Friday, March 29, 2013

2013 NCAA Tourney Thursday Sweet 16 Results

East Region

(3) Marquette 71 (2) Miami 61 - After winning their opening round game by one point over Davidson and then beating Butler by a deuce to advance, Marquette left little doubt in their runaway victory over the second-seeded Hurricanes.

The Golden Eagles took control of the game early, establishing the lead within the first five minutes and quickly expanding it to a 13-point edge at the break. The final score was hardly indicative of how one-sided this contest won, Marquette leading by double digits the entire second half and by as many as 22, before the Hurricanes closed the gap with the outcome no longer in doubt.

Marquette sizzled from the field at 54%, while Miami was uncharacteristically ice cold, hitting just 35%. Four Marquette players scored in double figures, led by Jamil Wilson with 16. Vander Blue and Davante Gardner each had 14 points.

(4) Syracuse 61 (1) Indiana 50 - Top-ranked Indiana couldn't solve the Syracuse 2-3 zone, turning the ball over 17 times and shooting just 34% for the game. Sophomore Michael Carter-Williams scored a career-high 23 points, with six rebound and four steals to lead the Orange. Syracuse went on a 9-0 run early in the game to take an 11-3 lead and was never challenged thereafter, leading by as many as 16 points in the first half.

The Syracuse defense was phenomenal, coming up with 11 steals and blocking the same number of shots.

Marquette meets Syracuse Saturday afternoon in the East Regional final, assuring the Big East of representation in the Final Four. The Golden eagles and Orange met once during the regular season. Marquette defended their home court with a 74-71 win.


West Region

(2) Ohio State 73 (6) Arizona 70 - LaQuentin Ross scored 14 of Ohio State's final 17 points, including a clutch three-pointer with two seconds left to send Ohio State to the Elite Eight. Ross scored 17 points in all, his 14 coming in the final eight minutes of the game.

Ohio State fell behind by 11 points in the first half, but rode a 20-5 run to establish a second half lead and maintained it until Arizona tied the game at 70 with 21 seconds left in regulation.

The Wildcats' Mark Lyons led all scorers with 23. Deshaun Thomas led Buckeye scorers with 20. The game was close statistically, but four Buckeyes scored in double figures compared to just two - Lyons and Solomon Hill, who had 16.

(9) Wichita State 7 (13) LaSalle 58 - Malcolm Armstead and Carl Hall powered the Shockers into the Elite Eight, with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Armstead also had six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Wichita State had a huge, 44-23, advantage on the glass; Ehimen Orukpe came off the bench for nine boards. Hall snagged eight.

The Explorers scored just two points over the first six minutes of the game, fining themselves down a dozen in the early going and it didn't get much better after that, thanks in large part to the Shocker defense, which held them to 36% shooting for the game. Wichita State owned a 16-point edge at intermission.

The Shockers will represent the Missouri Valley in the West regional final against the Big Ten's Ohio State Buckeyes, Saturday evening.

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