Sweet 16 Primer
By Brian Edwards
Seven years after Maryland’s Drew Nicholas beat the buzzer to end Brett Blizzard’s spectacular collegiate career at UNC-Wilmington in a first-round NCAA Tournament game, Michigan St. put an end to the Terrapins’ season in a similar before-the-horn fashion. The Spartans, playing without two of their best players, advanced to the Midwest Region semifinals thanks to Korie Lucious’ heroic shot.
Tom Izzo’s team led nearly the entire game and by as much as 16 in the second half, only to see Greivis Vasquez put on a remarkable performance at crunch time that surged Maryland into the lead even though it had trailed by nine with less than two minutes left. After another Vasquez bucket gave the Terps the lead with six ticks remaining, Michigan St. rushed the ball up the floor where it came to Lucious on the right wing.
The sophomore guard, filling in for star Kalin Lucas, took one dribble to his left and launched a 3-pointer from the top of the key just before the clock reached zero. It caught nothing but nylon, sending the Spartans’ bench and the campus back in East Lansing into hysterics. Michigan St. had prevailed 85-83 as a 1 ½-point underdog.
The victory was bittersweet, however. Lucas, the team leader who had scored a career-high 25 points in Friday’s narrow win over 12th-seeded New Mexico St., sustained a torn Achilles tendon and will miss the rest of the tournament.
Moments after Lucious’s unforgettable shot, Purdue kept alive its Final Four hopes by surviving a game effort from Texas A&M in overtime. Chris Kramer, the Boilers’ senior known for tenacious defense throughout his career, got offensive and scored the game-winner on a layup off a strong crossover dribble that left an Aggies’ defender in the dust.
Matt Painter’s team, which had been written off by nearly every pundit coming into the Big Dance due to the loss of All Big-Ten forward Robbie Hummel, moved on with a 63-61 triumph as a two-point underdog. Despite the extra session, ‘under’ backers cashed tickets when the 124 combined points fell short of the 127 ½-point total.
Purdue, the No. 4 seed in the South Region, will now face top-seeded Duke in Houston. Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the Blue Devils as seven-point favorites with a total of 129. As of late Sunday night, most betting shops had Mike Krzyzewski’s squad as an 8 ½-point ‘chalk’ with a total of 129 ½. Gamblers can take the Boilers on the money line for a plus-350 return (risk $100 to win $350).
The Duke-Purdue winner will face either Saint Mary’s or Baylor in the Elite Eight. Omar Samhan led the Gaels to victory over second-seeded Villanova by scoring 32 points in Saturday’s second-round showdown.
LVSC opened Baylor as a four-point favorite with a total of 146. As of Sunday evening, most books had the Bears favored by 3 ½ with the total reduced to 145. Randy Bennett’s team is available for a plus-145 payout if it can win outright.
Back to Michigan St., which will take on No. Iowa in the late game Friday night in St. Louis. LVSC opened the Spartans as four-point favorites with a total of 124. The Panthers sent the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed home early Saturday when Ali Farokhmanesh put a fork in the Jayhawks by draining an audacious 3-pointer from the right wing that put his team up by four with 33 seconds remaining. Farokhmanesh had also inserted the dagger into UNLV in Thursday’s first-round game.
In Thursday’s lid-lifter in Salt Lake City, top-seeded Syracuse will collide with Butler. LVSC opened the Orange as a six-point favorite with a total of 139. As of late Sunday night, most spots had the ‘Cuse at seven with the total slightly adjusted to 138 ½. Bettors can take the Bulldogs to win outright for a plus-260 return (risk $100 to win $260).
Jim Boeheim’s club dominated both Vermont and Gonzaga early and often to cruise into the Sweet 16.
Xavier and Kansas St. will play the late game Thursday in Salt Lake City. Most books have tabbed the Wildcats as 4 ½-point favorites with a total of 153 ½. The Muskateers are plus-175 on the money line.
Frank Martin’s program will be looking for its first Elite Eight showing since 1988 when Mitch Richmond led Lon Kruger’s team to the Midwest Region semifinals, where it lost at the old Pontiac Silverdome in Motown to arch-rival Kansas, the eventual national champion.
Xavier, my sleeper team who I tabbed to get all the way to the Final Four, disposed of Minnesota and No. 3 seed Pitt over the weekend. The Muskateers won a 71-68 decision Sunday over the Panthers as 1 ½-point underdogs. Jordan Crawford, the sophomore guard who transferred from Indiana, was nothing short of sensational with 28 and 27 points against the Gophers and Panthers, respectively.
The backcourt matchup of Xavier’s Crawford and Terrell Holloway against K-St.’s Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente promised to be extremely entertaining. Pullen shot down BYU by scoring 34 points in an 84-72 second-round win Saturday night in Oklahoma City. The Wildcats took the cash against the Cougars as 4 ½-point favorites.
Have we not mentioned Cornell yet? This space has been hyping this squad since it opened the season by destroying Alabama at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa. The Big Red trounced both fifth-seeded Temple and fourth-seeded Wisconsin in blowout fashion. They became the first Ivy League school to make the Sweet 16 since Penn did so in 1979.
Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman combined to score 50 points and shoot down the Badgers 87-69, as Cornell won outright as a four-point underdog. In the first two rounds, Wittman drained 17-of-25 shots, including 7-of-11 of 3-point territory.
Waiting for Steve Donahue’s team at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse will be No. 1 seed Kentucky, which pounded East Tennessee State (101-70) and Wake Forest (90-60) in the Big Easy this past weekend. LVSC opened the ‘Cats as 10-point favorites with a total of 139, but most spots had UK at 9 ½ with the total in the 145-146 range as of late Sunday night.
Like Saint Mary’s, Washington is still alive despite being a double-digit seed. The Huskies won a thriller against Marquette on Thursday night thanks to Quincy Pondexter’s game-winning bucket with 1.7 ticks remaining. Next, they punished New Mexico by an 82-64 score.
Lorenzo Romar’s team will face West Va. at 7:25 p.m. Eastern on Thursday at the Carrier Dome. The Mountaineers, seeded second in the East Region, thumped Morgan St. before beating Missouri 68-59 Sunday as six-point favorites.
Bob Huggins’ team was listed as a five-point favorite with a total of 142 as of late Sunday. Washington is plus-190 on the money line.
For the second time in four seasons, Ohio St. and Tennessee will meet in the Sweet 16. In 2007, UT blew a huge lead and allowed the Buckeyes to rally for a victory on their way to the finals where they eventually lost to Florida. The Vols beat San Diego St. and Ohio over the weekend, while Ohio St. sent UC-Santa Barbara and Ga. Tech home.
Thad Matta’s team is favored by 4 ½ with the total in the 134-135 range. UT is plus-180 to win outright.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
All-Tournament Team (so far)
Omar Samhan (Saint Mary’s)
Ali Farokhmanesh (No. Iowa)
Wesley Johnson (Syracuse)
Jordan Crawford (Xavier)
Ryan Wittman (Cornell)
Most Impressive Teams (to date)
1-Syracuse
2-Kentucky
3-Washington
4-Kansas St.
5-No. Iowa
Eleven conferences remain in the field out of the 16 teams. The Big 10 leads the way with three schools still dancing, while the SEC, Big 12 and Big East each have a pair of teams left. The Horizon, Ivy, Missouri Valley, ACC, Pac-10, Atlantic-10, West Coast conference each have one representative remaining.
According to Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News, Auburn could target former star player Chuck Person as its next head coach if its advances to top-choice Tubby Smith are rebuffed.
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