Michigan State, Duke Complete Final Four, Will Join Kentucky, Wisconsin in Indianapolis; Matt Jones Big for Blue Devils

Sunday Sweet 16 Results

College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2012

(7) Michigan State 76 (4) Louisville 70 OT - Montrezl Harrell and Wayne Blackshear each scored 12 points in the first half and the Louisville Cardinals led by eight, 40-32, at the break. The Cardinals were 17-for-32 in the first half (53%) and outscored the Spartans 8-2 over the final four-and-a-half minutes of the half.

Michigan State used an 8-2 run of their own to start the second half and finally took a lead at 8:53. Neither team could score in the closing seconds, sending the game into overtime, where the Spartans took a 7-1 edge on a Byrn Forbes three-pointer and a pair of free throws, followed by a layup from Darnell Valentine. Louisville got back to within two points with just over a minute remaining, but could not stop the Spartans late. Blackshear led all scorers with 28 points, but overall, Louisville couldn't hit many shots in the second half, finishing at 36% for the game, 23 of 64 overall, six for 32 in the second half (17%).

(1) Duke 66 (2) Gonzaga 52 - After building a solid early lead, the Blue Devils cooled off and Gonzaga rallied to cut into the lead, down five at the half, 31-26. Six turnovers and foul trouble were issues for the Bulldogs in the opening half.

Gonzaga surged to a four-point lead early in the second half, but Duke quickly regained control and began to pull away in the latter stages of the game. A force off the bench, Matt Jones had 16 points, as did Justise Winslow. Jones was 6-for-10 from the field, with four three-pointers. Tyus Jones scored 15 and dished six assists for the Blue Devils.

Duke will meet Michigan State on Saturday, April 4, in Indianapolis.

Conference Power Scoreboard

Conference	W-L	Winners (# of Ws)
ACC	16-6	Notre Dame (3), NC State (2), North Carolina (2), Arkansas (1), Virginia (1). Louisville (3), Duke (4)
Big East	5-6	Butler (1), Xavier (2), Villanova (1), Georgetown (1)
Big Ten	11-5	Ohio State (1), Michigan St. (4), Maryland (1), Iowa (1), Wisconsin (4)
Big 12	5-7	Kansas (1), West Virginia (2), Oklahoma (2)
Pac-12	8-4	UCLA (2), Arizona (3), Utah (2), Oregon (1)
SEC	5-4	Ole Miss (1), Kentucky (4)
All Others	14-32	Hampton(1), Robert Morris (1), Dayton (1), UAB (1), Georgia St. (1), Cincinnati (1), N. Iowa (1), Wichita St. (2), San Diego State (1), Gonzaga (3), Dayton (1)

Sam Dekker, Frank Kaminsky Propel Wisconsin into Final Four; Kentucky's Karl Anthony Townes Leads Wildcats over Fighting Irish

Elite Eight Results, College Hoops

Players of the Day for Saturday, March 28, 2015

West Region
(1) Wisconsin 85 (2) Arizona 78 - After hitting just one of their first eight shots and falling behind by a 10-2 score, Arizona gained some composure and outscored the Badgers 31-20, finishing the first half with a 33-30 advantage.

Wisconsin countered with a 14-3 run to begin the second half and carried that momentum through to victory. Briefly, the Wildcats got to within two points early in the half, but never substantially threatened Wisconsin's lead. Frank Kaminsky was spectacular in the low post with 29 points and six rebounds, all the while putting virtually all Arizona front line players in foul trouble. Sam Dekker was enormous for the Badgers, with 27 points, making eight of 11 from the field, including 5-for-6 from three-point range, plus six of seven free throws and five boards.

Both teams shot 56% for the game, but the Badgers were 12-for-18 beyond the arc, a 67% clip.

Midwest Region
(1) Kentucky 68 (3) Notre Dame 66 - Games like this one are why the NCAA tournament has become one of the premier sporting events on the world stage. Both teams played with commitment and desire and the outcome was not sure until the final buzzer, in between the action punctuated by compelling play after play, from both sides.

Eventually, Andrew Harrison's two free throws with six seconds left to play provided the winning margin, though the game would not have been so close if not for the effort of Kentucky's Karl Anthony Townes, who rang up a game-high 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the field and five of six from the foul line. Townes also grabbed five rebounds, dished four assists, made two steals and blocked a shot.

If not one of the greatest college basketball games of all time, this certainly is one in which all participants can enjoy in proud memory. There were no goats, and no gaffes. Only winners. All of us.

The Wisconsin Badgers and Kentucky Wildcats meet in a Final Four match-up Saturday, April 4.

Sweet 16: Duke, Michigan State, Gonzaga Reach Elite Eight with Louisville as Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier Power Cardinals

Sweet 16 Recaps: Friday Games

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 27, 2015

South Region
(2) Gonzaga 74, (11) UCLA 62 - Unable to strike from outside nor contain Gonzaga's bigs in the paint, the UCLA Bruins were bitten by the Bulldogs and eliminated from the NCAA proceedings. The Bruins didn't hit a three-pointer until there were less than three minutes left in the game. Meanwhile, Gonzaga's Przemek Karnowski scored a game-high 18 points and Domitras Sabonis added 12. Karnowski added nine boards, two assists and two blocks, helping the Zags establish a double-digit lead in the second half that they would not relinquish.

Gonzaga out-rebounded the Bruins, 50-39. Neither team was effective from beyond the arc. UCLA ended up the better of the two, hitting three of 13 (23%), while Gonzaga was 3-for-19 (16%).

(1)Duke 63, (5) Utah 57 - Led by Justise Winslow's 21 points and 10 rebounds, the Duke Blue Devils prevailed over the Utes, building a second-half gap that Utah tried in vain to close.

The Blue Devils did it with defense and foul shots, holding the Utes to 35% shooting, while making 20 of 26 free throws. Duke will meet Gonzaga on Sunday for the chance to advance to the Final Four.


East Region
(4) Louisville 75, (8) NC State 65 - In a game that resembled a rugby scrum at times, the two ACC entrants went toe-to-toe until Louisville opened up a late lead on a 9-0 run approaching the end of regulation. Terry Rozier did it all for the Cardinals with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists, as four Cardinal starters scored in double figures.

Montrezl Harrell was his usual impressive self, with 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Harrell was 9-for-12 from the field and 6-for-7 at the foul line.

(7) Michigan State 62 (3) Oklahoma 58 - Tom Izzo's surprising Spartans knocked off the #2 and #3 seeds - Virginia and Oklahoma - in the region for the right to move onto the Elite Eight round. Once again, Travis Trice was sensational, leading both teams in scoring with 24 points, hitting four of nine from three-point range and going 6-for-6 from the foul line.

The game was as close as the final score indicates, with neither team shooting 40% from the field. The Spartans make a date with Louisville on Sunday, the winner heading to Indianapolis for the Final Four.

Conference Power Scoreboard

Conference	W-L	Winners (# of Ws)
ACC	15-4	Notre Dame (3), NC State (2), North Carolina (2), Arkansas (1), Virginia (1). Louisville (3), Duke (3)
Big East	5-6	Butler (1), Xavier (2), Villanova (1), Georgetown (1)
Big Ten	9-5	Ohio State (1), Michigan St. (3), Maryland (1), Iowa (1), Wisconsin (3)
Big 12	5-7	Kansas (1), West Virginia (2), Oklahoma (2)
Pac-12	8-3	UCLA (2), Arizona (3), Utah (2), Oregon (1)
SEC	4-4	Ole Miss (1), Kentucky (3)
All Others	14-31	Hampton(1), Robert Morris (1), Dayton (1), UAB (1), Georgia St. (1), Cincinnati (1), N. Iowa (1), Wichita St. (2), San Diego State (1), Gonzaga (3), Dayton (1)