Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.
When: 5: 42 tonight
TV/Radio: Chs. 13, 9/WJFK (1300 AM)
How they got here: Ohio State was the South Regional champion. The fourth-seeded Buckeyes defeated No. 13 seed Murray State, 72-58, and No. 12 seed Detroit, 75-44, in Indianapolis. They defeated top-seeded Auburn, 72-64, and third-seeded St. John's, 77-74, in Knoxville. Connecticut was the West Regional champion. The top-seeded Huskies defeated No. 16 seed Texas-San Antonio, 91-66, and No. 9 New Mexico, 78-56, in Denver. They defeated No. 5 Iowa, 78-68, and No. 10 Gonzaga, 67-62, in Phoenix.
Conference records: Ohio State finished second in the Big Ten with a 12-4 record. Connecticut finished first in the Big East with a 16-2 record.
Rankings: Ohio State was No. 14 in the final Associated Press poll, Connecticut No. 3.
Coaches: Jim O'Brien is 35-30 in two years at Ohio State, 270-247 in 17 years overall. Jim Calhoun is 302-120 in 13 years at Connecticut, 552-257 in 27 years overall.
NCAA tournament records: Ohio State has been in the NCAA tournament 17 times, with a record of 43-15. This marks the eighth time the Buckeyes have made the Final Four, winning the championship in 1960. This is the 20th time the Huskies have made the tournament, and the first time they've made the Final Four after advancing to the Elite Eight three times since 1990.
What Ohio State has to do to win: The Buckeyes have to play they way they have since the tournament began, especially on defense. Ohio State has limited its four opponents to a combined 83 of 243 (34 percent) from the field. The Buckeyes also need to find scoring options other than Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd.
What Connecticut has to do to win: The Huskies have to either shoot better than they did against Gonzaga (24 of 65) or continue to rebound as they have in all but one of their tournament games. (Only Iowa out-rebounded Connecticut). The Huskies need to get point guard Khalid El-Amin back on track offensively.
Bottom line: If both teams play their best, Connecticut should win. The Huskies are better defensively than any of the teams Ohio State has played in the tournament, and in Ricky Moore has the kind of defensive stopper who can shut down Penn. The Buckeyes have nothing to lose, and could be on the kind of roll Arizona was on two years ago.
Pub Date: 3/27/99