This week, The Chronicle will look at the opening weekend in each of the four regions of the NCAA tournament in advance of the Sweet Sixteen. Today, we conclude with the Midwest region.
Sweet 16 teams:
No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 12 Oregon, No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 Michigan State
How those teams advanced:
Louisville—The overall top-seeded Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16 with ease, brushing off No. 16 North Carolina A&T 79-48 in the Round of 64 and No. 8 Colorado State 82-56. The team set an NCAA Tournament record by forcing 20 turnovers against the Aggies, and its full court press overwhelmed the Rams. Over the two games Louisville has been led by junior guard Russ Smith, who scored 23 points in the opener—while logging only 25 minutes—and 27 points in the Round of 32. In addition to Smith’s play, the Cardinals have gone inside to get high-percentage baskets and power past teams. Led by junior forward Gorgui Dieng, Louisville has scored more than 40 points per game in the paint during the tournament thus far, becoming only the third team in the past four editions of the tournament to do so in back-to-back games.
Oregon—The No. 12 Ducks have clearly proven the Selection Committee wrong by advancing to the Sweet 16. They defeated No. 5 Oklahoma State convincingly 68-55, holding Cowboys’ star Marcus Smart to only 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Oregon’s Arsalan Kazemi recorded a double-double in this contest, scoring 11 points while grabbing 17 boards—six on the offensive end. The senior fell short of another double-double against No. 4 St. Louis, a mid-major many were tabbing to make a deep run in the tournament, scoring only eight points. Kazemi, though, maintained his hunger on the glass and pulled down 16 missed shots, including seven offensive rebounds. Damyean Dotson was the star of the show against the Billikens, putting up 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, making 5-of-6 from long-range. As a team, the Ducks shot 8-of-11 from three-point range.
Duke—The No. 2 Blue Devils advanced to the Sweet 16 following wins against No. 15 Albany and No. 7 Creighton. Duke defeated the Great Danes 73-61 behind the offensive efforts of seniors Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry, who scored 23 and 26 points, respectively. The Blue Devils shot 58.7% from the field, with sophomore guard Quinn Cook recording 11 assists in the process. In a game plagued by fouls, Duke withstood a 21-point performance from Bluejays’ star Doug McDermott to grind out the win. The Blue Devils were led by freshman Rasheed Sulaimon’s 21 points on 5-of-9 shooting, who was the go-to option when others were struggling. Curry followed up his performance in the opener with 17 points, 15 of which came after halftime, to push Duke into the Sweet 16. The win came despite senior Ryan Kelly recording only one point.
Michigan State—Tom Izzo has once again brought the No. 3 Spartans within range of another Final Four. Michigan State never gave No. 14 Valparaiso a chance in the Round of 64, going on a 25-6 run in the first half to build a comfortable lead. Senior forward Derrick Nix had 23 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to lead the Spartans. Against No. 6 Memphis, Nix could not replicate those numbers but still finished with a strong 13 points and eight boards. Freshman guard Gary Harris picked up the offense, scoring a career-high 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting, making 4-of-7 from three-point range, to lead Michigan State past the Tigers. Junior Adreian Payne, another Spartan weapon, recorded a double-double in the win with 14 points and 10 boards. The forward also had a career-high five blocks.
Biggest disappointment:
With the top three teams advancing, the biggest disappointment would fall be a St. Louis team many were expecting to make a run in the Tournament. The Billikens won the Atlantic-10’s regular season and tournament titles over the likes of Butler and VCU, and were rewarded with a No. 4 seed in the tournament. Starting four upperclassmen and no freshmen, St. Louis looked to be a flag-bearer for mid-major teams, and showed its capabilities by blowing out New Mexico State 64-44. The Billikens, however, came up short against an arguably under-seeded Oregon team who held them to 14.3% shooting from three-point range. Now, it is La Salle in the West Region who will have to carry the Atlantic-10’s hopes.
Region MVP to date:
Though many candidates so far have recorded two double-digit games—including Duke's Curry—, and Oregon’s Arsalan Kazemi has had two huge rebounding efforts, the MVP thus far has to go to Louiville’s Russ Smith. Smith has scored an impressive 50 points so far, and has made more than half the shots he has taken in the Tournament. He had a game-high eight steals against North Carolina A&T and has led the Cardinals to comfortable wins, giving him time to rest at the end of games. Playing only 25 and 32 minutes in the first two games, Smith will arrive at Indianapolis ready to play, and if he continues to score at this pace, the path to the Final Four looks all the more welcoming for Louisville.
Previous regions updated: South, East, West
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