Eight games on the docket today with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in the offing.
South Region Third Round
No. 4 Michigan Wolverines (27-7) vs. No. 5 VCU Rams (27-8)
Tip Off: 12:15 p.m. Location: South Regional, Auburn Hills, Mich.Arena: The Palace of Auburn Hills (24,276)
The Rams (27-8) earned their highest seed in the NCAA Tournament since 1985 (No. 2) in its first season in Atlantic 10 Conference play. VCU, under fourth-year head coach Shaka Smart, finished 12-4 in conference play and fell to Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 tournament title game, 62-56. VCU is led by four players in double-figure scoring, including All-Atlantic-10 second team selection Treveon Graham, who averages 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per outing, as well as Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year Briante Weber.
Michigan advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament with a 71-56 victory over 13th-seeded South Dakota State on Thursday night (March 21) at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The fourth-seeded Wolverines, who led by four at the break, outscored the Jackrabbits by 11 points in the second half to pull away. U-M shot 28-of- 55 (51 percent) from the floor in the game, including 9-of-20 (45 percent) from behind the arc while holding SDSU to just 23-of-52 (44 percent) from the field and 4-of-19 (21 percent) from three-point range. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glenn Robinson III led the team in scoring with 21 points apiece, while Mitch McGary also contributed in double-digit scoring with 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds. While he only had six points, Trey Burke had seven assists and two blocks in the win.
MIDWEST REGION – THIRD ROUND
NO. 3 MICHIGAN STATE (26-8, 13-5) VS. NO. 6 MEMPHIS (31-4, 16-0)
March 23, 2013 – Approx 2:45 p.m. EDT Auburn Hills, Mich. – The Palace of Auburn Hills
Michigan State plays Memphis in the Third Round with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. Both the Spartans and Tigers used strong defensive efforts in their games, allowing 54 and 52 points, respectively. MSU is looking to advance to its fifth Sweet 16 in the last six seasons.
Leading Scorer MSU – Keith Appling (13.6) Memphis – Joe Jackson (13.7)
Leading Rebounder MSU -Adreian Payne (7.4) Memphis – D.J. Stephens (6.7)
Leading Assists MSU – Keith Appling (3.5) Memphis – Joe Jackson (4.9)
Series Record (Neutral) Memphis leads 2-0 (Memphis leads 2-0)
Last Meeting Memphis 92-74 (March 28, 2008 in Houston)
Midwest Region Third Round
Colorado State (8) vs. Louisville (1)
March 23, 2013 | 3:15 p.m. MT | Lexington, Ky. | Rupp Arena (23,500)
Louisville is seeking to reach the NCAA Sweet 16 for the19th occasion and second straight when it faces Colorado State on Saturday. Louisville advanced to the Sweet 16 last season on its way to its ninth Final Four. Only four teams have been to more Sweet 16 appearances than Louisville’s 18 since the NCAA began Sweet 16 records in 1975 (North Carolina 25, Kentucky 24, Duke 22 and Kansas 19). Louisville has reached the Elite Eight three times in the last five seasons (2008, 2009, 2012). With its second-round victory over North Carolina A&T, the Cardinals improved to 41-8 when playing as a higher seed in NCAA Tournament competition. This is the third time the Cardinals have entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. UofL reached the Final Four in 1983 as a No. 1 seed before falling to Houston in the national semifinals, and reached the Elite Eight in 2009 before losing to Michigan State. Louisville was a No. 4 seed last year and advanced to the Final Four. The Cards have a 7-2 record as a No. 1 seed since the NCAA began seeding teams in 1979.
West Region Third Round
No. 6 seed Arizona (26-7, 12-6 Pac-12) vs. No. 14 seed Harvard (20-9, 11-3 Ivy League)
Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah
Arizona held Belmont to 1-of-11 shooting and opened a 14-4 lead and never looked back in winning 81 64 in its NCAA Tournament opener. The Wildcats shot 56.9 percent from the field, dominated the glass 44-18 and placed four players in double figures as it built as much as a 21-point lead. Belmont, who entered the game shooting 39 percent from three-point range as a team, connected on just 29.6 percent of its long-range attempts. Mark Lyons, who led all scorers with 23 points, tallied 14 in the second half, as the Cats blistered the nets with 67.9 percent shooting, while Kevin Parrom and Kaleb Tarczewski each pulled down eight rebounds.
The 11th-seeded Crimson enter the third round with a 20-9 record (11-3 Ivy) following Thursday’s 68-62 win over New Mexico. On the season, Harvard averages 68.9 points per game, shoots 48.3 percent from the floor (661-of-1,367), 40.3 percent (186-of-462) from three-point range and 72.3 percent (490-of-678) from the line. Opponents average 63.8 points, outrebounded Harvard by 1.2 per game and shoot 43.8 percent from the floor (680-of-1,552). Individually, three Harvard players average in double figures, led by Wesley Saunders’ 16.5 ppg figure. Steve Moundou-Missi leads the Crimson in rebounding at 5.1 rebounds per game.
Arizona has a 2-0 record against Harvard in the series. The Wildcats beat the Crimson in December 1966 by a point, 59-58, in Tucson, and won the other game in December 1977 in Tucson, 83-60. The Wildcats are 6-0 against teams from the Ivy League, including an NCAA Tournament victory over Cornell (99-50, 1988 in Los Angeles), The Cats also have victories over Columbia (1975, Old Dominion Classic), Pennsylvania (1997, Arizona’s Fiesta Bowl Classic) and Princeton (1986, Fiesta Bowl Classic.).
Midwest Region Third Round
San Jose, Calif. (HP Pavilion)
No. 4 seed Saint Louis (26-6) vs. No. 12 seed Oregon (27-8)
A win Saturday will send the Billikens to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. This is the Billikens’ eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and second in as many seasons. Saint Louis is 5-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. Dwayne Evans scored a SLU NCAA Tournament record 24 points to lead the Billikens past New Mexico State on Thursday. Evans made a career-high 11 field goals (11-of-16) and added six rebounds, tying Cody Ellis and Cory Remekun for team-high honors. Jordair Jett dished out a team-high seven assists, the most by a Billiken in an NCAA Tournament game. The 20-point margin of victory (64-44) is the largest in SLU NCAA Tournament history. SLU’s 28 victories are a school record, eclipsing the 1988-89 squad (27-10).
Oregon won the only previous meeting, a 59-55 victory during the 1976-77 season at the Far West Classic in Portland, Oregon.
East Regional Third Round
Lexington. KY – Rupp Arena
No. 6 seed BUTLER (27-8) VS. No. 3 seed MARQUETTE (24-8)
Butler has advanced to the third round the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and will meet Marquette at Rupp Arena on Saturday, March 23. The sixth-seeded Bulldogs, who won their second round game against 11th-seeded Bucknell, will meet third-seeded Marquette at approximately 7:45 p.m. (ET). Butler (27-8) and Marquette (24-8) will be squaring off for the second time this season. The two teams met back on Nov. 19 in the first round of the Maui Invitational, and Butler slipped by, 72-71, on a three-point field goal at the buzzer by senior Rotnei Clarke. The Bulldogs went on to finish runner-up in the Hawaii tournament. Thursday’s victory over Bucknell was Butler’s 16th in its past seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Butler finished as national runner-up in both 2010 and 2011, and the Bulldogs advanced to the Sweet 16 in both 2003 and 2007. Marquette, a future conference foe for the Bulldogs, is making its eighth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Junior guard Vander Blue, who netted the game winner in the closing seconds of the regular‐season finale at St. John’s, played the hero once again in the Marquette victory over Davidson. Blue’s layup with one second left in regulation allowed MU to escape with a 59‐58 decision. The Madison, Wis., native scored on the same play as time expired in the game at St. John’s on March 9, which allowed Marquette to claim a share of the BIG EAST Conference regular season title. He finished with 16 points in 28 minutes of action versus Davidson. Dating back to the start of the 2008‐09 campaign, Marquette owns an overall record of 18‐16 in games decided by three points‐or‐less (4‐3 in 2012‐ 13) and is 5‐2 in overtime outings. Of the 34 games, 13 came during the 2009‐10 season and six of those came in the final nine contests of the year.
EnergySolutions Arena (19,911) | Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 9 seed Wichita State Shockers (27-8) vs. No. 1 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs (32-2)
The Shockers defeated eighth-seeded and No. 20/22 Pittsburgh, 73-55, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. WSU defeated the Panthers on the back of 20-plus point performances by Malcolm Armstead (22) and Cleanthony Early (21), and on the defensive effort of Tekele Cotton, who helped hold Tray Woodall to two points, nine less than his average. WSU has won its first game of the NCAA Tournament five times now, and last advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2006 with wins against Seton Hall and Tennessee.
Gonzaga University aims for its first NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen berth since 2006. The Bulldogs advanced with a 64-58 win over Southern University in Thursday’s Second Round match-up.
Gonzaga is playing in its 15th straight NCAA Tournament and its 16th in school history, first making the dance in 1995. The Bulldogs have won at least one game in each of their last four appearances and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in 2006. The Bulldogs lone appearance in the Elite Eight was 1999 when the current streak of NCAA appearances began.
East Region Third Round
HP PAVILION HP PAVILION SAN JOSE, CAL
No. 12 seed California (21-11) No. 4 seed Syracuse (27-9)
SU and Cal have met once previously. The Orange won 95-73 in the 2009 2N Sports Classic. SU coach Jim Boeheim and Cal’s Mike Montgomery are coaching contemporaries. Boeheim ranks second (917) and Montgomery ninth (656) among active coaches in wins. Syracuse is 57-35 (.620) overall in the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Bears, under the direction of fifth-year head coach Mike Montgomery, upended fi fth-seeded UNLV, 64-61, on Thursday. Cal broke a tie game at the half with nine of the fi rst 12 points after the break and never looked back en route the victory.All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year Allen Crabbe scored 19 points with nine rebounds and Robert Thurman contributed 12 points all on dunks – to lead the charge offensively. The Bears limited UNLV to just 32.2 percent from the field in the solid defensive effort. Cal owns a 20-17 all-time record in NCA Tournament games in its 18th all-time appearance. After going 30 years between appearances, the Bears have earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament 13 times since 1990. The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to the East Regional semifinal in Washington, D.C., next week.
No team had been able to get VCU back on its heels and keep them there and the Rams played Memphis, Duke, Missouri, Alabama and Wichita State this year. Worth noting that VCU started the year beating Florida Gulf Coast, 80-57.
Hate the fact some in the media are already suggesting that VCU might have to make a decision about their conference affiliation.
Surprising that Michigan ONLY outscored VCU 12-6 in second chance points.