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Duke outlasts North Carolina in ACC tournament thriller

By Rob DausterMar 15, 2019, 11:36 PM EDT
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In his first — and only? — game that he will play against North Carolina, Zion Williamson certainly made his presence known.

The 6-foot-7 freshman phenom tipped in his own miss with 30 seconds left, giving him 31 points and 11 boards and Duke a 74-73 lead, that turned out to be the final points of the game as the Blue Devils knocked off the Tar Heels to advance to the ACC tournament title game.

And boy, what a difference Zion makes.

This was the third time that the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels played this season, but the first time all year that they did so with Williamson healthy. In the first matchup, you might have heard, a busted shoe 30 seconds into the first half ended Williamson’s regular season, which in turn meant that he was not available for the annual regular season finale.

Duke, you can imagine, lost both of those games.

On Friday night with the big fella back on the floor, it was a different story, as he willed the Blue Devils back from a 12 point first half deficit. Williamson finished 13-for-19 from the floor, hitting a pair of threes and grabbing three offensive rebounds, despite a slow start to the evening. And on a night where R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish combined for 21 points on 8-for-22 shooting to go along with eight turnovers, it’s something that the Blue Devils desperately needed.

And here’s why it matters: Because Duke, with a win over Florida State in the ACC tournament title game, could very well end up getting one a No. 1 seed.

For my money, Virginia has a No. 1 seed locked up. I think that Gonzaga should have a No. 1 seed locked up, too. The question, then, becomes whether or not one can be given to Duke after they lost three games with Zion Williamson, and if North Carolina should get the no. 1 seed over them; after all, they have beaten Duke twice, and it would not be fair to punish the Tar Heels for the fact that Williamson was not on the floor.

But that’s neither here nor there.

Because if there was anything that was apparent on Friday night in Charlotte, it’s that Duke and Carolina both are good enough to be No. 1 seeds.

My take on Duke is well known by now. I think that the Blue Devils are the best team in college basketball with Zion Williamson playing like this. Coming from behind to beat this North Carolina team is not insignificant, especially when it happened on a night where Coach K didn’t get much from Barrett and Reddish.

But the ceiling for North Carolina is massive, and I think this group is playing together as well as they have all season long. I don’t know if it will end up this way when the seeding come out, but I think there is a very real chance that three of the four best teams in the country reside in the ACC.

And we should all hope that, at some point in the next three and a half weeks, we get Round 4 of Duke vs. UNC.

Friday’s Things To Know: Thrillers in the ACC and Big East, lurking bid thieves and Minnesota advances

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By Raphielle JohnsonMar 16, 2019, 2:55 AM EDT
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PLAYER OF THE DAY: Markis McDuffie, Wichita State

Duke’s Zion Williamson has a really good argument to be in this spot, as he went for 31 points and 11 rebounds and scored the game-winning basket in Duke’s ACC semifinal win over North Carolina. But since he was one of the choices Thursday we’ll spread the wealth a bit and go with Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie, who accounted for 34 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocked shots in the Shockers’ 80-74 win over Temple.

There are two potential bid thieves lurking in the American, with both Wichita State and and host Memphis in the semifinals. And with Gregg Marshall’s group having won six straight and 11 of its last 13 games, Cincinnati will be dealing with a team that is playing its best basketball of the season at the right time Saturday afternoon.

FRIDAY’S BUBBLE BANTER

TEAM OF THE DAY: Minnesota

Facing Purdue for the second time in ten days, Richard Pitino’s team had the opportunity to strengthen its standing with regards to an at-large bid. The Golden Gophers did just that, beating the Boilermakers 75-73 to advance to the Big Ten semifinals where they’ll face Michigan Saturday afternoon. Jordan Murphy scored 27 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists, and Minnesota limited Carsen Edwards to 4-for-17 shooting from the field.

ONIONS OF THE DAY: Andrew Nembhard, Florida

One of the bubble teams that improved its NCAA tournament profiles Friday was Florida, which beat top-seed LSU 76-73 in the first SEC quarterfinal of the day. Nembhard’s three-pointer with one second remaining, which came 13 seconds after LSU’s Naz Reid tied the game with a triple of his own, was the difference.

FRIDAY’S WINNERS

Florida State: Leonard Hamilton’s Seminoles controlled the action for much of their ACC semifinal matchup with Virginia, winning by the final score of 69-59. Florida State controlled the glass, shot 57% from the field and its reserves outscored Virginia’s by a 28-8 margin. Regardless of what happens against Duke Saturday night, keep an eye on where Florida State is seeded on Sunday. This group can do some damage.

Duke: As noted above, Zion Williamson’s put-back was the difference in the Blue Devils’ thrilling win over North Carolina. But it’s worth noting that Duke received valuable contributions from Jordan Goldwire and Antonio Vrankovic when the game could have gotten away from them in the first half. For a team that isn’t the deepest, that could be the most important development moving forward.

San Diego State: For the second consecutive year Nevada has failed to reach the Mountain West final as the top seed, with Brian Dutcher’s Aztecs pulling away for the 65-56 win in Las Vegas. The Aztecs, who won the automatic bid last year, is now one win away from a repeat. Utah State, which whipped Fresno State in the other semifinal, will be the opponent. And if San Diego State wins, a bubble will burst.

Oregon: For all the jokes made about the Pac-12 possibly being a one-bid league earlier this season, the conference is now 40 minutes away from getting three teams in. Dana Altman’s Ducks outlasted 2-seed Arizona State 79-75 in overtime to advance to Saturday’s final, where top-seed Washington will be the opposition.

Iowa State: The Cyclones haven’t been the most consistent team this season, but Steve Prohm’s team advanced to the Big 12 title game with a 63-59 win over top-seed Kansas State. Marial Shayok scored 21 points and Michael Jacobson grabbed 16 rebounds for Iowa State, which will face three-seed Kansas Saturday night in Kansas City.

Michigan and Kentucky: Not only did both teams win their respective conference tournament openers in comfortable fashion, with the Wolverines handling Iowa and the Wildcats beating Alabama, both welcomed back key contributors that missed time due to injury. Michigan’s Charles Matthews played 25 minutes against Iowa, and while he didn’t shoot the ball well (1-for-9 from the field, five points) the redshirt senior’s defense was key. As for Kentucky, Reid Travis accounted for eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 23 minutes of action.

Rhode Island: The Rams’ dream of a third straight NCAA tournament appearance isn’t dead yet, as URI beat Atlantic 10 regular season champion VCU 75-70 in an Atlantic 10 quarterfinal. Another winner here: the Atlantic 10, which will be a two-bid league with VCU now in need of an at-large bid.

Admiral Schofield: Instead of listing Mississippi State’s Robert Woodard in the category below, we’ll be positive and list Schofield as a winner for what he did in the second half of the Volunteers’ 83-76 win over the Bulldogs.

FRIDAY’S LOSERS

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers’ stay at the Big Ten tournament came to an end Friday, as Tim Miles’ depleted team ran out of gas down the stretch in a quarterfinal loss to Wisconsin. And let’s just say that athletic director Bill Moos’ statement did not provide much in the way of clarity when it comes to Miles’ status moving forward. He’ll make a decision whenever Nebraska’s season comes to an end, as the team waits to see if it will receive an NIT bid.

Ohio State: Depending upon who’s asked the Buckeyes may have locked up an NCAA tournament bid with their second round win over Indiana on Thursday. Chris Holtmann’s team missed out on an opportunity to remove any doubt Friday, as it fell behind top-seed Michigan State by a significant margin before having its second half rally fall short. Ohio State may be in good shape, but the best thing for a bubble team at this point is to “live to fight another day.”

Temple: Could the American end up receiving five NCAA tournament bids? It’s certainly possible as Memphis and Wichita State are still alive. But Temple, which lost to Wichita State Friday night, will have an uncomfortable wait for Selection Sunday. And with this being Fran Dunphy’s final season at the helm, to not reach the Big Dance at this point would be crushing.

Xavier: The Musketeers survived Creighton on Thursday, and were just one stop away from knocking off Villanova in Friday’s Big East semifinals. But Eric Paschall’s follow tied the game in the final seconds of regulation, and Villanova would go on to win 71-67 in overtime. Travis Steele’s team missed out on what would have been a huge win for their NCAA tournament hopes, which could have used the boost.

Sam Houston State: The Bearkats entered the Southland tournament as the top seed after going 16-2 in conference play, with the league bracket advancing the team directly to the semifinals. Their hopes of an NCAA tournament bid slipped away Friday, as 4-seed New Orleans won 79-76 with Jorge Rosa scoring 18 points to lead the way. Sam Houston State’s loss also means that there’s one less available at-large bid in the Postseason NIT. New Orleans will face 2-seed Abilene Christian, which has yet to reach the NCAA tournament as a Division I member, in Saturday’s final.

The officials in the Seton Hall vs. Marquette game: Three ejections, 57 personal fouls, nine technicals and 85 free throws in a game the Pirates won 81-79. While the game didn’t lack for excitement, it was quite clear early on that the officials needed to do a bit more to keep things under control. They didn’t do that.

FINAL THOUGHT

Practically every year the conversation regarding the NCAA tournament bubble is that it’s the weakest that it’s ever been, and this year is no exception. One team that finds itself in the conversation for an at-large bid is Texas, which dropped to 16-16 with its Big 12 quarterfinal loss to Kansas Thursday night.

Shaka Smart’s team is 9-15 in Quadrant 1/2 games this season, with the Longhorns’ best win coming against North Carolina on a neutral court Thanksgiving night. Ranked 37th in the NET and boasting the fifth-toughest schedule in the country, there are some numbers that work in Texas’ favor. But with a .500 record and a strength of record ranking of 57, there are numbers that work against the Longhorns as well…as is the case for any team.

Will the selection committee make history and select an at-large team with a .500 record for the first time ever? Or will a team like a Belmont (5-3 vs. Quadrant 1/2) or UNCG (4-6), which put up gaudy win totals but also don’t have as many opportunities to pick up Quadrant 1/2 victories, hear its name called on Sunday? This is a question that comes up every March regardless of the metrics used, but the Texas question makes this year’s process even more interesting.

I’m betting that at least one of the exceptional at-large candidates that hail from non-power conferences will be sent to Dayton.

Kansas beats West Virginia 88-74 to reach Big 12 finals

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Associated PressMar 16, 2019, 2:50 AM EDT
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dedric Lawson transferred to Kansas in part to win championships.

He’ll have that chance Saturday night.

The former Memphis standout scored 24 points and the No. 17 Jayhawks, who failed to win a share of the Big 12 regular-season title for the first time in 15 years, roared into the conference tournament title game with an 88-74 victory over West Virginia on Friday night.

“It wasn’t our best game,” Lawson said, “but looking forward to going out there and playing for a championship. Looking forward to going out there and winning something meaningful.”

Quentin Grimes added 18 points before leaving late with cramps, Devon Dotson had 13 and Marcus Garrett 11 for the third-seeded and reigning champion Jayhawks (25-8). They advanced to the final for the third time in four years and will face fifth-seeded Iowa State.

“We need to learn how to close something out, and we get that opportunity tomorrow,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “They have the same opportunity. It’s going to make for a great game.”

The 10th-seeded Mountaineers (14-20) led much of the first half and hung tough early in the second, but three games in three days finally caught up to them. Tough wins over Oklahoma and No. 8 Texas Tech left them with tired legs — probably minds, too — and the Jayhawks eventually went on a 13-2 run midway through the second half to seize control.

The lead reached 20 with 7 1/2 minutes to go, and the Jayhawks cruised the rest of the way.

Lamont West led West Virginia with 16 points. Derek Culver had 14.

“I don’t want to blame fatigue,” Culver said. “Just lack of paying attention to what is going on around you. I’ll be the first one to blame. We just got to go back to the drawing board.”

Kansas has won the tournament 11 times, and Iowa State is unbeaten in four championship trips, but the two teams have met in the finals just once: The Cyclones won 70-66 in 2015.

Grimes has struggled with his shot most of the season, to say nothing of living up to his five-star status out of high school. But the freshman guard found his stroke from the opening minute, when he buried the first of five first-half 3-pointers to get the Jayhawks off and running.

West Virginia pulled ahead midway through the half, but Grimes added three more 3s to regain the lead, then hit a buzzer-beater from 30 feet to give the Jayhawks a 48-40 advantage.

“He was the reason for the run,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “He was very good.”

Lawson fueled their clinching run, getting it started with an easy basket and added another bucket and a 3-pointer during the 13-2 charge. By the time Garrett finished it off, a crowd heavily in favor of Kansas was buzzing about the opportunity to face the Cyclones.

“I bet Iowa State has 70 percent of the building tomorrow,” Self said. “You play that first game and you win, you can hustle the tickets off the team that doesn’t win. And they’re pros at hustling tickets in Kansas City. It’ll be the first time in a long time we haven’t had a comparable home court, I’d predict. It should be a fun game.”

OOPS MOMENT

The Jayhawks were ahead 75-58 with 6:33 left when West hit a pair of free throws. Freshman big man David McCormack gathered the ball while standing out of bounds and tossed it to Garrett for the inbounds. But when Garrett stepped over the out-of-bounds line, it wound up being a turnover, and Self immediately called timeout to lay into his team on the bench.

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia lost four players to injuries, transfers and dismissals, and it left them with very little depth. That appeared to play a factor in the second half, when the Jayhawks began to get up and down the floor and the Mountaineers were unable to keep up.

Kansas has played this week with a chip on its shoulder after failing to win a share of the regular-season title. Now, the Jayhawks have a chance to match the 1999 team by winning the tournament as a No. 3 seed, and perhaps help their NCAA Tournament seeding on Selection Sunday.

San Diego State beats No 14 Nevada 65-56 in MWC semifinals

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Associated PressMar 16, 2019, 2:43 AM EDT
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LAS VEGAS — Trailing by double-digits for the second straight day at the Mountain West Conference tournament, the Nevada Wolf Pack rallied again.

But this time against San Diego State and without starter Jordan Caroline, the No. 14 Wolf Pack ran out of gas with seven minutes left Friday night.

The Aztecs took advantage.

Devin Watson had 20 points and five assists and San Diego State held Nevada scoreless for a late 7:06 stretch a 65-56 victory in the Mountain West Conference semifinals.

Jalen McDaniels added 12 points and 10 rebounds for fourth-seeded San Diego State (21-12). The Aztecs will play the Fresno State-Utah State winner in the championship game Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“We’re playing good basketball right now,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “What that means for tomorrow, I don’t know. And if we do enough right things, we’ll give ourselves a chance to make it back to the NCAA Tournament again.”

San Diego State also had a home victory over Nevada on Feb. 20, but lost to the Wolf Pack in Reno last Saturday.

“It was not revenge,” Watson said. “I feel like every time we match up with Nevada it’s going to be a great game and the fans love it. They play hard and they’re a competitive team. We actually like playing them.”

Cody Martin led the top-seeded Wolf Pack (29-4) with 16 points and six rebounds, and Tre’Shawn Thurman had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Nevada awaits word on an NCAA Tournament berth.

NO CAROLINE

Caroline, averaging 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds, did not play due to an injury.

“Caroline was held out for precautionary reasons,” Nevada coach Eric Musselman said. “It’s been a long season. He’s got a lingering injury and that’s what it is.”

Dutcher made a few adjustments.

“Well, obviously, we were a bit surprised when Caroline wasn’t in the lineup,” he said. “But it’s like anything else. It’s a wounded animal. We knew they were dangerous anyways.”

AZTECS MAKE RUN, WOLF PACK RESPOND

Leading 34-29 at halftime, the Aztecs kept momentum starting the second half on Watson’s consecutive 3-pointers. And after Jeremy Hemsley’s basket, San Diego State led 42-29.

Nevada responded with an 18-4 run that included Caleb Martin’s first point and first field goal, a 3-pointer with 12:01 left. Nevada took the lead on Cody Martin’s fast-break layup with 10:02 left.

“We just hung in there,” Dutcher said. “So every time we play them, it’s a back-and-forth affair. No matter what kind of run they were on we kept looking at the scoreboard, it was a two-point game. So it wasn’t like they ran out on us by 11 points.”

CALEB IN FOUL TROUBLE EARLY

Nevada’s Caleb Martin committed two fouls in the first 1:04. He did not score in the half, only playing four minutes. There were eight lead changes and the game was tied for 6:17 of the first half before the Aztecs created a little distance at intermission.

“I had two all-league players not play in the first half. I thought our effort was phenomenal,” Musselman said. “I think our record speaks for itself, the body of work in the non-conference, conference play. Unfortunately, we weren’t fully healthy tonight.”

THE BIG PICTURE

San Diego State: The Aztecs reached the MWC semifinals for the 12th consecutive season. They are 4-0 against Nevada in neutral-site games. San Diego State has won 23 straight games holding opponents under 60 points. With the 20th win of the season, the Aztecs have reached the mark in 13 of the past 14 seasons.

Simpson directs No. 10 Michigan to 74-53 win over Iowa

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Associated PressMar 16, 2019, 2:40 AM EDT
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CHICAGO — Zavier Simpson was pretty much perfect, and everything fell into place for No. 10 Michigan.

Just another day at the Big Ten Tournament for the Wolverines.

Simpson sparked Michigan’s balanced attack with 10 points and 11 assists, and the Wolverines rolled past Iowa 74-53 on Friday night.

Seeking its third consecutive Big Ten tourney title, third-seeded Michigan advanced to the semifinals for the fourth straight year. It will go for its third win against Minnesota this season when it takes on the surprising Gophers on Saturday afternoon.

“There’s nothing intentional here. We’re just trying to get better every day,” coach John Beilein said. “I think if you go into tournaments and you’re usually a team that doesn’t beat itself during the season, maybe you have some success then.”

It certainly helps to have a point guard like Simpson, who went 4 for 4 from the field and 2 for 2 at the line with just one turnover. The 6-foot junior also played tough defense on Jordan Bohannon, who was averaging 11.7 points before he went scoreless in almost 27 minutes against the Wolverines (27-5).

“We had a great look in our eye. We played good,” Simpson said. “The key today was moving the ball. Guys can shoot, guys can score, guys can drive and penetrate. If we do that, we feel like we’ll be in good position.”

Michigan made 10 3-pointers and placed five players in double figures, bouncing back nicely from Saturday’s disappointing loss to rival Michigan State. Ignas Brazdeikis had 15 points, and Jon Teske had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Luke Garza and Tyler Cook each scored 14 points, but Iowa was ice cold from deep one night after it made 12 3-pointers in an 83-62 victory over Illinois. The Hawkeyes went 1 for 16 from beyond the arc against the Wolverines and shot 36 percent (21 for 59) overall.

“You’ve got to give some credit to our opponent for that, but typically we’re not going to be a team that goes 1 for 16,” coach Fran McCaffery said. “It changes the momentum shifts in the game.”

Iowa (22-11) held Michigan to 32 percent shooting in a 74-59 win on Feb. 1 in their only meeting of the season. But the Wolverines just love this time of year.

Charles Matthews returned from a right ankle injury, and Michigan celebrated with an impressive offensive display. With Simpson calmly directing the show, the Wolverines put away the Hawkeyes with a 15-2 run in the second half.

Brazdeikis and Eli Brooks opened the decisive sequence with 3-pointers. Simpson fed Teske for a jam and then banked a little floater to make it 59-35 with 13:44 remaining.

“We weren’t active on defense,” Garza said. “They were getting wide-open shots. We just can’t do that.”

Matthews had five points on 1-for-9 shooting in his first game back after he got hurt against the Spartans on Feb. 24. The Chicago native got a huge ovation when he was introduced with the starting lineup.

“Without him, we’re not the same team,” Brazdeikis said. “I’m just super excited he’s back. It changes everything for us offensively and defensively.”

WINNING

It was Michigan’s ninth consecutive win in the Big Ten Tournament, snapping a tie with Ohio State for the longest such streak.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa: Bohannon missed each of his two shots from the field, and Joe Wieskamp had just three points on 1-for-5 shooting. The Hawkeyes will need more from the two guards to make any sort of run in the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan: It was the type of efficient performance that makes Michigan a tough out every March. Led by Simpson, the Wolverines finished with 24 assists and seven turnovers. Isaiah Livers scored 13 points and Jordan Poole finished with 11.

Whistles, technicals mar Seton Hall-Marquette Big East semifinal

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By Raphielle JohnsonMar 16, 2019, 1:07 AM EDT
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With two of the best scoring guards in college basketball sharing the court, Friday’s Big East semifinal matchup between 3-seed Seton Hall and 2-seed Marquette was expected to be a thriller. And it was, as the Pirates won by the final score of 81-79 as Markus Howard’s three-point attempt fell short as time expired.

Unfortunately the discussions of this game will focus on the fact that three players were ejected, four others fouled out and the two teams combined to commit 57 fouls (nine technicals) and attempt 85 free throws. Seton Hall and Marquette needed two hours and 40 minutes to determine the winner in a game that didn’t even go to overtime.

It didn’t take long for things to get going, as Seton Hall’s Myles Powell and Marquette’s Sacar Anim got into it with 13:06 remaining in the first half. Powell, who like Howard was a first team All-Big East pick, was given a flagrant 1 for his elbow to Anim’s chest with the Marquette guard receiving a technical foul.

The three officials never seemed to fully get the game under control, and things boiled over with 12:48 remaining in the second half.

An exchange between the two teams led to three players, Anim, Marquette’s Theo John and Seton Hall’s Sandro Mamukelashvili, receiving flagrant 2 fouls. And in the confusion Powell, who received a technical foul, ran off to the locker room thinking that he was ejected as well. An assistant coach ultimately brought Powell back onto the court, and he would eventually hit two key three-pointers as Seton Hall rallied and ultimately took the lead for good.

Down the stretch Seton Hall’s Quincy McKnight and Jared Rhoden both received technical fouls, with the former rung up for protesting a foul call by running to the other end of the court and the latter for attempting to grab the ball while hanging onto the rim after he missed a dunk.

And to top it all off, Powell and Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski exchanged words in the handshake line after the two did not shake hands. Both teams were reportedly given the option close their locker rooms to the media after the game, which both accepted. Generally speaking, the locker rooms are open to media during postseason tournaments.

Most tight games provide all involved, from the fans to the players and coaches themselves, with the desire for more despite being given everything in a sporting sense. However with this game, it would be hard to blame anyone who feels unfulfilled.