He's 7-foot tall and acclaimed as the best American-born big man in a generation. Yet the Ohio State Buckeyes are having trouble finding freshman phenom Greg Oden.

Oden is averaging just nine shots a game, while the Buckeyes are pumping up 21.5 3-pointers a game.

Coach Thad Matta acknowledged it's a problem his team must overcome, particularly before the second-ranked Buckeyes meet No. 1 Wisconsin in a Big Ten showdown today.

"I'd like to get more shots for him," Matta said after Ohio State squeaked past last-place Penn State, 68-60, Wednesday. "That's obviously something we've talked a lot about. It's continuing. Hopefully we can get him some more. But we've got some other guys out there who can make some plays."

Oden leads the Buckeyes at 15 points a game, but much of his scoring is coming off offensive rebounds and at the foul line.

"We stress getting the ball inside, not just to me, just getting it inside period," Oden said after scoring 17 points and grabbing 14 rebounds against the Nittany Lions. Of his teammates' long shots, he added, "If they're open, then they're good shots."

By the numbers

With just a pencil and paper, Burt Beagle kept the numbers straight for 38 years as scorekeeper for Division III Baruch College basketball in New York City.

Beagle, a native New Yorker who lived his entire life in the Bronx, died earlier this week of cancer at age 73, the school announced.

At various times, Beagle served as Baruch's sports information director, historian and associate baseball coach. He scored 930 consecutive games -- home and road -- for Baruch from the 1968-69 season until Nov. 21, 2006, when he missed a game because of his illness. He never used a computer to keep stats.

The school estimated he worked more than 6,000 sporting events.

Beagle's involvement with Baruch athletics began in 1951 when he was an accounting student at what was then City College's School of Business and Public Administration. As a student, he served as sports editor of the school's newspaper.

Beagle also served for more than 30 years as media relations director for the Catholic High School Athletic Association in New York.

"You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who remembers the league before him or without him," Holy Cross High School basketball coach Paul Gilvary told The Daily News. "He was the nicest man who loved the game."

Last year, he was part of the inaugural class of the Baruch College Hall of Fame.

Baruch coach Ray Rankis called Beagle "a friend, a true supporter ... and utterly irreplaceable," in a statement released by the school.

No lobbying by law

Texas A&M's Acie Law IV is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award given to the nation's top point guard, but he's not interested in talking about where he ranks.

"I don't get into that. I'm not trying to be a difficult person, but to tell you the truth I really just want to go out there and win," Law said. "I feel like if I can do what I can and give my best and put my team in a situation to win, just let the pieces fall where they may."

Seven of the nation's top 11 teams have their point guards among the 17 finalists. Law entered the week as the only player in the country averaging at least 17 points and 5.5 assists while shooting at least 50 percent from the field.

"If I get caught up in that and be selfish, that will hurt my team," Law said. "I've got to focus on the No. 1 thing, and that's helping my team win."

Green in Georgetown

The Hoyas' big man hasn't been the biggest factor in the team's first double-digit winning streak since 2003-04.

Junior forward Jeff Green has led the surge, averaging 16.7 points in a 10-game span. He had a game-high 21 points in a 75-65 victory against Cincinnati Wednesday, the Hoyas' 10th consecutive win.

The 12th-ranked Hoyas needed a big game by Green to keep the streak going because 7-2 center Roy Hibbert fouled out after scoring only seven points.

Coach John Thompson III said he thinks Green is on a scoring tear because the inexperienced players around him have gotten better. The Hoyas start a freshman (forward DaJuan Summers) and a sophomore (guard Jessie Sapp).

"Earlier in the season, he was trying to play and coach and help everyone else," Thompson said. "As everyone else has improved, he has been able to just settle in and play. Everyone is doing a better job of just letting him play."

Georgetown hadn't won 10 consecutive games since it opened the 2003-04 season by winning its first 10. All 10 were against Big East opponents, the first time Georgetown had won 10 consecutive conference games since 1984-85.

No place like home

Despite being 17-0 at home this season and possibly on the verge of securing its first NCAA tournament berth since 2003, Notre Dame was expecting just its second home sellout of the season yesterday when its layed host to No. 16 Marquette. That's the fewest home sellouts since the Irish went 14-16 in John MacLeod's final year as coach in the 1998-99 season.

Coach Mike Brey said he's at a loss to explain the reason, saying he expected more sellouts during the Big East season. But Brey said he has been impressed by the energy the home crowds have had.

"Just as long as you can get some juice in there, which we have had," he said.

A win would give Notre Dame its third undefeated season at home. The other two seasons were in 1973-74 and 1985-86. Both teams were 15-0 at home.

Hot Oilers

The University of Findlay Oilers -- that's right, some jokers call them the UFOs for short -- are far from a punchline on the court.

The Division II Oilers split their first two games and have won 23 in a row since. They've won their past 55 home games -- the longest such streak in the nation at any level.

Angry Allen

One of the most famous plays in Connecticut history ended up turning a future star recruit against the school at the time.

Before the Huskies won the first of their two national championships in 1999, their victory against Clemson in the 1990 East Regional semifinal stood as the most memorable moment in program history.

The Huskies had blown a big lead and trailed by one. Scott Burrell fired a long inbounds pass almost the length of the court to Tate George, who caught it and made a turnaround jumper at the buzzer for a 71-70 victory.

A South Carolina guard named Ray Allen wasn't amused.

"I wanted to go to Clemson," said Allen, who still remembers the name of the Clemson player nearest George, Sean Tyson. "Tate George hit the shot over Tyson, and I hated UConn for that."

Eventually, Allen chose Connecticut, where he became a two-time All-American and finished fourth on the school's scoring list. He is one of an NBA-high 14 former Huskies now on league rosters.