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Intentional foul sparks Buckeyes
Sunday, March 25, 2007
SAN ANTONIO — Forget trash-talker Joey Dorsey.
Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts is the one who treated Greg Oden harshly during Ohio State's 92-76 South Regional win in the NCAA tournament — at least according to the referees.
Extras
A key part of OSU's game-changing 20-8 run Saturday at the Alamodome came when Memphis was up 60-57. After a scramble, Oden got the ball near the block, jumped and scored.
The 6-foot-6, 190-pound Douglas-Roberts appeared to wrap his hands around the 7-foot, 280-pound Oden. The officials called an intentional foul and gave Oden the hoop. He hit 1-of-2 (OSU would make 20 straight after that), and Ohio State got the ball. Jamar Butler hit two free throws for a five-point possession and a 62-60 lead.
"I just didn't want to really give him an easy dunk to really get the momentum going," Douglas-Roberts said. "I just tried to foul him while he was on the ground. I didn't foul him that hard for it to be intentional, but that's the way it goes."
Memphis coach John Calipari called it a key moment.
"It changed the whole complexion of the game," he said. "It put fire in them and took the wind out of our sails. It may have been a good call, I just didn't see it."
Oden 1, Dorsey 0
Dorsey, a muscular 6-9, 260-pound junior, called Oden overrated on Friday. Dorsey said he'd score 15 points and get 20 rebounds and that he hoped NBA scouts would watch him battle Oden.
Whoops.
Dorsey finished with zero points (on 0-of-0 shooting), three rebounds and four fouls in 19 minutes. Oden had 17 points (7-of-8 shooting) and nine rebounds.
"I think this is the worst game of my career," Dorsey said. "I was so tired defending (Oden) on defense that I wasn't able to help my team on the offensive end."
Calipari ripped Dorsey.
"I think what he was saying is I'm going against the best there is, and I'm going to see what I'm about," Calipari said. "He did."
Final Four-bound
Thad Matta and the OSU coaching staff put a picture referencing the Final Four in literature handed out in September.
"It was kind of weird when we met with Coach Matta and he told us it's not what we might do, it's what we're going to do," freshman point guard Mike Conley Jr. said.
"I hadn't played a minute of college basketball in my life, and he's talking about going to the Final Four. That's a lot of pressure."
Despite close calls and inconsistency, Ohio State will play on the season's last weekend.
"Getting to the Final Four is what we have talked about all year," Butler said. "It is a dream come true."
Bombs away
Ohio State avoided a poor start, but did have a second straight opponent start 7-of-10 from the 3-point line. OSU still led 41-38 at halftime.
"I turned at one point and said we are a get-well card for 3-point shooters," Matta said. "Get us on the schedule, your percentage is going to skyrocket."
Memphis cooled down, finishing 10-of-22. The Buckeyes hit 5-of-17.
Luck of the draw
Ohio State will hold a lottery for tickets to next weekend's NCAA Final Four in Atlanta, the school said Saturday. The Buckeyes play the winner of today's North Carolina-Georgetown East Regional final.
Ohio State officials said they did not know yet how many Final Four tickets the university would receive or how much they would cost.
Faculty, staff members and students who were season-ticket holders can pick up numbers for a lottery beginning at 8 a.m. Monday at the Schottenstein Center. The winning numbers will be posted Monday night at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Other season-ticket holders can apply for a lottery by calling (800) GO-BUCKS beginning at 8 a.m. Monday. Those who win will be contacted Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed
to this story.
