The Oden Rules; Final Four thoughts

Obviously, some understanding was reached that Ohio State's Greg Oden would fall under the "Jordan Rules" when it came to fouls in last night's championship game. Which, realistically, makes sense. If you're the NCAA, do you really want your star player sitting on the bench for pretty much the entire first half?

No, you want him on television being the star that he is. Which Oden did last night. His numbers were monster: 25 points, 12 rebounds, four blocked shots. It's just that his teammates didn't show up. Ohio State was only 4-of-23 on 3-point shots, and that made the difference.

Ohio State SHOULD have won this game. It choked. It had the open shots and missed. Then again, it was a team of largely freshman who had never been on a stage like this before.

In the end, I never expected Ohio State to take this one. Experience counts. Florida went through all the hoopla last year. It knew what this is all about, and how to deal with it. Ohio State didn't have that. Thad Matta had never been to an NCAA championship game. Neither had Greg Oden or Mike Conley. Or anyone else from Ohio State. The nerves got them. They missed easy buckets. They screwed up dribbles. Conley got taken out of the game psychologically in the first half after he picked up his second foul and went to the bench. Up until that point, he'd dominated the game; afterward, he was never again a force.

I predict Greg Oden and Mike Conley will be back next year. I think they hunger for the national championship. Then, that challenge met, they'll both turn pro.

These are two kids who met in the sixth grade and have played basketball together ever since. They are remarkably in sync. The sad thing is they won't be together in the pros — Conley just revealed himself as a lottery pick when he decides to turn pro.