Auburn Tigers vs Kentucky Wildcats

When: 2:20 PM ET, Sunday, March 31, 2019
Where: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Previews for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

KANSAS CITY – SEC rivals Auburn and Kentucky have met 113 times on the court, but none have been as significant as today’s Midwest Region final with a Final Four berth on the line. The fifth-seeded Tigers are the hottest team in college basketball with 11 straight wins and will be trying to take down their third consecutive giant of the sport after coasting past Kansas 89-75 in the second round and routing North Carolina 97-80 in Friday’s Sweet 16.

However, Auburn will have to press forward without star sophomore Chuma Okeke, who suffered a torn ACL Friday night that loomed large over the otherwise historic win for the program. “I think Chuma is our most valuable player,” Tigers point guard Jared Harper told reporters. “He rebounds and gets assists. He scores inside and outside. He can guard all five positions. He’s always in the right spot.” Auburn’s last defeat was a 27-point setback at Kentucky, which survived a tense affair to get past Houston 62-58 in Friday’s second game at the Sprint Center. Sophomore forward PJ Washington returned from a foot injury that caused him to miss the first two rounds and scored 16 points off the bench while delivering a big blocked shot down the stretch.

TV: 2:20 p.m. ET, CBS

ABOUT AUBURN (29-9): The Tigers, in the Elite Eight for the second time in program history, have scored at least 80 points six times during their winning streak and shot 54.5 percent – including 17-of-37 from 3-point range – in the win over the Tar Heels. Okeke’s 20 points led the way while five others reached double figures in scoring and Harper had nine points to go along with 11 assists. Danjel Purifoy, a junior forward who was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc in the Sweet 16, is expected to gobble up many of the available minutes left by Okeke, who is scheduled to have surgery next week.

ABOUT KENTUCKY (30-6): The Wildcats outshot the Tigers 54.5 percent to 32.8 percent in the last meeting while dominating the glass and limiting Auburn’s potent perimeter game to eight 3-pointers, but they expect a very different challenge Sunday. “Eleven in a row. They’re playing and shooting it. They’re playing defense, getting their hands on balls,” Kentucky coach John Calipari told reporters of the Tigers before turning his attention to Washington, who had 24 points in the last matchup with Auburn. “You know, it was – you know, how they’re playing and how we’re playing. I mean it’s good to have PJ back. We don’t win the game today without him. We don’t.” Freshman guard Tyler Herro had a team-high 19 points against Houston and drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute.

TIP-INS

1. Auburn is playing for its first Final Four berth. Kentucky is vying for its 18th – fifth in 10 seasons under Calipari.

2. Tigers senior G Bryce Brown leads his team in scoring at 15.8 per game – 16.3 in the tournament.

3. Wildcats freshman G Keldon Johnson is averaging eight points on 35 percent shooting in the last two games after scoring 25 points on 10-of-16 in the first-round win over Abilene Christian.

Michigan St. Spartans vs Duke

When: 5:05 PM ET, Sunday, March 31, 2019
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington DC

WASHINGTON DC – Top-seeded Duke squeezed by its last two opponents in the final possession and faces an even bigger challenge Sunday when it battles red-hot second seed Michigan State in the East Region final at Washington D.C., for a trip to the Final Four. The Blue Devils survived two potential winning shots against Central Florida in the second round and Virginia Tech’s attempt to tie in the final second Friday in the Region semifinal.

“Now that it’s March Madness, every game is kind of going to be like this, close, hard-fought games,” Duke freshman forward RJ Barrett told reporters after recording 18 points and a career-high 11 assists Friday. “And we somehow find a way to keep winning at the end. It’s great and we’re not surprised by it, but we’ve just got to keep it up.” Blue Devils freshman phenom Zion Williamson scored 23 and added three blocks in the 75-73 victory over Virginia Tech and is averaging 26.8 points in six games since returning from a knee sprain, but Michigan State comes in with an eight-game winning streak and has won its three NCAA Tournament games by 48 points combined. The Spartans have gotten consistent performances from senior point guard Cassius Winston, who is averaging 18.7 points and seven assists in the tournament, and received career games from freshmen Aaron Henry and Gabe Brown to beat LSU 80-63 in Friday’s Region semifinal. “Amazing,” Winston told reporters after the win. “Just finally being in that position – the work we put in, the time we spent, the ups and downs we’ve been through. At the end of the day to have this moment, to have another opportunity to do some special things.”

TV: 5:05 p.m. ET, CBS

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (31-6): The 6-foot-6 Henry is scoring just 6.0 per game overall, but registered career highs of 20 points along with six assists against LSU and told reporters: “It was one of those nights where I just felt like the basket was huge.” Winston averages 18.8 points while shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range and broke the program record for assists in a single season with 279, moving past Mateen Cleaves (274) on Friday. Second-leading active scorer Nick Ward (13.4), a junior forward, told reporters he expects to play Sunday despite falling on his left hand Friday and suffering a deep bone bruise.

ABOUT DUKE (32-5): Coach Mike Krzyzewski called Tre Jones’ performance Friday “magnificent” after the freshman point guard registered season highs of 22 points and five made 3-pointers while handing out eight assists with no turnovers in 40 minutes. “These guys believed in me all year, especially after the last game with me struggling from 3,” Jones told reporters. “. … Coach kept telling me to take the shots and these guys kept telling me to take my shots. They were able to fall tonight.” Freshman swingman Cam Reddish (13.6 points) was a late scratch Friday due to a knee injury and his status for Sunday is uncertain.

TIP-INS

1. Michigan State is looking to reach the Final Four for the 10th time while the Blue Devils seeks their 17th trip.

2. Duke sophomore G Alex O’Connell registered career highs with 35 minutes and seven rebounds in Friday’s win.

3. Brown scored a career-high 15 off the bench Friday and Spartans sophomore F Xavier Tillman is averaging 14 points in the tournament.

Michigan St 80, Louisiana State 63

When: 7:09 PM ET, Friday, March 29, 2019
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Attendance: 20,278
Recaps for Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

WASHINGTON DC  – Freshmen Aaron Henry and Gabe Brown had career nights, lifting No. 2 Michigan State to an 80-63 victory over No. 3 LSU in the East Region semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Henry and Brown scored career highs with Henry pouring in 20 and Brown scoring 15 as the Spartans (31-6) advanced to Sunday’s regional final, where they will play No. 1 Duke. The Blue Devils topped No. 4 Virginia Tech 75-73 later Friday.

“It was one of those nights where I thought the basket was huge,” Henry said. “I’m glad that it was that way tonight. Just my teammates looking out for me and getting me the ball in certain positions. And Coach put me in great spots to score.”

Cassius Winston scored 17 and handed out eight assists for Michigan State while Xavier Tillman chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds. Kenny Goins tallied six points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Winston said of Henry and Brown, “They were huge tonight. In a lot of ways, they won the game. They were confident. They trusted in their abilities. They took their shots that they’re supposed to, and they just stepped up in a big way.”

Tremont Waters scored 23 for LSU (28-7), including a bucket that pulled the Tigers within 45-41 with 16:44 to play. But Michigan State responded with an 11-0 run, which began with Brown’s triple and 3-pointers from Henry and Goins.

“I thought we had a great game plan,” LSU interim coach Tony Benford said. “We wanted to protect the paint and try to get the ball in the paint. But they had some guys that stepped up. We wanted to contain Cassius. But you’ve got to give guys credit. Brown and Henry made shots.

“At the end of the day, they flipped it on us on the glass. We knew we had to protect the backboard. We had to rebound, protect our end, and whoever won the rebound battle I feel like was going to win the game. And it played out that way.”

Michigan State’s 3-point barrage blew open what was a four-point game, gave the Spartans a 56-41 lead with 14:41 to play and forced an LSU timeout. The Spartans kept it coming, eventually pushing the lead to 66-48 before LSU put together its final surge.

Two straight triples from Waters got things going and four points from Reid pulled the Tigers within 70-60 with a little more than four minutes to play. But Matt McQuaid scored six points to help the Spartans put the game away.

Kavell Bigby-Williams added 11 points for the Tigers while Naz Reid was good for 10 points and nine rebounds.

“You gotta give kudos to them,” Waters said of the Spartans. “They’re a great 3-point shooting team the way they move the ball and everything and they were able to make big-time shots.”

It was all Michigan State in the first half as the Spartans scored the first eight points of the game, forcing LSU to take a timeout less than two minutes into the game after Henry and Winston hit back-to-back 3-pointers.

The timeout did little to slow the Spartans, who made six of their first nine shots and went up 22-11 on a triple from Winston. LSU started to get back into it, pulling within 25-17 with 9:28 left in the first half before Michigan State started to take control once again.

A 15-6 surge for the Spartans put them ahead, 40-23, with 2:10 to play in the half after Nick Ward scored on a jump-hook. But the Tigers built some momentum heading into the locker room as they scored the final five points of the half, including a 3-pointer from Waters to cut Michigan State’s lead to 40-28 at the break.

LSU came storming out of the locker room, scoring the first eight points for a 13-0 run that began late in the first half.

–Field Level Media

Auburn 97, North Carolina 80

When: 7:29 PM ET, Friday, March 29, 2019
Where: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri

KANSAS CITY — Chuma Okeke had 20 points and 11 rebounds before leaving with a leg injury, and Auburn used another high-energy run to take down top-seeded North Carolina 97-80 in a Midwest Region semifinal on Friday night.

Fifth-seeded Auburn will next face second-seeded Kentucky, which pulled out a 62-58 victory over Houston in the second NCAA Tournament Midwest semifinal.

The Tigers defeated Kansas 89-75 to reach the Sweet 16. Kansas is No. 2 all-time in wins, and North Carolina is third. Kentucky leads the all-time list.

If Auburn wins its next game, the Tigers will reach the Final Four for the first time in program history.

Auburn (29-9) used a 14-0 run sandwiched around halftime to take a 49-39 lead at the 18:21 mark of the second half. The Tigers led by as many as 12 points before North Carolina scored six straight points. But Auburn answered the run and led 70-54 with 10:19 left.

By the time North Carolina (29-7) regrouped, Auburn led 76-57 with 9:19 remaining. North Carolina could not get inside 10 points the rest of the game.

“In the second half, early second half, we made some mental mistakes and they capitalized on it,” Tar Heels guard Kenny Williams said, “and, you know, they’re a team that once they hit a couple, they got hot, and they got hot in the second half and they kind of carried that momentum throughout the whole half.”

Auburn was led by Okeke, who left the game with 8:08 remaining and Auburn up 76-62 with a left knee injury. He did not return to the game. He was Auburn’s third-leading scorer this season with 11.8 points per game, and leading rebounder with 6.7 per game.

“We’re pretty emotional because it’s a bittersweet accomplishment because of Chuma getting hurt late in the game,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said in his postgame news conference. “Nobody works harder, nobody gives us more courage. When it gets tough and you got to go to a matchup, we got five and you don’t. That’s how we felt.”

Auburn had five other players in double figures. Malik Dunbar scored 13 points, followed by Bryce Brown and Danjel Purifoy with 12 each, and J’Von McCormick and Samir Doughty with 10 each. Jared Harper had 11 assists for the Tigers, who were 17 of 37 from 3-point range and shot 54.5 percent overall.

“We knew we could hit them,” Dunbar said of his team’s 3-point shooting. “We have a lot of guys who can knock ’em down, and tonight we just got on a roll.”

North Carolina was led by Coby White and Cameron Johnson with 15 points each, but they combined to shoot only 8 of 26 from the field and 2 of 14 from 3-point range.

Luke Maye had 13 and Williams had 10 for the Tar Heels, who as a team shot 43.1 percent from the field and 7 of 28 from behind the arc.

The first half was tight all the way, with neither team leading by more than five points. Auburn took a 41-39 lead into intermission after McCormick went end-to-end with 6.1 seconds left and hit a layup at the buzzer. The Tigers closed the half on a 6-0 run.

Okeke (12) and McCormick (10) led the Tigers in the first half. White had nine points for North Carolina.

–Field Level Media

Duke 75, Virginia Tech 73

When: 9:39 PM ET, Friday, March 29, 2019
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

WASHINGTON DC – Zion Williamson scored 23 points and Tre Jones hit five 3-point baskets on the way to 22 points as top-seeded Duke beat fourth-seeded Virginia Tech 75-73 Friday in a wild NCAA Tournament East Region semifinal.

Virginia Tech missed three shots in the final 10 seconds, including a pair of 3-point attempts.

“We’re still dancing, so I can’t complain as long as we’re winning,” Duke forward Javin DeLaurier said.

RJ Barrett scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half and also finished with 11 assists as the Blue Devils returned to a regional final for the second year in a row.

“We felt great about winning because we had to play outstanding basketball in order to win,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Duke (32-5) next has a Sunday meeting with second-seeded Michigan State (31-6), an 80-63 winner against third-seeded LSU in the first regional semifinal Friday. The Blue Devils-Spartans victor will advance to the Final Four in Minneapolis.

Blue Devils freshman Cam Reddish didn’t play due to a left knee injury.

Jones’ fifth 3-pointer made it 71-66 before Williamson added a dunk with three minutes to play — and suddenly Duke fans were drowning out the noise created by rowdy Virginia Tech supporters.

Justin Robinson, though, sank a pair of foul shots with 29.6 seconds left, pulling the Hokies within 75-73.

Jones missed the front end of a one-and-one and Virginia Tech’s Ahmed Hill grabbed the rebound. He then ariballed a 3-point attempt, but the Hokies rebounded and called timeout with 5.8 seconds to go. Ty Outlaw hit only backboard on a 3-point try but Virginia Tech got a rebound and one last chance.

On another inbounds pass with 1.1 seconds left, Hill’s running catch-and-shoot from the lane bounced off.

“It was still the right play,” Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said, noting that game officials added time on the clock after initially it appeared only 0.6 remained. “The pass was perfect.”

Williamson said, “Just kind of went our way with that play.”

Kerry Blackshear Jr. posted 18 points for Virginia Tech (26-9). Hill poured in 13 of his 15 points in the first half, Robinson tallied 14, and Wabissa Bede had 10.

Duke started the second half strong with Barrett posting 13 points in less than eight minutes. By the time the Blue Devils finished a fastbreak with a Williamson dunk, it was 58-52, and the Hokies called timeout at the 10:23 mark.

Duke had its 60-52 lead trimmed to 64-61 with less than six minutes to go, but Williamson blocked a shot, leading to Jones’ jumper in transition.

Virginia Tech pulled in 17 offensive rebounds yet managed only nine second-chance points.

“That hurts,” Williams said. “That speaks to the competitiveness of the game.”

Virginia Tech led 38-34 at halftime, making seven of its first 13 attempts from 3-point range. Duke shot 51.9 percent from the field in the opening half.

Jones, a freshman guard, made two 3-pointers in the opening 10 minutes. He had more than one trey in only two other games this season, both in November.

“I wasn’t trying to take any shots out of rhythm,” Jones said. “Putting in a lot of work to get to this point.”

With Reddish sidelined, Alex O’Connell, a sophomore guard who didn’t play Sunday in the Blue Devils’ victory against Central Florida, made his seventh career start and scored four points.

Reddish has started all 35 games in which he has played.

Duke’s Jack White, who missed the first two NCAA Tournament games with a hamstring injury, was back in action off the bench but played less than three minutes. He didn’t score.

Williamson and Virginia Tech guard Justin Robinson both missed the teams’ Feb. 26 meeting, when the Hokies won 77-72 at Blacksburg, Va.

This was the ninth matchup between Atlantic Coast Conference teams in NCAA Tournament play. The Blue Devils defeated Syracuse in last March’s Sweet 16 round.

–Field Level Media

Kentucky 62, Houston 58

When: 9:59 PM ET, Friday, March 29, 2019
Where: Sprint Center, Kansas City

KANSAS CITY — Tyler Herro was the hero as second-seeded Kentucky escaped with a 62-58 victory over third-seeded Houston in the second Midwest Region semifinal Friday night at Sprint Center.

The Wildcats next will face fifth-seeded Auburn, which used a strong second half to defeat top-seeded North Carolina 97-80 in the first semifinal.

Herro hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 25.8 seconds left, then drained a pair of free throws with 13.7 seconds remaining to ice the victory. Herro led the Wildcats with 19 points.

Asked about Herro’s willingness to take shots at crucial times, Kentucky coach John Calipari said, “He wants to take them, but here’s the thing that he’s getting. He took one bad 3 in the game at the top with about six seconds (left on the shot clock). We’re trying to get away from being the team that dances, dances, dances, and shoots the 3 on a late shot clock.”

Kentucky (30-6) opened the second half with a bucket for its largest lead of the game, 39-26, but the Cougars (33-4) chipped away, eventually tying the score at 49-all with 4:24 left. When Corey Davis Jr. hit a layup with 3:39 remaining, Houston had its first lead since 3-2.

“I believed we would win even when we were down 11 at the half. We’ve been down more,” Houston senior forward Breaon Brady said. “So it’s tough not to finish and win. But now, it’s up to the younger guys to carry on what we’ve built: 33-4.”

After Kentucky’s PJ Washington sank a pair of free throws to tie the score, Houston’s Armoni Brooks hit a long 3-pointer. Four consecutive free throws gave the Wildcats the lead with just over two minutes left.

Back-to-back buckets pushed the Cougars to a three-point lead as the clock clicked under a minute.

Washington was fouled as made a bucket inside, but he missed the free throw that would have tied it. He redeemed himself with a block on a layup attempt by Davis. Herro then drained his trey, putting the Wildcats on top 60-58.

The Wildcats took it in stride when the Cougars began to hit their shots, sometimes in the face of tight defense, according to Washington.

“I mean, that happened to us a lot in this whole season,” Washington said. “We’re pretty used to it. We just had to stay confident in ourselves on both ends of the floor and just try to contest and then come back and try to get a bucket and keep the game close. And we felt like if we did that we had a good chance of winning.”

Davis missed a contested layup before Herro hit the final two free throws.

Kentucky will now face SEC rival Auburn. The Wildcats have beaten the Tigers twice this season, 82-80 on Jan. 19 in Alabama and 80-53 in Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 23, Auburn’s last loss.

“(Auburn is) playing great right now,” Calipari said. “They went through our conference tournament, like nine wins in a row? What is it? Eleven in a row. They’re playing and shooting it. They’re playing defense, getting their hands on balls.”

The defensive struggle was expected, as Houston ranked seventh in the country in scoring defense at 61.0 points allowed per game. Kentucky was 28th at 64.5. In their first two NCAA Tournament games, Kentucky allowed an average of 50 points while Houston allowed an average of 57.

“I think they played great defense,” Herro said of the Cougars. “I think that’s kind of their identity is just being a hard-nosed defensive team. Credit to them. They played great defense and made it hard on me.”

Houston was led by Brooks with 20 points. Davis added 14 and Galen Robinson had 10. Davis was shooting 42 percent from long range this season, but he was just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc against Kentucky.

“Kentucky is a great team,” Houston guard DeJon Jarreau said. “They outplayed us in the first half, but in the second half, we played Cougar basketball. We brought our all, but everything comes to an end.”

Washington, who missed Kentucky’s first two NCAA Tournament games with a foot sprain, did not start. He entered the game with 15:41 left in the first half. He scored his first points of the tournament at the 15:06 mark on a baseline jumper and finished with 16 points.

“It’s good to have PJ back,” Calipari said. “We don’t win the game today without him. We don’t.”

The postgame message from Houston coach Kelvin Sampson to his team was “to remember this feeling,” Brady said.

“That was the message to the younger guys. It’s their time now, for the incoming freshmen and the underclassmen,” Brady said.

–Field Level Media

Virginia 53, Oregon 49

When: 9:57 PM ET, Thursday, March 28, 2019
Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 19,831
Recaps for Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

LOUISVILLE – Junior point guard Ty Jerome recorded 13 points, six rebounds and six assists as Virginia held off Oregon 53-49 in the Sweet 16 of the South Region on Thursday night.

Freshman guard Kihei Clark scored 12 points and sophomore guard De’Andre Hunter added 11 for top-seeded Virginia (32-3), which reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in school history.

Junior guard Kyle Guy scored 10 points and junior forward Mamadi Diakite collected 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Virginia will play Purdue in Saturday’s regional final. The winner advances to the Final Four.

“It wasn’t a masterpiece but as the saying goes, ‘Survive and advance,’ and we survived,” Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett said in a postgame television interview on TBS.

Freshman forward Louis King scored 16 points for 12th-seeded Oregon (25-13). Junior point guard Payton Pritchard added 11 points and senior forward Paul White added 10 points and three steals for the Ducks, who had a 10-game winning streak halted.

Oregon missed its last five shots over the final 5:44 of the contest.

“I did a really poor job,” Ducks coach Dana Altman said. “We’ve got to get better possessions than that. That’s my job. We got rushed a little bit there and just we had poor possessions. And I told the guys in the locker room, I let them down there.”

Bennett said, “Offense can come and go, and they’re really good defensively. And we stepped up defensively, so you just hang on. You hang on and hang your hat on that defense and hopefully you get enough offense. Again, ugly is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe it wasn’t great, but I thought it was pretty good looking for us defensively.”

Clark and Jerome hit 3-point baskets to give Virginia a 48-45 lead with 3:33 remaining.

Nobody scored again until Hunter got loose for a layup to give the Cavaliers a five-point lead with 27.5 seconds left.

Pritchard hit two free throws to move Oregon within 50-47 with 17.7 seconds left. Hunter made two free throws with 13.6 seconds left to push it back to five.

King made two free throws with 1.1 seconds left to make it a three-point margin before Clark split two free throws with 0.5 seconds left to seal it for the Cavaliers.

Hunter said, “I think we played great. We were communicating, we were scrambling, keeping guys in front, rebounding. We were doing all the things we practice every day. I mean, I think those last five minutes just shows how great we can be.”

Virginia hit just 35.7 percent from the field and was 9 of 33 from 3-point range.

Oregon shot 37.8 percent from the field, including 9 of 25 from behind the arc.

The Ducks trailed by eight at halftime but opened the half with a 12-5 run, moving within 35-34 on White’s 3-pointer with 14:40 left.

The Cavaliers received a 3-pointer from Guy and a jumper from Clark to move ahead by six but Oregon rattled off the next eight points. The Ducks went ahead at 42-40 on King’s 3-pointer with 8:32 remaining.

Virginia led 30-22 at halftime despite shooting just 36.4 percent from the field. The Cavaliers missed 15 of 16 shots during one stretch.

The Ducks were up 18-13 after a dunk by sophomore forward Kenny Wooten with 5:48 remaining before Virginia responded with 10 straight points.

“For sure, I mean, we’re disappointed,” Pritchard said. “We were right there, down to the wire. We’re going to look back at this and we’re going to be — it’s going to be frustrating for a while now.”

–Field Level Media

Texas Tech 63, Michigan 44

When: 9:39 PM ET, Thursday, March 28, 2019
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim
Attendance: 16,145

ANAHEIM – Sophomore Jarrett Culver scored 22 points while Texas Tech smothered Michigan in a historic defensive effort as the Red Raiders won 63-44 in an NCAA Tournament West Region semifinal on Thursday night.

Third-seeded Texas Tech (29-6) harassed second-seeded Michigan into 32.7 percent shooting, including a 1-for-19 effort from 3-point range. Walk-on CJ Baird hit a shot from behind the arc with 22 seconds left to prevent Michigan from going without a trey for the first time since 2013.

Michigan set a program record for fewest points in the first half of an NCAA Tournament game (16) and total points. Both previous marks dated to the Wolverines’ first NCAA Tournament game, in 1948 against Holy Cross.

“We were fortunate tonight,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. “Michigan didn’t shoot the ball well. But you have to give our guys credit.

“I love the way we were sharing the ball, getting assists, and we had nice balance. Several guys stepped up and made shots.”

Texas Tech, which reached the first Elite Eight in its history last season, will play top-seeded Gonzaga on Saturday in the regional final.

Davide Moretti contributed 15 points for Texas Tech, which got 10 from Matt Mooney. Tariq Owens had seven points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis led Michigan (30-7) with 17 points and 13 rebounds, his third double-double. Charles Matthews scored 12 points but committed a game-high five turnovers.

The Wolverines, who entered with the nation’s lowest turnover rate (8.9 per game), committed 10 by early in the second half and finished with 14.

“We wanted to have a low-turnover game, so that was good,” Beard said. “I thought we guarded. We had so much respect for Michigan. I thought our guys defended at a high level today.”

The matchup of two of the top defensive teams in the country started as expected, but the Red Raiders got hot while the Wolverines did not. Michigan’s 44 points were the lowest ever for a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“I feel like we stayed true to ourselves,” Culver said. “We played the defense we’ve been playing all year. Their shots weren’t going in, and we had urgency to stay true to our defense.”

“They get their hands on a lot of things to cause those turnovers,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “They’re quick, they’re good, they’re long, they’re veteran. It showed. And they’re well-coached as well.”

Texas Tech led 24-16 at halftime and then started to fly in the second half.

Owens soared to flush an alley-oop pass from Moretti, who then drained a 3-pointer after a steal for a 34-18 lead with 16:56 to go. Owens dunked again a minute later as Texas Tech doubled-up Michigan’s point total.

Michigan trailed by at least 20 points for most of the final 10 minutes.

Midway through the first half, the teams had combined to make 5 of 26 shots, and the game was tied at 6.

The Red Raiders found their offense, making eight of their final 13 shots of the half, including a bit of luck from Mooney, who beat the shot clock with a turnaround 3-pointer that banked in for an 18-12 lead.

–Field Level Media

Purdue 99, Tennessee 94

When: 7:29 PM ET, Thursday, March 28, 2019
Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky

LOUISVILLE – Senior guard Ryan Cline exploded to score a career-best 27 points and made seven 3-pointers as Purdue knocked off Tennessee 99-94 in overtime of a South Region semifinal game Thursday night.

Junior guard Carsen Edwards made five 3-pointers while scoring a game-high 29 points as third-seeded Purdue (26-9) reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000.

Sophomore center Matt Haarms and sophomore guard Nojel Eastern added 11 points apiece for the Boilermakers, who advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in their past five attempts.

“These guys have been resilient and have been tough all year,” coach Matt Painter said in a postgame television interview with CBS after his team got two free throws in the final seconds to force OT before prevailing.

Purdue will play top-seeded Virginia in Saturday’s regional final, with the winner advancing to the Final Four. The Cavaliers beat 12th-seeded Oregon 53-49.

Senior power forward Grant Williams and senior guard Admiral Schofield scored 21 points apiece for the second-seeded Volunteers (31-6). Junior guard Jordan Bowden scored 16 points, junior guard Lamonte Turner added 15, and junior point guard Jordan Bone scored 10.

“I can’t say enough about our guys fighting back,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “And taking nothing away from Purdue, but we were there. Tough one at the end. We had the lead with one-point-something seconds left. Tough foul.

“Lamonte Turner played his heart out. We wouldn’t have been in that situation without him. That’s a tough one for him. I’m really proud of these guys.”

Purdue won despite hitting just 16 of 33 attempts from the free-throw line. Tennessee also struggled at 14 of 28.

The Boilermakers shot 54 percent from the field, including 15 of 31 from 3-point range.

The Volunteers shot 50 percent from the field and were 12 of 24 from behind the arc.

Edwards drove for a hoop to give the Boilermakers an 89-84 advantage with 2:17 remaining in overtime. Haarms slipped loose for a dunk to make it seven-point margin with 1:38 left.

Tennessee pulled within 97-92 on Bone’s 3-pointer with 19.3 seconds left before Purdue closed it out.

Late in regulation, Williams dunked home a put-back to give Tennessee an 82-80 lead with 8.8 seconds left.

Williams blocked Edwards’ layup with 2.7 seconds left, and the ball went out of bounds. Purdue inbounded the ball to Edwards, who was fouled while shooting a 3-point attempt. He missed the first free throw before making the next two to tie the score at 82 with 1.7 seconds left.

“I just continued to focus,” Edwards said. “I mean, going into the free throw, I just focused and shoot a free throw every time how I always shoot it. After that, just did the same thing. Nothing changed.”

Painter said. “They had the momentum, they had the game. We’re the ones that have the ball down two with three seconds to go. …

“But we were able to get out of that, get to overtime, and I think we had that relief. Our guys did such a good job of competing in overtime. You know how it goes. Like the ball bounced our way a couple times. I thought in regulation, there was a couple bounces we didn’t get. But it did in overtime.”

Purdue led by 12 points at halftime and quickly pushed the lead to 51-33 on Cline’s 3-pointer with 13:56 left.

“There were times in the second half I was coming off and I knew I was going to shoot it,” Cline said, “so my teammates did a really good job of getting me open and giving me an opportunity.”

Edwards’ driving hoop gave the Boilermakers a 65-51 lead with 10:52 left before Tennessee ripped off the next 14 points. Turner scored the final five points of the burst, tying the score with a 3-pointer with 6:58 remaining.

Cline later buried his seventh 3-pointer to tie the score at 80 with 36.4 seconds remaining.

Edwards scored 15 points during a first half controlled by Purdue en route to a 40-28 advantage.

–Field Level Media

Gonzaga 72, Florida State 58

When: 7:09 PM ET, Thursday, March 28, 2019
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim

ANAHEIM – Rui Hachimura scored 17 points, Brandon Clarke had a double-double, and top-seeded Gonzaga finished on a big run to turn away Florida State 72-58 Thursday night in a Sweet 16 contest.

Gonzaga will play in the West Region final on Saturday against third-seeded Texas Tech.

The Bulldogs (33-3) led by 14 in the first half but had trouble putting away the fourth-seeded Seminoles, who were within 60-56 before Zach Norvell Jr. stemmed their momentum by hitting a key 3-point shot with 3:06 to go.

“I thought in the second half, when the game had gotten away from us a little bit, our guys really worked hard and cut the lead down,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “But we just couldn’t seem to hit the open perimeter shots. That seemed to be what made the biggest difference in the game — our inability to hit the wide-open shots.”

Clarke helped subdue the Seminoles (29-8) with two free throws with 2:06 left and a dunk with 1:17 to go. He scored 15 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots.

“He’s been doing that all year. He gives you everything he’s got,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of Clarke. “He’s so coachable, and he’s gotten so much better. He just makes things happen. You don’t have to run plays for him. He just ends up with the ball and he makes thing happen.”

Gonzaga flashed its defense, forcing 14 turnovers and holding Florida State to 39.3 percent shooting (24 of 61).

“I thought we were as tough as nails tonight,” Few said. “I thought we were really in the gaps, making plays, covering for each other, doing a really good job on the glass against that team, which is really, really difficult.”

Florida State guard Trent Forrest was a second-half force, scoring 15 of his 20 points after halftime. Forrest made 8 of 11 shots overall, grabbed five rebounds and dished four assists. No other Seminole scored in double figures.

Hamilton said his team fell a little too far behind, and paid the price.

“We’ve had games when we haven’t performed very well when we’re hesitant from the perimeter,” he said. “I thought their defense had a lot to do with it because they played more of contain defense. We dug a little hole for ourselves in the first half that was hard to overcome. I was proud of my kids for fighting back.”

Florida State’s 7-foot-4 Christ Koumadje was a factor — eight points on 4-of-4 shooting — but couldn’t stay on the court. He picked up his second foul with 17:47 to go in the first half and sat until halftime. His fourth foul came with 14:19 left in the game, and he ended playing only 12 minutes.

Gonzaga avenged a 75-60 loss to Florida State in last year’s Sweet 16.

“They challenged us in every way possible,” Hamilton said. “We got beat by a team that played better than us tonight, that played their system better than we did.”

Norvell and Josh Perkins each contributed 14 points for the Bulldogs.

“They had a lot of offensive talent. We’re just trying to switch things up on them,” Norvell said. “They were really physical. And we wanted to be more physical than them, take the fight to them on offense and defense.”

Perkins scored 10 first-half points, including a three-point play with 0.4 seconds left after his steal and layup, to lead Gonzaga to a 38-27 halftime advantage. The Bulldogs took their biggest lead of the half at 33-19 when Norvell made a 3-point shot with 4:46 left.

Gonzaga has now won 190 consecutive games when leading by at least 11 points at halftime.

Florida State was without fifth-year senior forward Phil Cofer, who was with family in Georgia following the death of his father, Mike Cofer, last Thursday. Cofer averaged 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 26.2 minutes per game this season, starting 19 of his 22 games.

–Field Level Media