Jan. 31, 2007
Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -Greg Oden didn't dominate the stat sheet, but his imprint was all over Ohio State's sixth straight win.
The 7-foot center had just nine points, six rebounds and two blocks in No. 4 Ohio State's 78-60 win over Purdue on Wednesday night, but he found other ways to control the game.
Oden's defensive presence forced Purdue's leading scorer, Carl Landry, out of his comfort zone. Landry, a 6-foot-7 power forward, scored 16 points, but he shot mostly jumpers and was only 6-for-17 from the field.
When the Buckeyes had the ball, Purdue paid so much attention to Oden that the Boilermakers left Ohio State's perimeter shooters open. The Buckeyes made 8 of 18 3-pointers.
"These guys are getting looks off of Greg Oden getting the ball, or they're beating us off the dribble off of Greg Oden getting the ball, and that leads to baskets." Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "That kind of stuff doesn't show up in a box score. And not just blocking shots, but altering shots, that doesn't show up in a box score.
"That's why I've said from day one he's the best player in college basketball. Because you have to do so many things to really hold him down to stop his total affect on the game."
Mike Conley scored 18 points, Jamar Butler scored 16 and Daequan Cook had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Buckeyes (19-3, 7-1 Big Ten).
The Buckeyes shot 53 percent from the field and outrebounded the Boilermakers 38-29.
Ohio State has won six in a row in the series and 12 of the past 13 meetings.
Purdue (14-8, 3-5) shot just 38 percent in its first home loss of the season.
Ohio State coach Thad Matta said he was concerned about slowing Landry, who was averaging 19 points per game.
"As good as he is, it is hard," Matta said. "He does have that ability to shoot it, he's a load down low, he's got good post moves and they do a good job of getting him the basketball. I thought a couple of those other ones were going in. I was impressed."
Ohio State led 33-31 at halftime and opened the second half on an 8-3 run, highlighted by two hook shots by Oden over Landry.
Landry drew Oden's third foul on a drive with 15:54 left and Ohio State leading 43-36. The Buckeyes extended their lead to 50-40 before Purdue went on a 5-0 run that brought Oden off the bench. The inspired Buckeyes went on an 8-0 run that included 3-pointers by Conley and Butler to take a 58-45 lead with 8:53 to go.
Purdue tried to make a late push. The Boilermakers trailed 62-51 when Landry went in for a layup. Oden slammed the ball against the glass, then Butler made one of his four 3-pointers at the other end to give the Buckeyes a 14-point lead with 6 minutes left.
"That was a momentum changer," Conley said. "That could have been the game. They had some momentum coming, they hit a couple of layups and had gotten a couple of baskets. That block he made just shifted the game. When we got down to our end of the court and got our open three, that was definitely a big play."
Ohio State led 28-19 in the first half, but Purdue closed the half on a 12-5 run to trim the Buckeyes' lead to 33-31 at the break. Matta didn't have much to say at halftime.
"There weren't a lot of adjustments," he said. "We just had to play better basketball."
As dominant as Oden was, he played just 21 minutes because of foul trouble. Painter said the Boilermakers should have made a push with Oden on the bench.
"It was set up for us to have some success with him on the bench half the game," Painter said. "I thought it was set up for us the way the game went with us having a chance to beat them, and we just didn't make enough shots."