Ohio State Rallies Past Tennessee

Mar 23, 01:50 AM

Current Headlines: SAN ANTONIO, Texas _ There are comebacks and then there are comebacks.

After trailing Tennessee by 20 in the first half on Thursday night, top-ranked and top-seeded Ohio State refused to go away, coming all the way back to defeat the Volunteers, 85-84, and keep their national championship hopes alive.

Freshman point guard Michael Conley Jr. made one of two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining to break an 84-84 tie and lift the Buckeyes (33-3) to an Elite Eight matchup against second-seeded Memphis on Saturday for the right to go to the Final Four.

Tennessee (24-11) had a chance to win the game on the final possession. After rebounding Conley's miss from the line, freshman guard Ramar Smith went the length of the floor and finally got off a shot that was blocked by Ohio State's 7-0 goliath Greg Oden as time ran out.

"They were incredible," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said of the fifth-seeded Vols. "They pushed us so hard, we were at the nine count."

But Ohio State staggered to its feet and fought back, finally landing its own knockout punch.

This was not the first time the Buckeyes had flirted with elimination in the tournament. Xavier appeared to have them beaten in a second-round game last Saturday in Lexington before Ron Lewis bailed them out by making a desperation three-pointer with just two seconds left in regulation to force overtime and give OSU the momentum it needed for a 78-71 victory.

But this was a more miraculous great escape.

Conley finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists, emerging as a star for the second straight game. He personally had taken over the overtime against Xavier, scoring 11 of his 22 points over that game's final five minutes. Lewis, a senior guard, led Ohio State last night with 25 points. The Buckeyes - who have won 20 straight games- shot 58 percent from the floor in the second half.

Guard Chris Lofton scored 24 points for the frustrated Vols, who came close twice against the Buckeyes this season. They went away heartbroken last night the way they had earlier this year when Lewis drilled a game-winning three-pointer with 11.9 seconds left to give the Buckeyes a 68-66 victory in Columbus.

The Vols, who played a nearly perfect first half and threatened to shoot the lights out last night, made 16 of 31 three-point attempts overall. They had the luxury of not having to deal with the foul-plagued Oden for long stretches. Oden finished with nine points, three rebounds and four blocks and played just 18 minutes. He picked up three early fouls and had only one field goal in nine minutes during an ugly first half when the wheels looked like they were ready to come off the Big Ten power. Oden picked up his fourth foul with 10:50 to play and went to the bench and did not return until 4:10 remained.

But that did not stop the surge.

The aggressive Buckeyes, who got to the line 34 times and made 23 shots, took their first lead at 66-64 when backup center Matt Terwilliger, playing in place of Oden, made a pair of free throws with 8:34 to play. And they kept applying pressure.

The Vols failed to close the door on the Buckeyes and paid dearly for it.

"We didn't get the job done," said Tennessee senior guard Dane Bradshaw. "The starters played poorly in the second half. We didn't have the same urgency on defense in the second half. We just didn't come through."

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