Tobacco Road Report

Those of you looking forward to a riveting game between No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Florida were likely disappointed. Unless, of course, you're a Gator fan. Greg Oden had his first taste of quality opponents and finally went up against another big who could match him physically and athletically.

Noah (7 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocked shots) and Horford (11 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocked shots) were simply too much for Oden (7 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocked shots). They frustrated him offensively and prevented Ohio State from getting anything going inside.

With the Gators bigs shutting down things inside, the game turned on the play of the perimeter. Green (24 points, 4-7 3-FG) and Brewer (18 points) were simply too much and the Buckeyes looked and acted like a beaten squad the last 5-7 minutes.

Florida made a strong statement in this game, winning by a much larger than expected 86-60 margin. The Gators were better on both ends of the floor. Ohio State has yet to look fluid since Oden's return to the lineup, meaning Matta has some work to do to get the Buckeyes ready for the conference season.

Unfortunately for OSU, they don't have much time. They face Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Tennessee by January 13th.