• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Oden continues to gain speed as Ohio State faces rival Michigan

Feb 6, 2007 - 4:16 PM Michigan (16-7) at No. 3 Ohio St (20-3) 7:00 pm EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Imagine how good Greg Oden would be if he could play with both hands.

Despite being hampered by a wrist injury for most of the season, Oden will look to continue his stellar play when third-ranked Ohio State faces its rival Michigan in a Big Ten Conference contest on Tuesday.

After missing the first seven games of the season with the injury, Oden has played better each game despite playing mostly with his opposite hand and not being able to dribble effectively with his strong hand in the post.

However, the star center's biggest contribution has been his defensive presence, altering almost every shot for the Buckeyes (20-3, 8-1 Big Ten), who are 15-0 at home this season and tied with fourth-ranked Wisconsin for the Big Ten lead.

In its last game, Ohio State won for the seventh straight time with a 63-54 victory at Michigan State on Saturday. Oden collected 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Buckeyes, who pulled away from a tied contest with 12 minutes to play to complete a regular-season sweep of the Spartans.

Playing against the archrival Wolverines (16-7, 4-4) for the first time, Oden will have a stiff challenge against center Courtney Sims, who is averaging career highs in points (12.8) and rebounds (6.3). The 6-10 Sims has ratcheted up his performance during conference play, averaging 18.7 points and 7.0 boards over his last three Big Ten contests.

The Wolverines suffered a 69-62 loss at Iowa in their last game on Wednesday. Sims scored a season-high 29 points and added 11 rebounds for Michigan, which has lost three straight games against Ohio State and five of the last six on the road.