KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- They are too big a school with too rich a tradition to be called the only Cinderella team left in the NCAA tournament.
Just call Ohio State a turnaround team, the most remarkable in recent college basketball history.
The Buckeyes continued their astounding climb from the bottom of the Big Ten last season to the heights of the school's first Final Four appearance in 31 years last night with a thrilling 77-74 victory over St. John's in the NCAA South Regional final at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Junior guard Scoonie Penn, whose transfer from Boston College two years ago proved a key in Ohio State's resurgence, led the Buckeyes with 22 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Michael Redd finished with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists.
"The first thing is that it's really, really hard to put into words," said Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien, whose Buckeyes have gone from 8-22 last season to 27-8 so far this season. "It's hard to imagine that we've put ourselves in this position."
It seemed as if Ohio State would cruise to an easy victory after taking a 10-point lead in the first half and building it to 13 twice in the second half. But it wound up coming down to a controversial play in the frantic, final seconds for the Buckeyes to survive.
With Ohio State hanging onto a 76-74 lead after a free throw by Penn, St. John's point guard Erick Barkley got a step and drove toward the basket. As he got by Penn, Barkley lost the ball to Redd. On television replays, it appeared Penn bumped Barkley from behind, causing him to lose the ball.
"I'm not sure what happened," said Penn. "Maybe I did touch him. Maybe I didn't. I don't think I pushed him or anything. I don't think I touched him enough for him to lose the ball."
It was the only turnover that Barkley, a freshman, made in 37 minutes while helping the Red Storm come back from a 53-40 deficit with 13: 34 remaining. Sitting in the St. John's dressing room with a towel draped over his head, Barkley said quietly, "I did a poor job of running the offense."
Asked about the last play, Barkley only blamed himself. "I lost the ball," he said. "I lost the ball, that's all."
As is his custom, St. John's coach Mike Jarvis took the diplomatic route.
"Great players make great plays and Redd made the steal," said Jarvis. "We had an incredible journey. We didn't get to our destination. Hopefully we'll wake up tomorrow and start another journey."
Ohio State's journey will continue this week when the Buckeyes go to St. Petersburg, Fla., to play Connecticut, a 67-62 winner over Gonzaga in yesterday's West Regional final. The other two semifinalists will be determined today.
The defeat denied St. John's (28-9) from concluding its own incredible revival with its first trip to the Final Final since 1985. The Red Storm couldn't back up its impressive performance in Thursday night's regional semifinals against Maryland with one of equal precision against Ohio State.
"We just didn't execute the way we were the last couple of games and they were," said junior guard and former Dunbar standout Bootsy Thornton, who finished with 18 points. "We weren't surprised by their quickness."
What caught St. John's off-guard was the performance of Ohio State center Ken Johnson. The 6-foot-11 junior was a force. It wasn't surprising that Johnson blocked seven shots and altered several others. It was out of character for Johnson to score 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
"He was the difference in the game," said Jarvis.
So was St. John's star Ron Artest. Not by his presence, but by his disappearance. Hampered by two early fouls, Artest was as out of sync as the Terrapins were here Thursday night. The 6-8 junior finished with nine points and on 4-for-10 shooting, nine rebounds and five turnovers.
"I blame myself for us falling so far behind," said Artest.
Still, St. John's had a chance.
Redd missed the front end of a one-and-one with 33.6 seconds left and Artest's drive with 24.5 seconds to go cut the deficit to two, 75-73. Brian Brown then missed the front end of a one-and-one, and St. John's reserve guard Chudney Gray was fouled as he started to drive, hitting one of two free throws with 12.2 seconds left.
Penn was fouled and hit the second of two free throws. It then was left to Barkley, who drove upcourt, went around a screen by Artest and was seemingly on his way to the basket when the ball popped loose.
Redd retrieved it, was fouled and made the first of two free throws with .09 of a second left. Barkley's desperation heave fell short.
"We wouldn't be here tonight without Erick Barkley," said Jarvis of his freshman point guard. "He's our MVP. He was the difference for us this year."
Penn was clearly the difference for the Buckeyes this season. He was the Big Ten's Player of the Year after leading Ohio State from a 1-15 record a year ago to a 12-4 conference record this season. He was the Most Outstanding Player in the regional here.
As the final buzzer sounded, Penn ran into the stands and hugged his mother, Allegra. Then he ran back onto the court and joined the wild celebration in the middle of the floor. The school's football team might have faltered down the stretch this season, but not the basketball team.
"I was thinking about how much we had suffered the past few years, how we cried after every game last season," said Redd. "It was such a relief for us to be on top after being on the bottom for so long."
Maybe not a Cinderella.
Just the biggest turnaround team in recent college basketball history.
NCAA tournament
Yesterday's results
West Regional final
At Phoenix
Connecticut 67, Gonzaga 62
South Regional final
At Knoxville, Tenn.
Ohio State 77, St. John's 74
Today's games
East Regional final
At East Rutherford, N.J.
Midwest Regional final
At St. Louis
Michigan State (32-4) vs. Kentucky (28-8), 5 p.m. TV: Chs. 13, 9
Inside
Owls' Chaney faces demons, Blue Devils. 7e
In Midwest, Cleaves, Turner are keys. 8e
Updates
For more information about the NCAA basketball tournament brackets, go to The Sun's Web site, SunSpot, at www.sunspot.net