Ohio State’s Oden is biggest kid on block

This time, Ohio State needed only a free throw to survive, a task much simpler than the three-point basket they needed last week.

Mike Conley delivered, making one of two with 6.5 seconds remaining and the No. 1-seeded Buckeyes overcame a 20-point deficit and defeated No. 5-seeded Tennessee, 85-84, Thursday night in a South region semifinal at the Alamodome.

Tennessee had a chance to win when Ramar Smith dribbled into the lane and got off a shot as the buzzer sounded, but Ohio State center Greg Oden blocked the shot to secure the victory.

It was the second consecutive game Ohio State needed a comeback in order to advance. Last Saturday, it staged an 11-point comeback in the final eight minutes against Xavier and forced to overtime on a Ron Lewis three-point basket.

Ohio State (33-3) will play No. 2-seeded Memphis on Saturday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

“It’s all about heart,” Conley said. “This team has a lot of heart and that can help you overcome a lot.”

The 20-point comeback was the largest since Duke rallied for a 22-point deficit against Maryland in a 2001 Final Four game.

To do it, Ohio State needed to fend off Tennessee’s relentless three-point shooting. The Volunteers (24-11) made 16 of 31 (51.6%) three-point attempts, including nine of 15 in the first half as they built their big lead.

The Buckeyes cut the deficit to single digits by limiting Tennessee to only one field goal in the first four minutes 30 seconds of the second half. Dunks by Lewis and Oden pulled the Buckeyes within one and they took their first lead of the second half, 66-64, when Conley made two free throws with 8:34 left to play.

“They hit a lot of shots and dug us in a hole,” Conley said. “But they were looking like they had won the game already. I said, ‘We’ve got to take advantage of this right now,’ and that’s what we did.”

They did much of it without Oden, who sat on the bench in foul trouble. He played only 18 minutes and finished with nine points, four rebounds and four blocked shots.

He also needed stitches in his chin after suffering a cut when he fell to the court in the second half. He is not expected to miss any playing time.

Memphis 65, Texas A&M; 64 -- Antonio Anderson made two free throws with 3.1 seconds left to lift the Tigers past the Aggies.

The Tigers (33-3) advanced to a regional final for the second consecutive season, this time in front of a decidedly pro-Aggies crowd. It was Memphis’ 25th consecutive victory.

Perhaps now, they can get the respect they’ve sought.

“We all played with a chip on our shoulder,” said Chris Douglas-Roberts. “We’ve heard all we can hear about how bad our conference is and we had a cake walk. But now we’re winning and in the NCAA tournament. We’re playing the elite of the elite and we’re still winning.”

It easily could have gone the other way. Texas A&M; had a chance after Anderson’s free throws, but couldn’t get the ball to Acie Law, their clutch-shooting guard, and had to settle for a desperation half-court shot by Dominique Kirk, who missed.

The end was tainted with a touch of controversy. The Aggies (26-8) attempted an inbound play, but the ball went out of bounds. Officials reviewed the play on replay and determined that the ball deflected off a Memphis player before going out of bounds and took 1.1 seconds off the clock.

“I’m sure they got it right,” said Texas A&M; Coach Billy Gillispie, who seemed to take more issue with a discrepancy in foul shots.

Memphis was 14 of 21 from the line, the Aggies were five of 10.

“They did a great job of not fouling us in the second half,” Gillispie said, tongue in cheek.

Before Anderson’s free throws, Texas A&M; had a chance to take a three-point lead, but Law, who has made numerous clutch shots this season, missed a layup after breaking free of the Memphis press on an inbounds play. “Little plays like that cost us the ball game,” Law said.

Memphis grabbed the rebound and, after a timeout, Andre Allen got off a three-point shot. It missed, but Jeremy Hunt got the rebound. He missed the putback and Anderson got the rebound, missed the tip-in and got it back. He was fouled on his next shot attempt with 3.1 seconds to play.

“Being a basketball player, you look for situations like that,” said Anderson, one of four on free throws when he stepped up for the winning shots. “You want the game in your hands. I missed some free throws earlier and I just had to knock them down.”