He blocked the final shot against Tennessee in the regional semifinals to secure an 85-84 victory, then had 17 points and nine rebounds in only 24 minutes against Memphis to lift Ohio State to a spot in the Final Four.

Oden might have turned pro out of high school — he said he always planned to go to college — but ended up at Ohio State because of a new NBA rule requiring players to be at least one year removed from high school before they enter the draft.

Oden has proved he’s ready for the next level and even said last week that “everything is easy about college.” He’s averaging 15.4 points and 9.5 rebounds. He’s shooting 61 percent from the field and has 100 blocked shots.

Not bad for someone who missed the first seven games while recovering from wrist surgery, then had to wear a brace on his right wrist and shoot free throws left-handed.

“The thing I enjoy about him is he gets better every day,” Matta said. “The seven months that his hand was immobilized obviously set him back. When he came back, the hand didn’t work. We disguised it; we didn’t tell anybody that his right hand couldn’t move. But I think that he’s really made a lot of progress. It just keeps getting a little bit stronger every day.

“The good thing, with all that time (off), he was working his left hand and you saw the rewards.”

Hibbert could prove to be a challenge for Oden.

The 7-2 junior has played well in the tournament, averaging 13 points and 11.5 rebounds. He also has 11 blocked shots, nine assists and just four turnovers.

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“I think we’ll see Saturday how they match up,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. “I think they’re both very good players and something that people are talking about because it’s not too often you have two low-post centers going against each other, particularly this late in the tournament.”

Hibbert is the latest in a distinguished list of centers from Georgetown, joining Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo. Hibbert has come a long way in a short time, maybe even more than any of his predecessors. He couldn’t do a single push-up when he arrived on campus, and Thompson said his staff had to teach him how to run.

“Roy has improved in every area,” Thompson said. “If you weren’t around him, it’s almost hard to describe. He’s been extremely willing, and he’s worked extremely hard. His game, his body from the time he’s spent in the weight room, he’s improved in everything.”

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So have Oden, Noah and Horford, making this Final Four all about the big men — a rarity in recent years.

“A lot of times kids are going right to the pros and not sticking around,” Thompson said. “A lot of times it’s because of influences of so many quality payers in the NBA, a lot of big guys now are shying away from the post.

“But we have guys here that like the fact that they’re low-post players.”