Saturday, March 30, 2013

Madness! Friday Wrap/Saturday Preview

Greetings! Still on the road, so this will be via iPhone once again. Bear with me. Let's go!

- Trey Burke and Mitch McGary took things over for Michigan, and the Wolverines came from behind by double-digits to force overtime, and subsequently got a ticket to the Elite 8. McGary was the best player on the court, scoring 25 points and grabbing 14 rebounds (against the best defensive center in the country, no less) to add even more people to his bandwagon. He kept them alive late in the second half... until the bomb happened. Trey Burke hit a 30-foot (not exaggerating) three to tie the game with 4 seconds left, and in the overtime, opened the period with back-to-back long jumpers to key the game-ending run. What a game. What a win.

- Louisville only beat Oregon by 8 points, but that game was never in doubt and it felt more like a 15-20 point blowout. Russ Smith went for 31 points and the Cards shot 54% as a team on the night. Another dominant win from the overall #1 seed.

- Duke and Michigan State was the most focused-on game of the day coming in, but Duke pushed away late and got a 10-point (71-61) victory. Seth Curry went crazy with 29 points (including 6-9 from three) and Rasheed Sulaimon added 16 for the Blue Devils. This sets the stage for an epic Duke/Louisville regional final on Sunday, and the world will be watching.

- In the late game, Florida dispatched of the FGCU story with a comfortable 62-50 win. The Eagles from the Gulf Coast did push to a 9-point lead in the 1st half, but for the final 30 minutes or so, Florida dominated, and sent them home in a heap. The scary thing for the Gators? They shot only 39% from the field on this night, but they forced 20 turnovers, and used that to key their big runs.

What to watch for on Saturday...

4:30 - #4 Syracuse vs. #3 Marquette (CBS) - An all-Big East Regional Final as these two rivals square off. Marquette won their first meeting by 3 points, but Syracuse has the more talented roster by a decent margin. It'll probably come down to how Buzz Williams solves that incredibly long Syracuse zone, and Marquette needs to make shots to win. With a gun to my head, I'd take Syracuse because they're more talented, but this is going to be tight.

7:05 - #9 Wichita State vs. #2 Ohio State (CBS) - The Shockers are in the Elite 8. Ohio State is certainly the better team led by Craft and Thomas, but WSU isn't going to roll over, and this will be competitive. I think the Buckeyes win the game, but not without some more late-game heroics. Enjoy!

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