NCAA Tournament: #1 Ohio State Faces #2 Memphis for Trip to Final Four

Ohio State and Memphis (33-3) have met just once previously, a 94-55 Buckeye victory Dec. 3, 1959 in Columbus.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

SAN ANTONIO - No. 1 Ohio State advanced to take on No. 2 seed Memphis at 3:40 PM CDT Saturday in the 2007 South Regional Finals at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

The Buckeyes downed Tennessee for the second time this season outscoring the Volunteers by 18 points in the second half to claim the 85-84 victory Thursday.

Memphis defeated Texas A&M in the first semifinal of the day, 65-64.

Ohio State and Memphis (33-3) have met just once previously, a 94-55 Buckeye victory Dec. 3, 1959 in Columbus. The Buckeyes are 11-3 all-time vs. current members of Conference USA members.

The Buckeyes have won three games in an NCAA tournament for the sixth time in 20 all-time tournament appearances. The Buckeyes have made 11 appearances in the regional finals.

Thad Matta's 100th game at Ohio State was memorable. The Buckeyes overcame a 20-point deficit to advance. Matta is 79-21 (.790) overall in his third season in Columbus. Overall in seven seasons as a head coach, Matta is 181-52 (.777).

Noting the Tennessee Game, South Regional Semifinal

The last time Ohio State played a non-conference opponent twice in the same season was during the 1988-89 campaign.

The Buckeyes defeated Nebraska in Columbus 103-76 (12/14/88) and then again 85-74 (3/20/89) in the NIT.

In that same season, Ohio State played at St. John's (W 75-72 (12/29/88) in the ECAC Holiday Classic and then fell St. John's in overtime in the third round of the NIT (83-80) March 23, 1989.

The Buckeyes downed Tennessee earlier this season in Columbus 68-66 (1/13/07).

Ohio State won for the 33rd time on the year, increasing the school record for wins in a season. The 1961 and 1991 teams each had 27 wins to hold the previous record.

The Buckeyes extended their overall win streak to 20 games, including 16-consecutive victories vs. Big Ten Conference foes.

In seven seasons as a head coach Matta has never failed to reach 20 victories ... the Tennessee win Thursday gives him 33 victories this season, his first 30-win season ... he has taken all six eligible teams to NCAA postseason competition and his second team to the Elite 8.

Mike Conley Jr. has 81 steals on the season. He owns the Ohio State single season record for both steals and assists (224).

With the victory vs. Tennessee, Ohio State advanced to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1992. That year the Buckeyes were a No. 1 seed and defeated No. 4 North Carolina (80-73) in the regional semifinal but fell to No. 6 Michigan in overtime (75-71) in the regional finals.

The one-point win vs. Tennessee in the South Region semifinals is the first single point victory in NCAA tournament play since an 84-83 overtime win vs. Providence in the First Round of the 1990 tournament. Ohio State is 4-1 in NCAA tournament games decided by one point. The Buckeyes own a 60-59 victory over Marquette in the regional semifinals of the 1971 event, an 82-81 win in the regional finals of the 1968 tournament, a 56-55 victory over Louisville in the regional semifinals in 1961 and a 56-55 loss to C.C.N.Y in the regional semifinals in 1950.

Ohio State is 65-56 (.527) all-time in one-point games with a record of 14-8 (.636) on neutral courts.

Ohio State improved to 35-18 in NCAA tournament games. As a No. 1 seed, the Buckeyes are now 8-2.

Head coach Thad Matta made his sixth NCAA tournament appearance. He is 10-5 in NCAA tournament games. This is the second time in his career Matta has advanced to the Elite 8. The last time was with Xavier in 2004 when the Musketeers fell to Duke in the regional finals.

The Buckeyes are 27-23 all-time vs. the Southeastern Conference and 4-0 vs. Tennessee.

Ohio State, ranked No. 1 in both of the most recent ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press polls, is 58-4 all-time when playing as the top-ranked team.

The win was Ohio State's 20th-consecutive dating back to a 68-66 home victory against Tennessee Jan. 13.

Ohio State was down 20 points in the first half (49-29) with 35 seconds to play and trailed by 17 at the break. Ohio State outscored the Volunteers by 18 over the final 20 minutes. The Buckeyes committed just one turnover in the second half while shooting 58 percent (14-24) from the field.

Ron Lewis finished with a team-high 25 points to again lead the Buckeyes in scoring. He tallied 27 in the overtime win vs. Xavier in the Second Round.

Lewis scored 18-second half points while Conley added 13 including nine free throws.

Mike Conley Jr. is the second Buckeye and 15th player in Big Ten history to record at least 350 points, 150 assists, 100 rebounds and 50 steals in the same season. Conley now has 387 points, 224 assists, 122 rebounds and 81 steals. Scoonie Penn accomplished the feat for Ohio State in 1998-99 with 609 points, 150 assists, 140 rebounds and 70 steals.

Lewis is averaging 21.7 points in three NCAA tournament games to date. He has made 22-40 field goals (.550), 10-20 (.500) 3-pointers and 11-11 from the foul line. Both Greg Oden and Mike Conley are averaging 14.0 points in NCAA play while Jamar Butler is contributing 11 points a game.

Ohio State improved to 21-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points.

The Buckeyes added to its single-season record for made 3-pointers with 274 and set the OSU record for the most 3s attempted in a season with 740.

Ohio State finished with a 52.9 field goal percentage vs. the Volunteers. It was the 16th time this season the Buckeyes have shot 50 percent or better from the field with a 15-1 record in those games.

Freshman David Lighty scored seven crucial points while playing 20 minutes, his most court time since Dec. 2 against Valparaiso (20 mins.). Lighty's point total was his most since a 10-point game Dec. 30 vs. Coppin State.

Conley Jr. tallied six assists for the 20th time this season. Ohio State is 18-2 in those games.

Freshman Greg Oden has 99 blocks on the season. With one more rejection, he will become the second Buckeye all-time and first freshman to block 100 shots in a season. Ken Johnson, the Big Ten's all-time leader in blocked shots (444) recorded three seasons with 100 or more blocks in 1999 (100), 2001 (125) and 2000 (161). Oden's total ranks No. 9 all-time in career blocks as well.

As a Top 25 ranked team, Ohio State is 327-94 and as a Top 10 team, the Buckeyes are 228-54 all-time (AP). The Buckeyes have been among the Top 25 the last 61 games (52-9) and have been among the Top 10 in the last 43 games (38-5).

Ohio State will play for the 12th time on CBS television when they take on Memphis Saturday. Ohio State is 10-1 when playing on CBS this year, including wins in the last five games and in eight of the last 10.

this story gave alot of good info. thank you

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports