NCAA March Madness Road to Sweet 16 Musings and Highlights (3/22/15)
Highlight of the Day – #7 MSU Spartans defeat #2 Virginia 60-54 – An exciting game from start to finish that began with Coach Izzo’s MSU Spartans having a hot start thanks to Travis Trice who scored 13 of MSU’s first 15 points. By the end of the 1st half, MSU was leading 23-18 after having Virginia down by eleven at one point and the two teams combined for the lowest scoring 1st half of the tournament. MSU held Virginia to 25.8% shooting, while they managed to shoot 45% from the field and 50% from 3-point range (3-6). The Spartans started the 2nd half strong with a 10-3 run and, after a 3-pointer by Byrn Forbes with fifteen minutes left, they were up by 12 points. After MSU’s run, Virginia went on a 7-1 run and closed the gap with the help of limited playing time by Denzel Valentine after picking up his third foul and a scoring drought by Trice. Travis Trice started the game on fire, but it was not until there were seven minutes remaining in the 2nd half before Trice made a basket since the fifteen minute mark of the 1st half. The Spartans dominated defensively and Virginia was held to zero points for six minutes leading up to five minutes left in the game. Travis Trice’s senior leadership was crucial in the last five minutes when he hit a huge 3-pointer with a little under three minutes left to give MSU a 52-44 lead and made several critical free throws in the final minute of play. MSU is the 6th worst free throw shooting team in the NCAA, shooting 63.1% from the line this season, but thankfully the Spartans made their free throws when they counted on a day they shot 69.2% from the line. The Spartans in their 60-54 defeat of Virginia for the second straight year were led by Travis Trice’s 23 points and Branden Dawson’s 15 points and 9 rebounds. Coach Izzo, who displayed a rare smile on the sideline toward the end of the game and who was in tears after the game, gave credit for the win to his seniors, Branden Dawson and Travis Trice, and the teams great defensive play as the Spartans move on to the Sweet 16 for the 4th straight year.
The tournament magic continues for Coach Izzo, as his team is playing their best basketball of the year, and he improved his record to 13-1 in the Round of 32. Izzo has led MSU to its seventh Sweet 16 in eight years and he has now reached the Sweet 16 for the 13th time.
The former coach of the Fab Five and current coach of #8 San Diego St., Steve Fisher, met #1 Duke’s coach, Mike Krzyewski, on the sideline for the first time in 23 years (the longest gap of two coaches meeting against each other) in a game dominated by Duke and a game high 26 points by Jahlil Okafor in a 68-49 victory over San Diego St. This will be Duke’s 14th Sweet 16 since 1998.
Notre Dame’s opponent in the Sweet 16 will be #7 Wichita St. who defeated #2 Kansas 78-65. Notre Dame will face a Wichita St. team that had five players scoring in double figures and that shot 50% from 3-point range in their win over Kansas.
MSU’s opponent in the Sweet 16 will be #3 Oklahoma who defeated #11 Dayton 72-66. MSU will be playing against an Oklahoma team coached by Lon Kruger, who is the only coach to lead four different teams (Oklahoma, UNLV, Florida, and Kansas State) to the Sweet 16 and coach five different schools to wins in the NCAA Tournament.
First Big Ten Conference loss of the day occurred when #7 Iowa lost to #2 Gonzaga. Gonzaga will face #11 UCLA in the Sweet 16.
Second Big Ten Conference win of the day as #1 Wisconsin defeats #8 Oregon 72-65. Wisconsin’s leading scorers were Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky, who will lead them into the Sweet 16 to play #4 North Carolina.
The Big Ten Conference will only have two teams, MSU and Wisconsin, in the Sweet 16 after Maryland lost to West Virginia.
The cost of commercials airing during the NCAA Tournament is third behind the Super Bowl and the AFC/NFC Championship games. In addition to the very good AT&T and Capital One commercials, today they aired the preview to Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation starring Tom Cruise that I will be seeing when it is released July 31, 2015.
Gabby and I still have three teams left in the Final Four, but she lost Villanova for the National Championship game. My match-up of Notre Dame vs. MSU for the championship is still possible. My Best-Dressed bracket was busted when Jay Wright’s Villanova team lost to NC State.
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