PHOENIX – Connecticut hit from outside, pounded the ball inside and just plain dominated Vanderbilt most of the night.

Now the Huskies are a win from becoming the Final Four team they were expected to be.

Ben Gordon had 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists and UConn beat the cold-shooting Commodores 73-53 in the semifinals of the Phoenix Regional on Thursday night.

Rashad Anderson had 15 points and Emeka Okafor added 12 points and 11 boards for the Huskies, who staved off a 16-3 second-half spurt by Vandy that cut the lead to 52-45 on Corey Smith’s jumper with 12:07 to play.

Anderson then sank a 3-pointer on his first shot of the half to start an 8-0 run that put UConn up 60-45 with 8:35 left. The Commodores (23-10), outrebounded 41-17, never got closer than 13 again.

Matt Freije, the Commodores’ career scoring leader, shot 3-of-18 for eight points after scoring 31 points to help his team rally for a 75-73 second-round victory over North Carolina State in Orlando, Fla.

Smith and Mario Moore each scored 12 for Vandy, which shot 35 percent.

Leading up to the game, Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings called UConn “probably the most talented team in the tournament” and he might just be right.

Oklahoma St. 63, Pittsburgh 51

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Oklahoma State took Pittsburgh’s pushes, shoves and banging for 33 minutes and then delivered a knockout blow that sent longtime coach Eddie Sutton to his sixth regional final.

Tony Allen keyed a late 17-5 spurt when second-seeded Oklahoma State solved Pittsburgh’s tenacious defense and beat the third-seeded Panthers 63-51 on Thursday night.

Oklahoma State (30-3) will face either St. Joseph’s or Wake Forest on Saturday in the East Rutherford Regional for the right to go to San Antonio for the Final Four.

Allen lead the Cowboys with 23 points in a game that was a lot closer than the final score.

Carl Krauser had 15 points and Jaron Brown 11 for the Panthers (31-5), who lost in the regional semifinal for the third straight year.

Alabama 80, Syracuse 71

PHOENIX – Sit down Syracuse. Join top-seeded Stanford on the sidelines. The Tide is on some kind of roll!

Alabama, a No. 8 seed, beat the defending national champions 80-71 in the Phoenix Regional semifinals on Thursday night, five days after stunning Stanford.

Kennedy Winston and Earnest Shelton put Alabama (20-12) ahead from the outside in the first half, then Chuck Davis got rough inside in the second and the Crimson Tide is in an NCAA regional final for the first time in the school’s history.

Next up Saturday is a matchup against No. 2 seed Connecticut, a 73-53 winner over No. 6 seed Vanderbilt in Thursday’s first game.

Shelton scored 22 points and Winston 19 for Alabama, but the difference maker was Davis, who scored 17 of his 19 in the second half as the Tide pulled away.

St. Joe’s 84, Wake Forest 80

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Jameer Nelson, Delonte West and Saint Joseph’s put on quite an eye-popping performance for Billy Packer.

With their No. 1 nemesis watching from the front row and their fans chanting his name in the final minute, the Hawks showed they were a worthy No. 1 seed. Nelson and West each scored 24 points Thursday night, keying an 84-80 victory over Wake Forest in the semifinals of the East Rutherford Regional.

The celebration almost came too early, though. Trailing 76-68, Wake Forest whittled its deficit down to 82-80 with 11.9 seconds left.

But then Nelson escaped a double-team trap in the corner and passed to West, who was fouled. West made both free throws.

The only thing left to do for coach Phil Martelli was walk across the court and shake hands with Packer.

The CBS analyst and Wake Forest alum, having said the Hawks did not deserve a top seed, smiled broadly.

Behind them, Hawks rooters razzed Packer. He turned to them and said, “You’re exactly where you should be.”

Martelli claimed all along that the Hawks (30-1) should be regarded as highly as schools such as Connecticut and Oklahoma State.

“We certainly don’t look like these teams, but we sure do play like them.”

The Hawks) advanced to play second-seeded Oklahoma State, which banged its way past Pittsburgh 63-51, on Saturday for a trip to the Final Four. Saint Joseph’s and the Cowboys have never met in basketball.

AP-ES-03-26-04 0032EST