ATLANTA — Not even three minutes into the game, and the whistle blew. Greg Oden dropped his head and started a slow walk to the bench.

Two quick fouls, and he was done for the half.

The turning point in the game, for sure. But not in the way anyone expected.

Take Oden away from Ohio State and the Buckeyes still play for the national championship. Take Roy Hibbert away from Georgetown and ... the Buckeyes still play for the national championship.

That much-anticipated matchup between Oden and Hibbert fizzled because of foul trouble. Instead, it was Mike Conley and the rest of the Buckeyes who carried top-seeded Ohio State to its first national title game since 1962 with a 67-60 victory over Georgetown last night.

"I just sat back and watched my teammates take over," Oden said.

The Buckeyes will face defending champion Florida for the championship tomorrow night in a title rematch — of sorts. This one comes on the hardwood, not the grass. The Gators upset the Buckeyes at the BCS title game in January.

Conley finished with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds for Ohio State (35-3). Oden added 13 points — all in the second half — and eight rebounds in 20 minutes.

"When he goes down with two fouls, our guys did a tremendous job stepping up," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "Michael was tremendous."

Hibbert was tremendous, too. He scored 19 points, had six rebounds and one blocked shot in 24 minutes for the Hoyas, and he more than held his own against the younger, more celebrated Oden.

Problem was, he spent too much time as a spectator.

So did the rest of the Hoyas.

The 7-foot-2 Hibbert gave Georgetown a decided size advantage, especially when Oden was on the bench. And the Hoyas (30-7) had the edge on experience, although it was a slight one.

But Georgetown could never take control of the game when Oden went out, even with Hibbert on the floor. When Hibbert was out, the Hoyas were simply lost.

Jeff Green, the Big East player of the year who had been scoring a team-best 15.8 points in the NCAA tournament, had just nine points, and took only five shots the entire game. He did have 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough — not when he went almost 17 minutes in the first half and 14 minutes in the second without a shot.

"I wouldn't change anything," Green said. "I didn't want to force anything. ... You've got to credit their defense. They had great weak-side defense. That made it tough on our teammates to try and throw the ball down to me."

DaJuan Summers, who had averaged 17.5 points the last two games, added a measly three. That, at least, was more than the Georgetown bench. The reserves didn't contribute a single point.

The Hoyas had 14 turnovers — leading to 22 Ohio State points — and were outrebounded 37-30.

"When you lose a game, you can sit here and find a million things you wish you did differently, could have done differently, should have done differently," coach John Thompson III said. "That's the nature of this.

"We fought and scrapped the whole time. The ball didn't bounce our way. It happens."

Hibbert left the game with his third foul just four minutes into the second half. When he returned 3 1/2 minutes later, he scored a quick five points. Jonathan Wallace then hit a 3 that tied the game at 44 with 9:44 left.

But Hibbert picked up his fourth foul 20 seconds later. As he was heading back to the bench, Oden was returning.

Just like that, the momentum turned again.

"My teammates did really good," Oden said. "They stepped up and didn't allow them to get any offensive rebounds. In the second half, I just wanted to get in there and contribute."

After playing only three minutes the first half, Oden played all but three in the second, and his presence seemed to energize Ohio State. He scored on a hook shot, and David Lighty and Jamar Butler added layups.

After a timeout, Oden took a hard foul from Green as he went up for what would have been a thunderous dunk.

"I was out for 17 minutes," Oden said, "I wanted to get in there and just tear the rim out."

Instead, he made one of two free throws for a 51-44 lead with 6:37 to play, and Ohio State was never in trouble again.