USA - A sensational freshman kept Ohio State's season alive.

COLUMBUS (NCAA) - Facing a stunning ouster from the NCAA Tournament, a sensational freshman kept top-seeded Ohio State's season alive.

As Greg Oden watched from the bench, classmate Mike Conley Jr. scored seven consecutive points in overtime to lead the Buckeyes to a 78-71 victory over ninth-seeded Xavier in a second-round game of the South Region.

With Xavier leading, 62-59, Justin Cage missed the second of two free throws with 9.3 seconds to go and Xavier compounded it by electing not to foul.

Senior Ron Lewis responded by hitting a 3-pointer with two seconds left in regulation to keep the Musketeers from pulling off the monumental upset in the battle of Ohio before turning the keys over to Conley.

"On the three, I was just trying to get an open look," Lewis said. "I told Mike (Conley) before we left the huddle and he found me and I got the open look."

A teammate of the 7-foot Oden at Indiana's Lawrence North High School a year ago, Conley played beyond his years in the extra session.

After Justin Doellman gave the Musketeers a 64-62 lead, Conley buried a go-ahead 3-pointer and scored on a pair of driving layups for a 69-64 lead.

Classmate Daequan Cook followed with a 3-pointer of his own the Ohio State (32-3) was able to exhale and look ahead to Thursday's matchup against either Tennessee or Virginia.

Oden, projected to be the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft, had 14 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 9.3 seconds left in regulation.
"We still have another game, hopefully four more games," Oden said. "But we're happy we got these two (wins)."

Third-seeded Texas A&M (27-6) overcame a huge partisan crowd to defeat sixth-seeded Louisville, 72-69, on the bottom of the South bracket.

Acie Law IV scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half as the Aggies moved into the next round to play either Memphis or Tennessee.

Texas A&M will return to their home state to play in San antonio, a stark contrast to having to beat the Cardinals just 77 miles from their campus.

Freshman Edgar Sosa scored a season-high 31 points but forced a long 3-pointer in the final seconds to allow the Aggies to hang on.

The top two seeds held serve in the East Region as No. 1 North Carolina (30-6) fought off a game challenge by ninth-seeded Michigan State before pulling away late for an 81-67 victory.

Sophomore center Tyler Hansbrough finished with 33 points and nine rebounds as the Tar Heels (30-6) advanced to the regional semi-finals for just the second time in the last seven years.

They will play either Texas or Southern California on Friday.

Second-seeded Georgetown (28-6) fended off a challenge from Boston College before prevailing, 62-55, behind 17 points from 7-2 center Roy Hibbert.
The Hoyas will face sixth-seeded Vanderbilt, which knocked off third-seeded Washington State in double overtime.

Derrick Byars scored 27 points for the Commodores (22-11), who were involved in the first double-overtime contest since Michigan State edged Kentucky, 94-88, in the Austin Region final in 2005.

UCLA and Pittsburgh won in similar fashion, squandering big second-half leads to set up a meeting between the West Region's No. 2 and 3 seeds. A key subplot will be Bruins coach facing the team he used to coach before heading west.

Darren Collison had a key steal and two free throws to help UCLA (28-5) hold off seventh-seeded Indiana, 54-49.

Pittsburgh (29-7) needed overtime to end 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth's run, 84-79. Levance Fields missed a pair of free throws that could have won the game in regulation, but made a big 3-point early in overtime.

Fifth-seeded Butler (29-6) continued to carry the banner for "mid-major" teams, knocking off fourth-seeded Maryland, 62-59.

A.J. Graves scored 19 points as the Bulldogs set up a date with No. 1 seed Florida on Friday.
Eight more games will be played Sunday, after which the field will be reduced to 16 teams.

FIBA