It was a simple play that turned into a horrific injury for Louisville guard Kevin Ware. With 6:33 left in the first half, Ware jumped to contest a 3-pointer but when he landed his leg buckled and his tibia was fractured. It's a play that happens hundreds of times in each game but I don't think anybody has ever seen anything like that injury in a basketball game. I'm not going to post a link because it's seriously that bad, but If you don't have a weak stomach you can search for it yourself. At that point Louisville was up 21-20 and took a 35-32 lead into halftime. While on the stretcher about to be taken off the court, Ware kept repeating, "just go win the game," and after composing themselves in the locker room Louisville came out strong in the second half. About four minutes in, the score was tied at 42, but the Cardinals went on a 20-4 and never looked back as they cruised to an 85-63 win. Russ Smith continued his hot streak with 24 points and Peyton Siva contributed 16. Gorgui Dieng, who missed the first meeting with Duke, added 14 points, 11 boards and four blocks. The Blue Devils struggled all game from the outside going only 4-16 from 3. Mason Plumlee was the lone bright spot with 17 points and 12 rebounds. A big mention has to go to Louisville reserve Luke Hancock. When Ware went down with his injury, it was right in front of the Louisville bench. Once his teammates saw his leg they either ran away or instantly fell to the floor. But, Hancock came to the side of his fallen teammate to give support while the doctors worked to stabilize Ware's leg. After the initial shock to the team went away, Louisville seemed to be on a mission to win for Ware. They get the surprising Wichita State team in the Final Four, but so far nobody has been able to compete with the Cardinals.
Michigan, Nik Stauskas, shoot Florida out of the gym
After a thrilling comeback against Kansas, everybody was wondering how Michigan would fare in a quick turnaround game with Florida. From the opening tip the Wolverines showed they were ready while the Gators couldn't get anything going. Michigan jumped out to an early 13-0 lead with Mitch McGary scoring eight of those points. Then Nik Stauskas caught fire. The freshman sharp-shooter connected on 6-6 shots and 5-5 3-pointers in the first half. It seemed like every time Florida tried to get back in the game Stauskas would come through. The Gators started to close the gap to end the first half but fouled Stauskas on a 3-point attempt right before the halftime buzzer. Then in the second, Florida cut the lead to 11 with just over 16 minutes to play and again Stauskas buries a triple, he finished with 22. In the end Michigan wrapped up a Final Four birth 79-59, their first since the Fab Five in 1993. The Gators were never able to keep up offensively and learned nothing from watching Kansas dominate the paint as they were satisfied with taking jumpers all day. Florida was a popular pick by many to win the South region, mainly because Ken Pomeroy had them ranked #1 overall after the regular season. But I felt their offensive and defensive numbers were highly inflated (and deflated) due to playing in a very bad SEC. The only other team to make the tournament was Ole Miss, who did win their first game, but if they didn't beat Florida in the SEC Championship game they would have been a bubble team. After his late game heroics on Friday night, Trey Burke cooled off, only hitting 5-16 shots for 15 points. The B1G POY still controlled the game with a season high eight rebounds, seven assists, and only one turnover. Statistically Michigan is the best offensive but worst defensive team remaining. They next matchup with Syracuse and their vaunted 2-3 defense.
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