If you're a die-hard NBA fan, the NCAA's can be a little trying. Not that Ohio State beat the University of Memphis 92-76 to become the first team to reach the Final Four of the national men's college basketball tournament.

Ron Lewis scored 22 points as Ohio State won its 21st straight game and captured the South regional championship in San Antonio. The Buckeyes will face the winner of tomorrow's North Carolina-Georgetown game in the national semifinals March 31 in Atlanta.

UCLA will join Ohio State at the Final Four after beating Kansas 68-55 to win the West regional in San Jose, California. The Bruins advance to meet either Florida or Oregon in the semifinals.

In San Antonio, Mike Conley Jr. scored 19 points and Greg Oden added 17 points and nine rebounds as Ohio State (34-3) earned its first Final Four berth since 1999.

``We're happy to be where we're at, but we know there's two games to go,'' Conley Jr. said in a televised postgame news conference.

Jeremy Hunt scored 26 points for second-seeded Memphis (33-4). The loss marked the second straight year the Tigers were beaten in a regional final and ended their 25-game winning streak, the nation's longest current run.

``That was a terrific basketball team we played,'' Memphis coach John Calipari said in his postgame news conference. ``Our hope was we could outwork or outscrap them, but we couldn't.''

Halftime Lead

Ohio State scored the first eight points of the game before Memphis came back to take a 20-17 lead. The Buckeyes regained the lead 29-26 on a 3-pointer by Jamar Butler and took that three- point advantage to the locker room at halftime.

Ohio State maintained its advantage in the second half until Memphis used an 8-0 run to take a 56-51 lead. The Buckeyes later scored seven straight points to break a 64-64 tie with 5:41 left.

After Lewis hit a 3-pointer a minute later to make it 74-66, Ohio State closed the game by hitting its final 18 free-throw attempts. The Buckeyes made 35 of 41 foul shots and outscored the Tigers by 21 from the free-throw line.

``I'm elated and I told the guys that this is a tremendous honor,'' Ohio State coach Thad Matta said in a news conference. ``It's a great win for Ohio State and I'm happy to be part of it.''

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