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Oden leads Ohio State in rout of in-state foe

Dec 17, 2006 - 1:20 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- It was a most pleasant trip home for freshman sensation Greg Oden.

Oden had 14 points and 11 rebounds and fourth-ranked Ohio State smothered Cincinnati in the first half on its way to a 72-50 victory in the Wooden Tradition.

Ivan Harris had 13 points and Ron Lewis added 10 for Ohio State (9-1), which was playing its intrastate recruiting rival in the regular season for the first time in 85 years.

Despite being less than 100 miles from the Queen City, the Buckeyes last played the Bearcats (7-3) in the 1962 NCAA Tournament championship game, dropping a 71-59 decision. The schools had not met in the regular season since 1921.

Oden, who played his high school ball in Indianapolis along with fellow freshman Mike Conley Jr., shot 6-of-7 from the field and added five blocks in a season-high 27 minutes. It was his third game since returning from a right wrist injury.

"I'm just about feeling comfortable," Oden said. "I felt more comfortable in this game than the other two. My teammates helped me today."

Oden and Conley improved to 5-0 at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Indianapolis natives led Lawrence North High School to three Indiana State titles at the venue.

After making all eight shots last Saturday against Cleveland State, Oden had 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting, eight rebounds and three blocks while Conley had seven points, six rebounds and three assists in a first-half blitz that gave the Buckeyes a 42-14 lead at the break.

Ohio State held Cincinnati scoreless from the field the final 9:44 of the half, using a 26-2 run during that stretch. Oden scored seven points during the burst with three dunks and a free throw.

The Bearcats missed their final 15 shots of the half and shot just 19 percent (6-of-32).

"We wanted to focus (on defense) going in," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "We wanted to improve, be active on defense and challenge shots."

Oden scored the first two baskets of the second half for the Buckeyes, who led by as many as 35 points after intermission.

John Williamson had 17 points and 16 rebounds for Cincinnati, which missed its first 18 3-pointers and shot 26 percent (19-of-73) overall.

Cincinnati's Deonta Vaughn, who entered averaging 16.6 points, managed just five points on 2-of-11 shooting.