Also... I disagree with this dude, mostly because Eddie Sutton, John Beilein, Rick Pitino and a litany of primary talent has not accompanied Joey Graham, Manny Harris, & Samardo Samuels to the Cavs sideline. If you would like to make your case that the Cavaliers would win, please do. Don't make yourself seem an ignorant fool by quoting college statistics and, especially, draft positions. It's not like Anthony Parker was so bad that he to play half a decade in Israel to get another shot. Wait... OSU would win because they have a similar talent level and, more importantly, engage opponents as a team, rather than as a loosely tethered flock of losers. I do agree that the Buckeyes lack depth, but their 7 are used to 35 minutes a night. Still, this certainly is a lot of words.
Tipoff: The Cavs, who are without Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson and Leon Powe, trot out Ramon Sessions, Manny Harris, J.J. Hickson, Antawn Jamison and Christian Eyenga for the opening tip, while the Buckeyes counter with William Buford, Jon Diebler, Dallas Lauderdale, Jared Sullinger and David Lighty.
18:12: Lauderdale, who seemingly has been at Ohio State for nine years, makes his customary early exit, with true point guard Aaron Craft, who represents exactly half of the useful players on Thad Matta’s bench, taking the court.
18:10: With no shot-blocking presence on the floor for OSU, Harris, who put up 18.1 points a game in his third and final season at Michigan, which is more than any Buckeye is averaging, drives around the slow-footed Diebler for the first of his three dunks in the next four minutes.
15:28: Soon after a mandatory TV timeout, the 6-foot-9 Jamison, with a height advantage over anyone Matta puts on him now that Sullinger is at center, scores on a baby hook, the first of many he will have on the night.
9:55: Sullinger, the lone Ohio State player guaranteed of playing at the NBA level, drop-steps around Hickson. Twenty seconds later, Sullinger pump-fakes Hickson off his feet and scores again.
4:04: Matta, his undersized team unable to match up with Jamison, decides to go to a zone. Shooting from the college
3-point line, Anthony Parker, who averaged 16.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists as a senior at Bradley before becoming the 21st pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, immediately makes a pair of treys. Joey Graham, who averaged 17.7 points and 6.2 boards as a senior at Oklahoma State before being the 16th player chosen in the 2005 draft, comes off the bench and adds another.
Halftime: Jamison has 19 points and the Cavs have made 7-of-13 from beyond the arc to take a 51-37 lead. Sullinger has 15 points for the Buckeyes. Diebler is 0-of-2 from the field, both hurried misses from beyond the arc with a hand right in his face.
Cavs coach Byron Scott, totally unaccustomed to his team leading at the half, much less being on the verge of blowing out someone, says nothing to his players. Matta says plenty to his, then asks his staff why anyone really thought his team had a chance in this one.
17:21: Moments after Diebler cans a pair of threes because the Cavs return to their season-long habit of not guarding shooters, Sessions has a second straight possession where he inexplicably decides to throw the ball to Brutus Buckeye.
17:11: With Cavs radio analyst Jim Chones still talking about Sessions’ turnovers, Sullinger steps out and hits a 16-footer to pull the Buckeyes within eight at 53-45.
17:09: Scott, unwilling to wait for the mandatory TV timeout at the 16-minute mark, angrily calls time and lays into his players. Hickson seems to be looking over his coach’s left shoulder as the Ohio State cheerleaders perform on the court.
16:58: Matta having left Lauderdale in because his team desperately needs the center’s size, Good J.J. surfaces, taking one dribble before spinning around his much-slower defender for a dunk.
16:51: Quickly in off the bench, Parker picks up Craft full-court, picks clean one of three true freshmen playing for OSU and goes in for a layup.
13:10: Sullinger drop-steps and goes up for a shot, only to be hammered by 6-9, 260-pound Samardo Samuels, who averaged 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in his second and final season at Louisville. Sullinger splits the pair.
12:50: The Cavs begin to exploit Ohio State’s many matchup problems, with Jamison rolling in another baby hook, then stepping out for a three against an unsuspecting Sullinger. That is followed by Parker losing Diebler on an off-the-ball screen and canning a jumper, then Graham, who is much bigger than his listed 230 pounds, powering right through Lighty for a layup.
9:20: Sessions posts up the smaller Craft for an easy bucket. He follows with a variety of drives and midrange jumpers as the Cavs complete a 21-5 run.
9:19: Austin Carr and Fred McLeod can barely contain themselves.
8:34: Back at center because the Buckeyes can no longer afford to use the non-scoring Lauderdale, Sullinger, who has played all but 27 seconds, has his shot swatted into the third row by long-armed, 7-foot Cavs backup Ryan Hollins.
6:12: The outcome of this one no longer in doubt, Lighty scores on a strong drive. Buford does the same moments later, then freshman Deshaun Thomas hits a high-arcing jumper from the wing.
5:01: Eyenga, whose athleticism has frustrated Diebler much of the night, throws down a monster dunk off a lob from Sessions.
4:20: Ohio State having been forced into another bad shot by the bigger, stronger and quicker Cavs, Alonzo Gee, who averaged 15.0 points and 7.2 boards as a senior at Alabama, throws down another lob from Sessions.
1:58: Appalled anyone could think a college team — even the top-ranked one in the country — could beat an NBA team — even one that barely competes at that level — the Cavs continue to pour it on.
1:02: Both coaches clear their benches, with Matta bringing in five players who are taking off their warm-ups for the first time. Jamison exits with 33 points and nine rebounds, Hickson sits down to eye the OSU cheerleaders with 16 points and 13 boards and Sessions leaves with 19 points, six rebounds, nine assists and five turnovers. Sullinger has 29 points and 15 rebounds, but Diebler, who scores all 12 of his points in the second half on four 3-pointers, is the only other Ohio State player with more than eight.
Final buzzer: Cavs 103, Ohio State 77.
