery fella that went on to win the Heisman Trophy. Boeckman is also older and has some time in the system. Granted, he didn't see the field a lot with Troy Smith directing the show, but as John Harold Cooper would say: "He looks good on paper."

Boeckman will see competition from sophomore Robbie Schoenhoft (6'6"-240) and freshman Antonio Henton (6'2"-210), who line up second and third, respectively, on the depth chart. Whoever wins the position won't be asked to perform miracles like Smith was as the offense should be based on a steady diet of Beanie Wells at running back.

The team is young, with twice as many redshirt freshmen on the two deep as seniors, and it could be a tough season for fans accustomed to dominance (save for 1/8/07). They'll have 15 practices to knock some rust off before the Spring Game in Ohio Stadium on April 21.

To help get the juices flowing a little, here's some state-sponsored propoganda:

I'm not sure what Wolverine fan was thinking when he agreed to be tasered by a group of Buckeye fans, but I do know that I could watch this for a while without it getting old.

(Via Sports By Brooks)

Sporting no Cinderella but instead four legit hoops powerhouses, this year's Final Four figures to be one of the best in ages and has certainly captured the attention of the assembled media. The main websites have more stories than Mike Vick in an airport. In the spirit of lazy blogging, here's a collection of today's best stuff:

The Sports Guy breaks down this year's tournament including this eye-popping note:

This year's quartet features a future No. 1 pick and franchise center (Oden), six future lottery picks (Oden, Conley, Noah, Horford, Brewer, Green and Hibbert), two more potential first rounders (Afflalo and Collison),

For good measure, Simmons correctly asserts that Conley is one of the 10 best players in college today.

Stewart Mandel of SI chimes in with a great piece on the implications of a Florida - OSU rematch considering the recent history between the programs.

If you want to scout the Hoyas before the official 11W preview appears on Friday, cbs.sportline presents The Edge.

On the lighter side of the news, Matt Turdwiggler made the satirical site The Phat Phree's "Sweet 16 Annoying White Guy Team". Speaking of Da Turd, do 11W readers think Matt's earned his real last name back considering his key contributions (5 pts, 3 reb) during the Tennessee comeback?

Many thanks to 11W reader John for sending us the above photo of newly minted Associated Press All-American Greg Oden enjoying some Magic Mountain. The Buckeye center, along with Kevin Durant, became the first freshmen named to the AP All-American squad since Chris Jackson Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf of LSU was named to the 1990 team.

"I'm very surprised," Oden said of being selected. "Just with how things went, I didn't really play a whole season, and I know there are a lot of other guys with better numbers than me. I'm just surprised, but I'm honored and the best I can do is keep on playing."

With the complete meltdown of Tar Heel Reactor 1 last night, the Georgetown Hoyas advanced to play Ohio State in the Final Four. The 15 minute stretch at the end of the game in which the Tar Heels went 1 for 23 from the field will not be fondly remembered in Chapel Hill.

Watching this game was great, because no matter who won, the Buckeyes owed the winner. A rematch with North Carolina would have given the Bucks a chance to continue their quest towards revenge symmetry, but the more I think about it, the more I'm glad the Buckeyes get to take on the Hoyas.

Second-seeded Ohio State was embarrassed by a taller Georgetown squad in the second round of the tournament last season. Roy Hibbert had 20 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks against a Buckeye squad that ran its post offense through 6'9" Terence Dials. With the Odenator patrolling the paint this year, you gotta figure Hibbert won't duplicate those numbers, but make no mistake about it -- Hibbert will be Oden's best test of the season.

A victory over Georgetown will hopefully lead to a chance for some further revenge against the likes of the Gators, who are quickly becoming the new Michigan. I can hear the old-timers screaming now, but based on the fiasco in Glendale, the basketball blowout earlier this season in Gainesville and the fact that the Wolverines haven't beaten the Buckeyes in anything of significance since Arnold Schwarzenegger was just a bad actor, a case can be made for more disdain directed at the Gators than the Wolverines these days in Buckeye Nation. Need I even mention Joakim Noah?

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On a side note, for Buckeye fans that plan to make the trip to Atlanta, Brooks has put together an excellent travel guide.

Thad Matta's troops earned the schoool's 9th Final Four appearance and first since 1968 in a 92-76 demolition of Memphis. It was another total team effort - 4 Buckeye starters reached double figures and Daequan Cook and David Lighty combined for 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals off the bench.

Greg Oden was limited to just 24 minutes due to foul trouble (again) but he dominated the Tigers in his cameo appearances, especially in the second half. He finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds and keyed a 20-8 run in the second half that gave OSU a 71-64 lead with 5:41 remaining. In case you're wondering, that jackass Joey Dorsey backed his call out of Oden with ZERO points and 4 fouls in addition to getting schooled 1-on-1 by Oden on numerous occasions. "Goliath", indeed.

Ron Lewis led OSU with 22 points (10-10 FT) to go along with 6 rebounds while Mike Conley completely controlled the game scoring 19 points directing an offense that put up 92 points including 51 in the 2nd half. The Bucks also received a strong effort from Jamar Butler who tallied 12 points (6-6 FT), 3 boards and 4 assists against just one turnover is 39 minutes.

OSU was simply the more disciplined team and stuck with their strategy of driving to the basket to score or get to the line even with Memphis shooting 45% (10-22) from downtown. In an amazing stat, the Buckeyes hit 18 straight free throws in the last four minutes to punch their tickets to Atlanta. For the game, OSU converted a whopping 35-41 FT's, good for 85%.

The Buckeyes will face the winner of UNC-Georgetown next Saturday night. I can't believe it, OSU's first official trip to the Final Four in my lifetime. I hesitate to say it, but this team continues to remind me of the 2002 Football Buckeyes and they're peaking at the right time. 4 down, 2 to go.

Joey Dorsey has diarrhea of the mouth. In a not-so-shocking development, the Memphis forward called out Greg Oden in today's press conference, calling the future #1 draft pick 'overrated':

"Oh yeah," he said. "I think (scouts) really will be watching this game tomorrow night because it's two great big men going up against each other. I'm an underrated big man and he's a lot overrated as a big man."

Taking it a step further, Dorsey predicted a big game:

"I'm going to have a 20-rebound night," he said.

In case Dorsey didn't quite yet convince you he was on crack, he closed with this nugget:

"I'm Goliath," he said of his individual battle with Oden. "He's the little man."

It's time for Oden to answer the bell. The Final Four awaits.

#1 Ohio State 33-3, 15-1 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

March 24, 2007 4:40 PM ET ------ Alamodome San Antonio, TX

#2 Memphis 33-3, 16-0 C-USA Roster | Schedule

Opponent: John Calipari's Memphis Tigers earned their 2nd straight Elite Eight appearance with a tough 65-64 win over Texas A&M in the Alamodome. The win extended the nation's longest winning streak to 25 games thanks to a stifling Memphis defense that held the Aggies to 22 second half points. Many have questioned just how good this team is because Conference USA is such a pansy league that no other team made the NCAA or even the NIT but the A&M victory on a not-so-neutral court has created some believers. Admittedly, I've only seen them twice but their strengths and weaknesses are crystal clear. On the plus side, the Tigers are as athletic as Tennessee and capable of playing shutdown defense. Additionally, the majority of the roster can really drive to the rim putting pressure on the defensive interior. On the flip, Memphis is one of the nation's worst free throw shooting teams (62%), they don't shoot the three any where near the same efficiency as Tennessee and they sometimes force the tempo leading to erratic play and dumb turnovers. The Tigers also have a tendency to go one-on-one against defenders resulting in poor ball movement. The Tigers assisted on just 8 of 23 FG's against A&M.

Key Players: 6'6" sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts leads Memphis in scoring (15.4) although he's been hobbled recently by a bad wheel injured in the 2nd round victory over Nevada. That said, CD-R didn't look too disabled against the Aggies with 15 points (5-8 FG) in 37 minutes. Lone senior Jeremy Hunt is 2nd in scoring (13.7) and serves as the team's primary deep threat hitting 38% of his triples on the season. A pair of 6'9" forwards, Robert Dozier (9.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Joey Dorsey (8.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg), serve as the main offensive threats on the baseline and will take turns guarding Greg Oden.

Notes: What's up with Joey Dorsey wearing a wife beater instead of a jersey on the Memphis bench in the closing minutes of their A&M game? With the gangsters Calipari likes to bring in, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Hell, I'd say it's highly likely that Dorsey will be shooting dice on the sideline at some point in this game.

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Buckeye Breakdown: The keys to beating Memphis include taking away the dribble drive in an effort to force the Tigers to prove they can consistently hit perimeter jumpers and taking care of the ball in the face of their defensive pressure while controlling tempo. Considering Oden's inability to stay out of foul trouble the past two games, Matta may elect to play a little 2-3 zone in hopes of getting Oden to halftime with no more than 1 personal foul. Jamar Butler will likely draw the assignment of keeping Douglas-Roberts in check after doing a nice job of limiting Chris Lofton's points in the 2nd half Thursday night.

Key Players: Ron Lewis continues to give Buckeye fans a chubby with his clutch offensive performances. The senior from Brookhaven blitzed UT with 25 points on 9-17 shooting including a huge three that gave OSU the lead for good at 82-79 with 2:07 left in the game. Mike Conley Jr. continued his stat-stuffing season with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. The freshman's free throw with 6.5 seconds left provided the winning margin and he committed just 1 turnover in 34 minutes of action. At this point, it's pretty safe to expect Lewis and Conley to show up but what can we expect from Oden? At least he should be fresh after sitting on the bench for 22 minutes. He'll need to be fresh because Calipari will likely throw a lot of bodies (and fouls) at Oden similar to the strategy employed by Bo Ryan's Badgers. If Oden can get a fair shake from the officials he should be able to impose his will and get some decent looks against the strong but shorter Tiger post defenders. Lastly, OSU will need another boost from the bench to ensure fresh bodies are on the defensive end of the floor to stop the dribble penetration. Considering Memphis' offensive style, look for David Lighty to see 15-20 minutes of action as a defensive stopper after his best performance (7 pts, 2 reb) of the season against UT. Matt Turdwiggler will also get some minutes after a strong 5 point, 3 rebound performance against the Vols.

Notes: A win would give OSU their 9th Final Four appearance...The Dispatch reports Kentucky has not yet asked to speak to Matta about their coaching vacancy.

Sure, the big man didn't put up the best numbers last night -- phantom 4th fouls will do that, but he still came up huge with that swat of ages at the end. With that in mind, we've dedicated an entire mix tape to the Odenator.

Neil Building Silent Cinema Sessions
The Bracket Blog at the Times has some insight into dorm life with roommates Oden and Conley. Is it any surprise that the old timer eschews video games in favor of movie sessions?

Danny Almonte He's Not
Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tracks down and visually confirms Oden's birth certificate. I can understand the skepticism about his age. He was wearing a freakin' SIZE 6 SHOE at age 2.

Baby Oden?
Evidently, Oden has a little brother. Anthony Oden is a 6'8", 270 pound junior for Dayton Dunbar. Mark Gokavi of the Dayton Daily News takes a look at the ups and downs of a little brother trying to live up to the lofty standards. Next up for Anthony and Dunbar is a date in the state championship game against high-flying Buckeye recruit Jon Diebler.