NCAA Tournament Friday Sweet 16 Results

Midwest Region

(1) Louisville 77 (12) Oregon 69 - As has been their forte through their first two games of the tournament, Louisville leapt out to a big lead of 16 points early and ended the first half up by a 45-31 score on 59% shooting. Russ Smith had 16 points in the opening 20 minutes. and finished with a game-high 31.

Louisville expanded the lead to 18 in the second half and roared to their third straight convincing victory in the tourney.

Smith was 9-for-16, 12-for-14 at the foul line, with a three-pointer, two rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Oregon put forth a spirited effort, but the Cardinals were just a little better. The eight point margin of victory was the slightest ever in the Sweet 16 for Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.

(2) Duke 71 (3) Michigan State 61 - Two college basketball heaveyweights went mano a mano in a game dominated by half-court play.

Duke built a manageable lead and sustained it, as Sean Curry made six of nine threes en route to a game-high 29 points to get Duke into the Elite 8. Duke was also quite efficient at the foul line, canning 24 of 26 free throws.

Duke's win sets up a meeting with Louisville on Sunday for the right to advance to the Final Four. The two teams met back in November, Duke coming away with a 76-71 win in the Battle for Atlantis tournament.,

South Region

(4) Michigan 87 (1) Kansas 85 OT - Kansas shot the lights out in the first half - 19-for-28 (68%) - they led by only six points at the break, 40-34.

The Jayhawks maintained a comfortable lead through out the second half, until the Wolverines came to life late in the game, erasing a 10-point lead in the final three minutes, tying the game on Trey Burke's 30-foot bomb with five seconds left in regulation.

In the overtime, Burke scored five points and Mitch McGary four, to outlast the Jayhawks and advance to Sunday's next round.

Michigan had five players in double figures. Burke and McGary accounted for 48 points between them. Burke scored all of his 23 in the second half and overtime. McGary outdueled Kansas big man, Jeff Withey, making 12 of 17 for a game-high 25 points, with 14 rebounds.

The most thrilling game of the tournament, Burke, McGary and Michigan were scintillating.


(3) Florida 62 (15) Florida Gulf Coast 50 - The upstart Eagles took an early double-digit lead, but the Gators fought back to hold a 30-26 lead at the break. The magic dust wore off the Eagles in the second half as Florida kept them at bay. When the clock struck midnight - like in a fairy tale - the Eagles had landed a trip back to Fort Myers.

Despite out-shooting the Gators, 45.5-38.6%, FGCU was a victim of their own high-flying style, committing 20 turnovers which in turn gave Florida more scoring opportunities. The Gators also went to the foul line twice as often as the Eagles and made double the number of free throws.

Mike Rosario led all scorers with 15 points. The Gators will meet Michigan in the Regional final, Sunday afternoon.