Strange: Smith: Buckeyes had all the Vols covered

Freshman point guard Ramar Smith didn't exactly have a smooth trip after he rebounded a missed Ohio State free throw Thursday night and set out in a hurry to extend the Vols' season.

His trip up the court ended in a driving shot that was blocked by 7-footer Greg Oden and probably would not have counted anyway once the officials checked the replay to see if Smith got the shot off before time expired.

Thus, Ohio State escaped with an 85-84 win in the NCAA South Regional semifinal, successfully rallying from a 20-point deficit.

The final sequence began when Smith rebounded a missed free throw by Mike Conley Jr. with 6.5 seconds on the clock.

The Vols had previously called time out to discuss their last-second strategy.

"I got the rebound,'' Smith said, "and stumbled and couldn't really get my feet together.

"I had my head down and couldn't see no teammates so I went to the basket thinking I was going to get fouled. But I didn't and Greg made a great play and blocked it.''

UT coach Bruce Pearl had instructed his team to get the ball and go hard, whether Ohio State made or missed the free throw.

"I was supposed to penetrate if I had a open lane and score,'' Smith said. "If somebody was open, dish it.

"But I stumbled and had my head down and didn't really see the clock.

"I really couldn't see nobody and by that time wasn't nobody open. Everybody was covered.''

Smith said he was supposed to get a screen near mid-court from Wayne Chism but it never happened.

Conley, meanwhile, was determined to slow Smith's progress as much as possible.

"I was trying to make him turn a couple of times and switch his dribble up a little bit,'' said Conley.

"I was trying to keep him off-balance and don't let him get one way and go straight to the rim.

"I think I did a good job.''

Smith did a good job of getting to the rim on several occasions.

Smith converted five of his six shots in the first half and opened the second half with a layup to put UT up 51-34 with 18:47 to play.

He would add only one more basket the rest of the way.

The freshman finished with 15 points, four assists and zero turnovers.

Conley, the McDonald's All-American freshman, had 17 points and six assists with only one turnover.

Smith had the ball in his hands on UT's final two possessions.

With Ohio State up 84-83, Smith was fouled driving on a fast break with 38.7 seconds to play.

He missed the first free throw, then hit the second to tie the score -- but only until Conley broke it with his free throw with 6.5 ticks left.

A close finish didn't seem likely at halftime as Tennessee went to the locker room with a 49-32 lead.

"Coach came in the locker room,'' said Smith, "and stressed that we were down 10, not up by 17.

"He told us they were going to go on a run and that's exactly what they did. We just can't have mental breakdowns like that at the defensive end.''

Oden's Troubles: Oden played only 18 minutes because of foul trouble.

Oden's first foul came at the 13:17 mark. He picked up No. 2 with 10:48 left in the half, an offensive charge against Chism.

Oden sat down with UT leading 20-14 only to watch the Vols go on a 14-4 run to build a 34-18 advantage.

With 6:19 on the clock, Ohio State coach Thad Matta figured it was time to get Oden back on the floor before things got worse for the Buckeyes.

They got a lot worse, though, when Duke Crews drove the ball to the basket and Oden was tagged with his third foul with 5:15 remaining.

Crews missed both free throws, but he'd done his damage.

With Oden back on the bench, the Vols quickly added on to the margin, at 39-20.

By the time he got foul No. 4, with 10:53, Ohio State had already whittled the deficit to 60-59.