Hoyas’ Green defends tactic

Georgetown star Jeff Green defended his decision to take only five shots in the Hoyas’ 67-60 loss to Ohio State on Saturday.

“I wouldn’t change a thing,” Green said. “I didn’t want to force anything. Wasn’t expecting to get a lot of shots. Their defense, you know, played a major part of that.”

For what it’s worth: Green took 40 shots in his team’s previous three games, all wins.

Georgetown will not make its first trip to the national title game since 1985, when the Hoyas were on the losing end against Villanova, 66-64.

Villanova was a No. 8-seeded team that year and its upset of Georgetown is considered one of the greatest in college basketball.

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Because of NCAA violations, Ohio State in its press literature does not acknowledge that the school competed in the 1999 Final Four, where it lost to eventual champion Connecticut, in the national semifinals, in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Ohio State officially claims its last Final Four appearance was 1968.

The Buckeyes had to vacate the 1999 appearance because of NCAA sanctions involving former coach Jim O’Brien.

But, for the record, Ohio State was in St. Petersburg.

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Ohio State is the fourth team from the Big Ten Conference to advance to the NCAA title game since 2000. The others were Michigan State (2000), Indiana (2002) and Illinois (2005). Of those three, only Michigan State won the title.

The Buckeyes have lost their last two national title-game appearances. After winning in 1960, under coach Fred Taylor, Ohio State lost in the championship game the next two years, both times to Cincinnati.

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Greg Oden played only 20 minutes in Ohio State’s win against Georgetown, the second-fewest in his 30-game career. Oden played only 18 minutes in Ohio State’s win over Tennessee in the NCAA tournament.

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Oden, on picking up his second foul with 17 minutes 19 seconds left in the first half: “It was just me being out there and being excited. I mean, I can’t lower my shoulder. I can’t move setting ball screens.”

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Mike Conley Sr., a former Olympic triple jumper whose son, Mike Jr., is Ohio State’s starting point guard, is seeking to become certified as an NBA player agent -- a move that might raise eyebrows at NCAA headquarters, particularly if it becomes a trend.

“That is a complex set of issues and I do have concerns about that,” NCAA President Myles Brand said. “I’m not sure it’s reached the level at this point of a dramatic problem, but it is something we’ll need to watch carefully.”

It’s not only his son Conley would be poised to represent.

He also has a close relationship with Oden, expected to be a top-two pick whenever he enters the NBA draft.

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Staff writer Robyn Norwood contributed to this report.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com

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One and only

Ohio State’s results in the NCAA basketball championship game:

* 1962 Cincinnati 71, Ohio State 59

* 1961 Cincinnati 70, Ohio State 65, OT

* 1960 Ohio State 75, California 55

* 1939 Oregon 46, Ohio State 34

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Source: Associated Press