http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2008/12/03/techhoops.htmlI see DC is on the boards.. thought I'd give him sumpin to chew on.. I watched the OSU Miami FL game last night.. The Bucks were down by 14 or so at the half and came back to win a great game. I must confess I thought OSU would get their heads handed to them after watching them play Samford the other night.
GEORGIA TECH BASKETBALL: Big Ten matchup gives ACC a leg up in Midwest
By Larry Hartstein
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
The ACC-Big Ten Challenge will run at least two more years, meaning the Big Ten still has time to win one.
The ACC has won all nine of these made-for-TV events and held a 56-30 edge entering this year, winning eight of 11 games each of the past two seasons. The Big Ten got off to a good start Monday night when Wisconsin beat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, but was 2-3 Tuesday night.
The Challenge concludes tonight with five games, including Georgia Tech hosting Penn State at 7:30 p.m. The Jackets aim to even their Challenge record at 5-5.
Coach Paul Hewitt supports continuing the event, saying it promotes college basketball and serves as a recruiting tool for ACC teams.
“It’s an area [the Midwest] we don’t get to from a coverage standpoint,” he said. “Playing an ACC-Big Ten Challenge definitely opens that recruiting market, and we’ve been able to capitalize, getting a guy like Iman Shumpert out of Chicago. This gives the ACC a presence up in that area.”
Forward Zachery Peacock, who got hit in the face in Friday’s win over Jacksonville, is fine and will start against the Nittany Lions. Point guard Moe Miller also will start. He came off the bench Friday after missing one game with a concussion.
Penn State (6-1) is lethal from 3-point range: Guards Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle are 40-for-81 from beyond the arc. Jamelle Cornley (15 points, 7.3 rebounds) is a relentless forward.
In Tech’s 4-0 start, the frontcourt has led the way. Gani Lawal is averaging 19.3 points and 11.5 rebounds, and Alade Aminu is shooting 62 percent from the field.
The Jackets play two major-conference opponents this week, with Vanderbilt visiting at 2 p.m. Saturday. Today’s game follows a 4:15 p.m. women’s game between Tech (5-2) and No. 21 Michigan State (6-1).
“This is certainly a step up in athleticism that we’re playing, but we’ve been so focused on getting our team to play at maximum efficiency, we really haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to our opponent,” Hewitt said.
“With their ability to shoot the 3, you’ve still got to guard the ball, you’ve still got to rebound and you can’t let Cornley go crazy inside. We’re playing well, but we’ve been inconsistent offensively.”
NEXT FOR TECH
> Who: vs. Penn State
> When: 7:30 p.m. today
> TV; radio: ESPN2; 790 AM
ACC-BIG TEN CHALLENGE
MONDAY
> Wisconsin 74, Virginia Tech 72
TUESDAY
> Ohio State 73, Miami 68
> Boston College 57, Iowa 55
> Clemson 75, Illinois 74
> Duke 76, Purdue 60
> Minnesota 66, Virginia 56
TODAY
> Penn State at Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
> Indiana at Wake Forest, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN)
> Michigan at Maryland, 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
> North Carolina vs. Michigan State, 9:15 p.m. (ESPN)
> Florida State at Northwestern, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
webbage Ohio State 73, No. 21 Miami 68
Men's basketball: Ohio State shows offensive punch
Buckeyes rally, thanks in part to key Hurricanes player's ejection
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 3:09 AM
By Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Where did that come from?
"From the heart," Evan Turner said.
An Ohio State men's basketball team that struggled to average 63 points in three games against lesser competition scored 51 in the second half last night against the No. 21-ranked team in the nation. The Buckeyes grabbed a game the University of Miami left them for the taking and stunned the Hurricanes 73-68 in the BankUnited Center.
Jon Diebler scored 20 points, including six three-point baskets, and Evan Turner had all of his 19 points in the second half to lead the Buckeyes (4-0) back from 14-point halftime deficit.
"I'm extremely proud of our guys coming back and playing the second 20 minutes the way they did," said coach Thad Matta, whose team trailed by as many as 15 late in the first half. "You don't know what to expect a lot of times as you take your first road trip."
Ohio State defeated a ranked team on the road for the first time in three seasons. The last such victory had been at Michigan State in February 2006.
The Buckeyes were 3-9 against ranked teams last season, including eight consecutive losses.
"It means we've developed," Turner said. "We came through. We grew as a team. To win on the road, you have to be tough."
Lance Hurdle scored 14 points to lead Miami (4-2), which played the last 30 minutes of the game without leading scorer Jack McClinton, who was ejected with 10:12 left in the first half for hitting OSU point guard Anthony Crater in the right eye.
"It was tough" losing McClinton, Hurdle said. But the Hurricanes led by 12 points when he left the game and extended their lead without him before falling apart in the second half.
"We lost our defensive intensity, lost our balance," coach Frank Haith said. "We were not rotating quick enough when the ball was moving, andby doing that, we left a lot of driving lanes open."
Ohio State missed seven of its first eight shots, six of them three-point attempts, in falling behind 13-4. The Buckeyes finished the first half attempting more than half of their shots from outside the arc and shot 27.6 percent overall.
"Coach just told us at halftime that we've got to keep shooting, keep shooting with confidence," Diebler said. "We were getting open looks we just weren't making them. The second half, we started knocking shots down."
They also started driving the lane more, especially Turner, as Diebler forced Miami to pay attention to him on the perimeter. Foul trouble limited Turner to eight minutes in the first half. He played all 20 in the second.
"My job is to knock down shots," Diebler said. "When I do knock down shots, it's going to open things up for him."
Diebler made a three-pointer and two free throws as Ohio State opened the second half with a 15-2 run to close to 38-37 with 15:07 left.
Miami widened its lead to 48-40, but Diebler made a pair of three-pointers 44 seconds apart in a 9-2 run that cut the margin to one again, 50-49 with 10:08 left.
Miami yet again increased its advantage, to 54-49, but an 8-0 run capped by Jeremie Simmons' only three-pointer of the game gave Ohio State its first lead, 57-54 with 6:54 left.
The Buckeyes held the lead the rest of the way despite Miami twice getting as close as one, the last time at 68-67 with 33.6 seconds left. But Turner and Simmons combined to make five of six free throws, all in 1-and-1 situations, to ice the victory.
"We kept playing," Matta said. "Hopefully that's a sign that we can keep growing."
bbaptist@dispatch.com
. Mainly because the whiney Miami player took a wild swing that barely connected. The OSU player did a good job falling to the ground, and staying down and letting the officails get a look at the swing on replay.
I will state that if McClinton isn't a total dooomass, the Buckeyes don't win that game. Miamis offense really struggled after he went out... Note to Grievas Vasquez, get in McClinton's head early. 
