NCAA Basketball Columbus

I started reading this column by Gene Wojciechowski and thought I didn't buy its premise, stated in the opening sentence:

Greg Oden isn't ready for the NBA.

But then I kept reading and found something I really didn't buy. Wojciechowski runs down the list of reasons Oden has for leaving college, and one of them is this:

No more ... folding his 7-foot, 270-pound body into a coach seat when flying commercial.

I absolutely refuse to believe that Greg Oden flies commercial and sits in coach. Oden has a foot and 100 pounds on me, and I can barely tolerate the cramped quarters in coach. Are we to believe that Ohio State flies commercial to its road games? In high school Gatorade flew Oden first class. Has he really been downgraded since he went to Ohio State?

The rest of the column is an interesting comparison between Oden and Tim Duncan, but the basketball world has changed so much since Duncan's senior season that the comparison doesn't strike me as particularly apt. No matter how he flies now, Oden will be flying to NBA games next year.

Memphis big man Joey Dorsey wants to let you know that he's not intimidated by going up against Ohio State's Greg Oden this afternoon. Dorsey, the 6-foot-9 junior who will draw the task of matching up with Ohio State's 7-footer, called Oden "a lot overrated" Friday.

"I think (the pro scouts) will really be watching this game (Saturday) night because it's two great big men going against each other," Dorsey said. "I'm an underrated big man and he's a lot overrated as a big man. It's going to be a great rebounding game for me. I'm going to try to outrebound him."

Oh, it's on. Actually, Dorsey and Oden are approximately equal as rebounders; Dorsey is as good as you'll ever see on the offensive end, while Oden is a bit better on the defensive glass. It wouldn't be particularly noteworthy if Dorsey does, in fact, outrebound Oden.

But I like Dorsey's confidence here. Although he's obviously not as well regarded by pro scouts as Oden, you can make the case that Dorsey is the better college player. And if he's playing today with a chip on his shoulder, it'll make the game a little more interesting.

Conference: Big Ten
Record: 27-3, 15-1 in conference
RPI: 2
How They Got In: Favorites to win the Big Ten tournament, they'll get an at-large bid if they don't.

Mascot: Brutus Buckeye first appeared in a 1965 football game against Minnesota. In 1999, he wrote a book, The Spirit of a Buckeye: Brutus Buckeye's Lessons for Life.

Big Win: Beat Wisconsin 49-48 in February to avenge their only Big Ten loss. No particularly impressive non-conference wins.

Notable Losses: If you're looking for a reason to doubt the Buckeyes, look no further than their two games against top-notch teams from other conferences: They lost 98-89 at North Carolina (and it wasn't as close as the score would indicate), and 86-60 at Florida (and it was every bit as much a blowout as the score would indicate).

Player You Should Know: You know about freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. But you should also know junior Jamar Butler (pictured). Butler, who leads the team in minutes played, is a streaky shooter. If he's on in March he'll give the Buckeyes an additional scoring threat, but if he's off his missed shots could make Ohio State ripe for an upset.

Outlook: Is Oden a disappointment? You can certainly make that case. But he could define his brief college career with a run in March. Ohio State is a Final Four favorite.

The injury suffered by Clippers guard Shaun Livingston was gruesome, and it's made worse when you consider how much it hurt Livingston financially. Some people are looking at this injury and seeing it as evidence that Livingston should have gone to college.

But I think that gets it exactly backward, and Dan Wetzel at Yahoo Sports has a much more perceptive view. If the injury demonstrates anything, it's the unpredictability of basketball (and life), and the importance of striking while the iron is hot.

Let's say Kevin Durant or Greg Oden suffered a similar injury. Wouldn't everyone say it was a tragedy that it happened before they were able to cash in on their basketball talent? Wouldn't it cause people to question the fairness of the NBA's minimum-age rule?

College basketball stars like Durant and Oden are risking their futures every time they step on the floor. Both of them are amateurs now, playing a waiting game until they can make their millions. The only thing more sickening than Livingston's injury would be a similar injury to a player who never got his chance in the NBA.

Much thanks to With Leather for pointing out this sweet video of Olympic triple-jumper Mike Conley -- father of Ohio State freshman Mike Conley Jr. -- participating in the 1991 Foot Locker Dunk Contest:

I actually have a distinct memory of watching this. Conley had small hands and said he couldn't palm the ball well enough to do that sweet dunk from the free-throw line you see at the end of the video, so that's why it was two-handed.

If you'd like to buy the complete Foot Locker Slamfest set of trading cards, eBay will hook you up.

It's No. 1 vs. No. 2 as Wisconsin takes on Ohio State today at 4 p.m. ET on CBS, but that's not what makes it a big game. The polls in college basketball don't mean a thing, but what does mean something is that the conference championship and a top seed in the tournament are on the line.

Ohio State would clinch the Big Ten with a win. A Wisconsin win only evens the Badgers in the standings with the Buckeyes, but it would give Wisconsin the season sweep and the likely top seed in the Big Ten Tournament. And more important than that, the winner of this game will have a very good case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, while a No. 2 seed would be the best-case scenario for the loser.

All of that is why this is the hottest ticket in Ohio State basketball history. Seats that normally cost $14 are going for $125, and $26 seats are going for $400.

The key, I think, will be Wisconsin's outside shooting. For much of the season that's been the Badgers' biggest weakness, but they're doing it well recently. If they hit their shots from downtown, the Badgers will beat the Buckeyes again. But I don't think they'll hit enough of them.

Prediction: Ohio State 70, Wisconsin 60