Freshmen Oden, Conley fulfill Final Four dream

SAN ANTONIO — Back when Mike Conley Jr. and Greg Oden were precocious high schoolers dominating the AAU circuit, they were advertised as the ultimate package deal.

Coaches in gyms from Hackensack, N.J., to Las Vegas whispered to each other that Conley, a jitterbug point guard, and Oden, a dominant center, could walk on campus and lead a team to the Final Four.

In a sport where summer hype rarely translates to March reality, Oden and Conley took Ohio State to its first Final Four since 1999 on Saturday afternoon, dominating the game from their respective positions and showing just how much of an impact freshmen can have in this new era of college basketball.

"Three years ago we talked about a vision for this program," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "It just became a reality."

Top-seeded Ohio State outlasted second-seeded Memphis, 92-76, in the South Regional final, thanks to dominating performances from its two freshman stars.

Oden again struggled with foul trouble but still scored 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Conley managed the game with the aplomb of a senior, scoring 19 points and hitting 9 of 10 free throws. He won the region's most outstanding player award and he showed a knack for making a big play whenever the Buckeyes needed one this weekend.

But freshman superstars need veterans complementing them, which is the role guard Ron Lewis has played this season. Lewis hit the shot to force overtime against Xavier in the second round, bailed out the Buckeyes with 25 points against Tennessee on Thursday and poured in a team-high 22 points Saturday.

For Memphis, its season ends in the regional final for the second consecutive season. The Tigers were led by the senior guard Jeremy Hunt, who scored 26 points. They were also hurt by the second-half foul trouble of guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who finished with 14 points but picked up his fourth foul with 9:43 remaining.

While Oden was on the bench with his third foul, Ohio State (34-3) went from five points up to five points down. Then the fabulous freshman went back in and everything changed again.

Controlling the paint on offense and defense, he triggered a 20-8 surge that put the Buckeyes back in charge. The second-seeded Tigers (33-4) tried hanging in by fouling, but Ohio State foiled that plan by making 20 straight free throws. The Buckeyes' 21st straight win takes them to Atlanta next weekend for a national semifinal matchup with the winner of today's North Carolina-Georgetown game.

In only 30 college games, Oden has taken over plenty of them. None, however, was as impressive as this one, mainly because it was so important.

"This would probably be No. 1 on the impact meter," Matta said. "I thought his rebounding, his challenging shots, finishing at the other end was tremendous."

Muttered Memphis coach John Calipari: "He's huge, he's huge."

In only 24 minutes, Oden made 7 of 8 shots and was 3 of 6 from the line with a block that came on the first defensive stand after he returned with three fouls. Two of his dunks were so powerful it looked like he was doing chin-ups on the rim.

Yet his larger-than-life presence was best exhibited on a crucial sequence midway through the second half.

Oden was wide open under the basket when caught a pass that arrived at the same time as Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts. The defender threw both arms around Oden's waist and shoved him for an intentional foul. Oden still made the shot, then one of two free throws, tying the game at 60. Ohio State got to keep the ball and went ahead 62-60. The Buckeyes never trailed again.

Those at the Alamodome made their thoughts on the subject of Oden returning clear by chanting "One more year!" during the postgame, net-cutting ceremony. They later hollered, "Two more games," which could bring the Buckeyes their second basketball title and first since the 1960 club that featured John Havlicek, Jerry Lucas and a backup named Bob Knight.