Chapel Hill Thrills

North Carolina 98, Ohio State 89

Last night was the first night that I've been able to really watch the Ohio State men's basketball team and the "Thad Five." It's not that I am not a big basketball fan, but more so that OSU has been playing San Francisco, Eastern Kentucky, and all these other teams that I really don't care about. Plus, until last night it was still football season for the majority of those who live in Columbus.

So, what did I really take from last night's thriller in North Carolina?

First off I was amazingly impressed with the athleticism that OSU put on the floor. I loved what I saw from Mike Conley, Daequan Cook, and David Lighty. I thought Conley was very, very quick with the ball, and made sound decisions offensively. The Cook dunk seemed to come out of nowhere, and he also showed nice range with 2 three pointers in the game. Conley was sidelined for most of the first half due to foul trouble, but ended up with 10 points and 8 assists with only 3 turnovers.

The Buckeye veterans were nothing short of spectacular. Senior Ivan Harris was 5 of 8 from outside the arc, and ended up with 17 points. I'd like to see a little more physicality from Harris on the defensive end, and use his wingspan in an effort to alter some shots attempts from the paint. Jamar Butler was solid, as his 6 points were from on 2/2 from three point-land. Butler had a couple of nice steals and both of his 3's came at critical points in the game that were huge in silencing the Tar Heel crowd.

The best Buckeye performance of the night goes to Ron Lewis. His career high of 30 points helped the Bucks stay in the game, and at times Lewis was unstoppable. Lewis was 10 of 15 from the floor and 6 of 8 from the free throw line. I never really had been a huge Ron Lewis fan, but something must've clicked for this guy over the summer because I have never seen that Ron Lewis on the hardwood before.

The story of the night was that North Carolina was a lot bigger than us and their inside presence with Tyler Hansbrough and Brandan Wright was way too much for Matt Terwilliger and Othella Hunter to handle (UNC freshman Brandan Wright is the second coming of Tyrus Thomas-tall, long, quick and athletic, and when he learns how to fit into Roy Williams' system this team will be scary). When OSU gets super center Greg Oden back from wrist surgery in the next month, this will be a team that can win in Atlanta (the site of the 2007 Final Four). The key ingredient that OSU is missing is a solid defensive presence inside, and when Oden comes back this team should be sick.

I did think OSU committed some silly fouls and at times took some questionable shots, but you'll have that with a young team and as they mature their performances will as well. But in terms of basketball excitement on the campus of THE Ohio State University, things might have never looked this promising for a Buckeye team (my regards to Perry Carter, Jim Jackson, Chris Jent, Treg Lee, Jammal Brown, Mark Baker, Alex Davis, Bill Robinson, and the rest of those 91-93 team members).