South Regional Semifinals: Freshman Greg Oden wasn’t able to play a lot for the Ohio State Buckeyes, but in the end, he certainly made it count. Oden, who was plagued with foul trouble throughout the game, blocked freshman Ramar Smith’s layup as time expired, allowing the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes to complete a miraculous comeback and beat No. 5 Tennessee 85-84. Tennessee got out to a hot start, hitting nine three-pointers in the first half to build a 49-32 halftime lead. The Volunteers ended up shooting 16-of-31 from long distance. Oden was held to nine points and three rebounds. Ron Lewis helped save the day for Ohio State, scoring 25 points, and Mike Conley Jr. scored 17, including the clinching foul shot with 6.5 seconds left. Chris Lofton performed heroically for Tennessee, scoring 24 points shooting 6-of -3 from long range. JaJuan Smith and Ryan Childress were each 4-of-5 from deep for the Volunteers.
No. 2 Memphis held on in a 65-64 thriller that came down to the last shot. Texas A&M’s final attempt from near half court fell short to give the Tigers a ticket to the Elite Eight. Sophomore Antonio Anderson delivered for Memphis, knocking down two free throws with 3.1 seconds on the clock to put the Tigers up for good. Sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts’ ankle must have healed well as he played 37 minutes and put up 15 points for coach John Calipari to give them a chance to play another day. Senior Acie Law IV was held to 13 points for the Aggies, who were led in scoring by senior Antanas Kavaliauskas with 17. The Tigers will play Saturday afternoon for a chance to go to Atlanta and the Final Four. Senior Jeremy Hunt was the leading scorer for the Tigers with 19 points coming off the bench. [3/22/07]
