Continuing the quest for sweetness.
No.3 Georgetown (24-8) vs. No.11 NC STATE (23-12)
The Wolfpack is 0-1 all-time versus Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoyas captured the only Big Dance meeting between the two schools with a 69-61 victory in 1989 East Region Semifinal in East Rutherford, N.J. NC State has one connection to the current Georgetown coaching staff, in assistant Hoyas coach Kenya Hunter. Hunter had a pair of stints at NC State before moving onto Xavier, and now is in his fifth season at Georgetown. Hunter served as the director of operations under former NC State coach Herb Sendek from 2002-04. He also earned a master’s degree from NC State in 1998, and during that time served as a student manager for the Pack from 1996-98.
North Carolina State Game Notes
Georgetown NCAA Tournament Center
No.9 Saint Louis (26-7) vs. No.1 Michigan State (28-7)
Saint Louis and Michigan have met just once on the hardwood, a 74-64 SLU victory in the NIT in 1988. SLU head coach Rick Majerus has faced Michigan State twice in his career, both coming in NCAA Tournament play. He beat Jud Heathcote’s Spartans 85-84 in the 1991 NCAA Tournament in Tucson. In the only Majerus-Izzo battle, Michigan State prevailed 73-61 in 2000.
The Spartans advanced with an 89-67 victory over LIU Brooklyn. They’ll face a familiarfoe in head coach Rick Majerus and the Saint Louis Billikens, who beat Memphis on Friday. Majerus faced the Spartans in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament as the coach of Utah. The winner will move on to the Sweet 16 in Phoenix.
#19 Creighton Bluejays (29-5) vs. #4 North Carolina Tar Heels (30-5)
Carolina leads the all-time series with Creighton, 2-0. Sunday’s game will be the first meeting between the schools in men’s basketball since a 106-86 UNC win over Creighton on Dec. 12, 1970, in Charlotte. In the only other meeting, the Tar Heels won 72-64 at Creighton on Dec. 19, 1960, under head coach Frank McGuire. Roy Williams has never faced Creighton as a head coach prior to Sunday. UNC sophomore forward Harrison Barnes was a high school teammate of Creighton sophomore forward Doug McDermott at Ames High School in Ames, Iowa.
The winner of Sunday’s game will advance to a Midwest Regional semifinal game next Friday in St. Louis against the winner of the game between No. 12 seed South Florida and No. 13 seed Ohio.
Carolina has played its last three games without two-time ACC Defender of the Year and first-team All-ACC forward John Henson, who missed the ACC semifinal and final and Friday’s NCAA game vs. Vermont due to a sprained left wrist (suffered in the ACC Tournament quarterfinal vs. Maryland). Henson’s status for Sunday’s game is questionable.
No. 10 Xavier Univ. Musketeers (22-12) vs. No. 15 Lehigh Univ. Mountain Hawks (27-7)
Xavier leads the series 1-0, winning the only meeting 69-63 in the 2004-05 season at Cintas Center (12-21-04).
Xavier, 22-12 overall, is coming off a thrilling 67-63 come-from-behind win over Notre Dame on Friday in the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Senior Tu Holloway led Xavier with 25 points, including 17 in the second half. Freshman Dezmine Wells had 14 points and 11 rebounds. XU trailed by 10 points, 48-38, with under 12 minutes left in the game.
(10) Purdue Boilermakers (22-12, 10-8 Big Ten) vs. (2) Kansas Jayhawks (28-6, 16-2 Big 12)
No. 2 seed Kansas (28-6, 16-2) advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional with a 65-50 win against No. 15 seed Detroit on Friday. KU, which has won 10 of its last 11 games, will take on No. 10 seed Purdue (22-12, 10-8) from the Big Ten Conference on Sunday, March 17, at approximately 7:40 p.m. (Central) at the CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Neb. The game will be televised on TNT.
Kansas and Purdue are meeting for the fifth time and the third time in the NCAA Tournament. The series, which started in 1948, is tied at 2-2. Kansas won the last meeting, 75-61, in the NCAA Southeast Sub-Regional second round in Memphis on March 15, 1997. Purdue won the previous matchup on March 24, 1994, in the NCAA Southeast Regional Sweet 16 in Knoxville, Tenn. Purdue also won the first meeting 47-46 on Dec. 13, 1948, in West Lafayette, Ind., while Kansas won the next year, 60-52, on Dec. 10, 1949, in Lawrence.
No. 12 USF (22-13) vs. No. 13 Ohio (28-7)
The Bobcats are fourth in the nation in steals per contest (9.4), fifth in the nation in turnover margin (+4.4)and rank 13th nationally in guarding the perimeter (29.6%). Ohio is also excelling in turning its opponents over, ranking No. 1 in the nation in turnover percentage according to KenPom’s national standings (27.4%).
Stan Heath’s squad, assigned the 12th seed, enters more new territory in Sunday’s third round against No. 13 seed Ohio back at Bridgestone Arena. Win this one and USF will soon be getting another grand sendoff in Tampa before a Sweet 16 date in St. Louis.
That type of philosophy helped USF go from the Big East basement to national prominence this season. The Bulls (22-13) have set program records for total wins, Big East regular season victories (12), have the school’s only two NCAA tournament wins and a laundry list of other accomplishments.
If you haven’t watched NC State PG Lorenzo Brown play yet, watch today. Calm and collective at all times. Game notes say it all: “Lorenzo Brown is averaging 6.4 assists per game, no State player has averaged more than 4.6 in a season since Chris Corchiani in 1991 (9.6).”
Wolfpack up by 3 at the half. Georgetown is making November mistakes at the end of March. Not good. For a Hoyas’ team that back doors a lot, how is NC State picking off so many passes in the passing lane and getting easy buckets? Then they get Scott Wood, one of the best 3-point shooters around, to put the ball on the floor and they foul him! Hoyas playing way too sloppy to win this game.
First part of this game, NC State definitely didn’t have the tempo of the game where they wanted it. Like Barkley just pointed out – you start missing jump shots like Georgetown did, it allows teams to get out into transition. NC State got themselves back into this game.
Rey – got to the Wolfpack back in December when they came into town to play the Bonnies. I was really impressed with Brown and Wood. I was impressed at how they handled themselves on the floor and off the court.
Gottfried has this program going in the right direction.
Really happy to see how Gottfired has turned around this program. Rey – what is the buzz like in ACC country when it comes to State. They are what has been lacking from the ACC for the last decade…maybe more.
Wood is one tough cookie.
Question – Do you double down on a post player when you are guarding Scott Wood??
Yeah, if you want State to hang a three-spot on you.
I should mention that I was asking that sarcastically.
Box out the shooter on a free throw?
“Staters” love Gotfried. I think they see how he’s handled CJ Leslie, who was painted as a selfish kid when he first came to State, and think he will be just what it takes to lure in top recruits and keep them happy. His recruiting class coming in next year is fantastic. That’s what State fans want to see because let’s face it, when you have UNC and Duke 10 minutes down the road you quickly realize that recruiting in DI basketball is step 1.
I went to two of their practices this year and his staff is top notch, too. Someone mentioned on here, I think Smitty, about whoever has been working with the State post players. I saw two former players come in and just drill these guys down low.
Smitty – I was feeding your sarcasm, brother.
Rey – but it’s not C.J. when Gottfried refers to Leslie.
It seems a generation ago when Georgetown used a completely disciplined effort to knock off UNC and advance to the Final Four.
True. “Come on, CALVIN!”
Georgetown has to be the worst rebounding team I’ve seen this year.
Georgetown entered play today with a rebound margin of 5.8. That has them at 23rd in the country.
State is 46th with a margin of 4.4.
Well Georgetown looks horrible on glass today. Have they ever seen a 3 they didn’t like?
Oh yeah, they definitely look horrible. Dare I say their rebounding numbers were inflated during Big East play.
“Have they ever seen a 3 they didn’t like?” Who said at halftime that the Hoya offense is not the Princeton style he knows.
Oh Casey, now you are just talking nonsense. How in the world could numbers in the Big East be inflated. It is the best conference in college basketball?
Okay my sarcasm is getting the best of me today.
Free Throw, Free Throws. How many times are we going to see this? ?
I’m surprised Georgetown took that timeout. They had Wood on the floor. He is not State’s strongest perimeter defender.
“That was really solid defense by CJ Leslie.” You didn’t hear too much of that last year huh Rey?
State outrebounded GU by 4. It felt like A LOT more.
How much of a difference can a coach make? State hasn’t made the tournament since 2006.
We won’t have to worry about St. Louis falling for fool’s gold. Jumpers aren’t falling. Time to get something at the rim.
Jordair Jett is saving the Billikens right now. Kwamain Mitchell is killing St. Louis right now.
Bad news is SLU has more turnovers than field goals. Good news is they’re only down seven.
My new favorite term from the State-Hoyas game today: “they chucked all cutters.”
Hahaha. I missed that one. Let me guess, Barkley?
Had to finally look this up. Disappointing I must say. You can patent fictitious creatures???
“The Billiken was a charm doll created by an American art teacher and illustrator, Florence Pretz of St. Louis, Missouri, who is said to have seen the mysterious figure in a dream.[1] In 1908, she patented the Billiken, who was elf-like with pointed ears, a mischievous smile and a tuft of hair on his pointed head.”
Seth Greenburg
Brandon Wood has to be entering the ‘most important transfers’ discussion, right?
Interesting topic. We should devise a list.
I know how you “love” lists. 🙂
Lists are okay. Just don’t want to start ranking and justifying each spot on the list. Kind of like fantasy leagues and brackets to me.
Helmet Sticker!
So what’s been the strategy on Conklin? Playing him physical?
Freekin’ Mitchell is ZERO-for-the field.
Yeah, I am surprised Conklin is not stepping out to the short corner and making Green chase him. He’s not going to get much with his back to the basket.
Jett does as good a job as anyone in the country at taking away the backdoor cut on the high 1-4 set.
Like what the announcer just said about Conklin’s adjustment. When he gets a touch now, he’s making a quick and deliberate move. First half he was so concerned with drawing contact and a foul. Now Green has to counter back somehow defensively.
Oh boy – Creighton is one-and-done pretty much on offensive end. They’re sending one guy to the glass and dropping four to slow down UNC. This game may be over quick.
Yeah, trying to run with Carolina is an exercise in futility.
I feel like we should be discussing the merits of Spandau Ballet.
Dang, Casey. I just had to Google that reference of yours.
What? The Chevy commercial wasn’t enough? Hahaha.
Is Henson that important to UNC? He goes out, and Creighton has a run.
You would think not, but Harrison Barnes has been an enigma this year. Roy said it though: they are settling for jumpshots. There is a reason Zeller was ACC POY. Get him the ball inside.
I’m just looking for reasons for that run at the end of the half.
Here’s hoping Norfolk State can recapture some of the energy they had Friday night.
It’s not looking good…
Florida has doubled Norfolk’s FG % in first half and has hit 7 threes.
Does Lehigh miss???
Here is surprise Mark Lyons is in foul trouble.