It looked all but over when Kansas led 68-54 with less than seven minutes left in the game but that's when Michigan turned up its defense and Trey Burke played like the POY he is. In the first half Kansas couldn't miss as they shot 68% but only had a six point lead, 40-34, despite Burke going scoreless. The Jayhawks were scoring at will inside as Jeff Withey, Kevin Young and Perry Ellis appeared to be unstoppable in the paint. In the second half it was more of the same for KU for the first 12 minutes but Burke was finally starting to make a scoring impact. With Kansas up 14 late, Michigan ramped up their defense exposing the lack of point guard for KU forcing bad passes and a crucial 10-second call. The Wolverines kept fighting back but still found themselves down ten with 2:22 and then five with 21 seconds left. After Burke hit a layup, Elijah Johnson was at the free throw line shooting one-and-one. He missed, which left the door open for Burke to solidify his Player of the Year status as he hit a 30-footer to send the game to overtime. Riding that momentum, Michigan came out strong in OT creating an 87-82 lead. Kansas still had a chance to tie only down two with nine seconds left when Johnson looked to have an open lane, but he kicked it out to Naadir Tharpe who missed the game-winning 3-pointer. Somehow Michigan pulled out the win in this game. Burke scored all 23 of his points in the second half and OT but it was Mitch McGary who kept this team in it the entire game. McGary finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds as he and Burke (also 10 assists) became the fourth pair of teammates to have 20 points, 10 assists and 25 points, 10 rebounds in a NCAA tournament game. Another pair was Glen Rice and Rumeal Robinson when Michigan won the title in '89. For Kansas, their best player Ben McLemore finally showed up in the tournament putting in 20 points on 4-8 beyond the arc. Also, Withey was dominate inside with 12 points, eight boards, and five blocks. As for Johnson, he day started and ended badly. Not even two minutes into the game he was called for a flagrant foul after hitting McGary below the belt, then to end regulation he missed a free throw to ice the game, and at the end of OT he passed on what looked like to be an open game-tying layup. Throughout the year Michigan was on the wrong side of games like this (see Wisconsin and Indiana) but last night they showed their resiliency and pulled off the improbable comeback. It doesn't get any easier from here on out either, but Michigan reaches the Elite 8 for the first time since 1994.
Florida ends Florida Gulf Coast Cinderella run
For the first 15 minutes Florida Gulf Coast seemed to be on their way to another upset and continuing their Cinderella run. The Eagles were up 24-14 before the Gators ended the first half on a 16-2 run to take a 30-26 lead at the break. After that Florida never looked back. "Dunk City" was a great story while it lasted but they were severely over matched by the bigger and stronger Gators. The story was offensive rebounding for Florida and turnovers for FGCU. Florida shot only 38% but collected 13 offensive rebounds and forced 20 turnovers which led to 16 points. In the first two games Eagles PG Brett Comer averaged 12 assists and only 2.5 TOs but the Gators guards applied the pressure throughout the game making Comer turn the ball over nine times. Mike Rosario scored 15 for Florida and Casey Prather chipped in 11 off the bench. FGCU's standout guard Sherwood Brown led them with 14 and 6 rebounds. The entire country backed the small Florida school against its big brother but the talent disparity finally reared its ugly head as the Eagles tied a season low 50 points. With the 62-50 win the Gators have still claimed every victory by double-digits. A date with Michigan is scheduled for a trip to the Final Four.
Duke, Coach K outlasts Michigan State, Izzo
The battle between two of the best coaches in college basketball went the way we expected in the first half, a strategic back and forth game. Duke took an eight point lead but MSU quickly cut the deficit to one before the half 32-31. However, early in the second the Blue Devils went on a 9-0 run which Michigan State was never able to overcome as they fell to Duke 71-61. The problem for Sparty was that Seth curry was on fire. He came out in the second connecting on his first three attempts from long range and finished with 29 points on 6-9 from distance. His performance was very reminiscent of his brother Stephen for Davidson in his run to the Elite 8 in 2008. These teams matched up pretty well across the board especially with each team having two bigs, one that likes to bang (Mason Plumlee and Derrick Nix) and one that plays outside (Ryan Kelly and Adreian Payne). They pretty much cancelled each other out (Plumlee and Kelly 23 pts 14 rebs, Nix and Payne 23 pts 19 rebs), but Michigan State had nobody to help Keith Appling on the outside. The Spartans were only 3-12 from deep and their freshman stud Gary Harris missed both his 3-point attempts and was 2-11 from the field. Coach K now owns a 7-1 advantage against Tom Izzo.
Louisville, Russ Smith, easily takes care of Oregon
Louisville jumped out to a 24-8 lead in the first 10 minutes and that's all the Cardinals needed as they cruised to a 77-69 win. Russ Smith continued to be "Russdiculous" as he tied a career high 31 points on 9-16 from the field and 12-14 from the line. He's now averaging 27 in the tourney and I don't think there's another player that has looked better. Gorgui Dieng contributed 10 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks. Louisville has been pressuring teams like crazy in the tournament, taking a NCAA record 20 steals in their first game, but only forced 12 Oregon turnovers. Give a lot of credit to the Ducks as well because they were able to fight back in the second half and cut the deficit to six with 5:13 left but wouldn't get any closer. Arsalan Kazemi posted another double-double with 11 and 12, and E.J. Single had 15 points. Louisville is definitely the team to beat right now and are the only #1 seed to make it to the Elite 8. Their rewarded with facing Duke for a Final Four bid. The last time Rick Pitino and Mike Krzyzewski met in a regional final was in 1992 and Christian Laettner hit his game-winning shot. These two teams met in November with Duke taking it 76-71, but that was without Dieng so Louisville is looking for revenge.
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