UConn 64, Ohio St. 58ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Jim Calhoun and Connecticut like being in the Final Four so much, they decided to stay awhile.
In their first trip to the national semifinals, the Huskies and Richard Hamilton stopped Ohio State's amazing run of upsets and held off a late surge by the Buckeyes for a 64-58 victory Saturday.
No, it wasn't easy, but UConn's journeys in the NCAA tournament never ever are. Leading by 10 points with less than 12 minutes left, the Huskies managed to hold on.
Think Calhoun cares? Crushed by heartbreaking losses so many times, he's delighted to finally get a shot at his first national title.
"That sounds awfully good," Calhoun said, soaking in the words "championship game." "Can you say it again please?"
Seeking redemption for all those great Connecticut teams this decade whose March hunger went unrequited, the Huskies (33-2) play the winner of the Duke-Michigan State game Monday night.
Hamilton had 24 points in one of the best games of his career, including a hanging, double-clutch jumper that stopped the Buckeyes' comeback attempt in the final two minutes.
"One thing my father always told me was, stay relaxed," Hamilton said. Assistant coach Karl Hobbs "always tells me, 'This could be your last 40 minutes of the year.'
"They've been telling us that every game since we started in the NCAA tournament."
OSU point guard Scoonie Penn, hounded by defensive specialist Ricky Moore, was 3-for-13 with 11 points.
Michael Redd had 15 points for the Buckeyes (27-9), who couldn't duplicate the upset heroics that got them past St. John's and Auburn.
"This was a long, tough season and I am very encouraged and very proud," Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. "We had a terrific season and hopefully we will build from here."
Penn and O'Brien, who resurrected the program from an 8-22 season after coming from Boston College, fell just short in their bid to play leading roles in one of the biggest comeback stories in college basketball history.
Incredibly, it was O'Brien's 19th consecutive loss to Calhoun and the Huskies, going back to his years at Boston College.
UConn point guard Khalid El-Amin recovered from his 0-for-12 game against Gonzaga with 18 points and six assists. But it was Hamilton, the quick, crafty slasher, who gave Calhoun the kind of performance he's probably always dreamed of in the Final Four.
"They seized that moment," Calhoun said, referring to his talented guards. "I told them before the game that this was our moment, and they made the plays of the moment."
Hamilton's biggest basket came just as the Buckeyes were trying to cut UConn's lead to less than six points.
Alone on the perimeter with Redd, Hamilton drove to the foul line and sank a sensational, double-clutch jumper that went it as the shot clock sounded.
The Buckeyes, who came back from a 10-point deficit in the first half, scrambled to do it again. But after Penn hit 2-of-3 free throws, Hamilton blocked Penn's 3-point shot.
Redd missed a 3-pointer, and Penn threw up a desperation airball as the Huskies maintained a 63-58 lead with 25 seconds left.
Moore, who shut down Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves and Stanford's Arthur Lee this season, rarely was more than an arm's length away from Penn.
"I was hoping he would get up off me or turn his head the wrong way," said Penn, wearing No. 35 because his usual No. 12 got lost somehow. "He did a great job on me the whole game."
The Huskies lost in the regional finals in 1990, 1995 and 1998 and have never gotten as far as this in the NCAA tournament. Now they're a tough team rollicking with confidence seems determined to forget the ghosts of Duke, North Carolina, UCLA and Mississippi State, all recent postseason enemies.
With El-Amin as their emotional leader -- a quick, pudgy player-coach who runs all over the floor -- the Huskies fear no one.
"I don't think anyone fears Duke," said El-Amin, asked to look ahead to Monday's title game. "No one will be scared of Duke . . . "