Friday was a day of juggernauts and bracketbusters aiming for a trip to the Elite Eight, but only four winners would come out. The slipper fell off for Florida Gulf Coast, as Billy Donovan’s Gators took down the Eagles, 62-50. Louisville broke out on the offensive end early, and stayed in control to top Oregon, 77-69. The Ducks tried to make it interesting, but just could not get past the Cards’ defensive pressure enough and guard Russ Smith, who scored 31 points. Duke’s Seth Curry scored 29 points to lead the Blue Devils past Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans, 71-61. It was a back-and-forth battle between Michigan and Kansas. With less than seven minutes to go, Kansas led the Wolverines by 14. The Jayhawks then had a five-point lead with 21 seconds left, but Michigan would not go to sleep. Trey Burke scored all 23 of his points in the second half. Kansas’ Elijah Johnson missed a free throw, and Trey Burke picked the ball up to take it down the floor. He hit a 30-footer to tie the game at 76. In overtime, the lead changed five different times, as it was the first OT game of the Big Dance. Kansas had shot to tie or win as they trailed by two, but a three-pointer by Naadir Tharpe was long, so the Wolverines will take a trip to the Elite Eight, as they play Florida on Sunday.
ELITE 8 MATCH-UPS (Previews for Sunday’s games will come on Sunday)
SATURDAY
East Regional Final: #3-Seed Marquette vs. #4-Seed Syracuse at 4:30 pm at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC
West Regional Final: #2-Seed Ohio State vs. #9-Seed Wichita State at 7:05 pm at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
SUNDAY
South Regional Final: #3-Seed Florida vs. #4-Seed Michigan at 2:20 pm at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas
Midwest Regional Final: #1-Seed Louisville vs. #2-Seed Duke at 5:05 pm at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana
Saturday Previews
Both with Strong Defenses, Marquette Faces Syracuse in an Elite Eight Big East Showdown
Syracuse’s zone took down the top seed in the East Region, Indiana, on Thursday night. Back on February 25, Davonte Gardner scored 26 points against the Orange’s zone to lead Marquette to a 74-71 win over Jim Boeheim’s squad. With Syracuse leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference in the fall, they will play another conference game today. The Big East will just not wave goodbye to the Orange. Syracuse and Marquette give up just above 60 points a game, as Syracuse averages just two more points (71) than Marquette (69) in average points per game. Sophomore guard Michael Carter-Williams has been fantastic for Syracuse, as he scored 24 points against Indiana and has been a very tough match-up. 6’8’’ forward C.J. Fair is the leading scorer for the Orange, as he averaged 14.4 points per game heading into the tournament and spreads the floor well with his jump shot too. Junior guard Vander Blue averages 14.8 points per game and is a very good attacker. Senior guard Junior Cadougan puts up 8.6 points per game, as Buzz Williams knows that his offense must be efficient in trying to get through the Syracuse 2-3 zone. The two schools’ only tournament meeting was in 2011, when Marquette won 66-62 in the second round.
Prediction: Syracuse played national championship defense against Indiana, and Buzz Williams’ offense has been suspect at times. I see Michael Carter-Williams and Fair driving the Orange to a win today. If Syracuse can contain Marquette’s big men, Chris Otule and Davante Gardner, then it could be a tough afternoon for the Golden Eagles. They don’t shoot the three-ball as well, so Gardner is really the key match-up to watch. I like Syracuse.
#2-Ohio State Looks to Keep Living up to the Spotlight as the Bucks Meet Bracketbuster #9-Seed Wichita State
Ohio State has had two game winners in their past two tournament games, as Aaron Craft (vs. Iowa State) and LaQuinton Ross (vs. Arizona) have both come up big in the clutch. Wichita State’s huge win was last Saturday in the Round of 32, where they knocked off top-seed Gonzaga, 76-70. Guard Malcolm Armstead (10.8 points per game) and forward Cleanthony Early (13.7 points per game) control the pace of play for Wichita State. Standout forward Carl Hall averages 12.7 points per game, but these Shockers will face a whole new kind of pressure coming from Thad Matta’s Bucks. Malcolm Armstead will go up against Aaron Craft, who has controlled the pace down the stretch in game-after-game. He scored 13 points against Arizona, and came into the tournament averaging 10.1 points per game. DeShaun Thomas has averaged 22 points per game in the tournament, as the 6’7’’ forward has been consistent for the Bucks. LaQuinton Ross has really stepped up as a third contributor for Ohio State, as he has scored 17 points in each of his last two games against Arizona and Iowa State respectively. Guards Lenzelle Smith, Jr. and Shannon Scott have both been solid contributors for the Buckeyes. Ohio State doesn’t want to be the next team to get busted by the Shockers, who have been on a tear. I see the Bucks’ physicality and scrappiness being enough to lift them over Wichita State. I see the Shockers hanging with the Bucks dow to the last five minutes of the game, but Aaron Craft and company will step up when the time matters most. I like Ohio State.
The rest of the games in the tournament are on CBS. Have a great Holy Saturday!
