The first half of the Sweet 16 games in the NCAA tournament were played on Thursday, with four teams moving on to the Elite Eight.
Stars on a basketball team hit the big shots, grab the huge rebound, and generally find ways to make big plays when the stage is an expansive one. It doesn't get much grander in college basketball than the NCAA tournament.
There was plenty of big moments in the South region semifinal between the Tennessee Volunteers and Purdue Boilermakers on Thursday night.
Purdue went up by 18 in the second half, only to watch as Tennessee stormed back to take the lead. Back and forth down the stretch, the teams needed overtime to settle things, with the third-seed Boilermakers prevailing 99-94.
Shining on this day was a duo for Purdue that go by the names of Ryan Cline and Carsen Edwards. Cline hit big shot after big shot, finishing with 27 points before fouling out in overtime. Cline connected on 7 three-pointers in the victory.
And Edwards has been a scoring machine through three games in the tournament. He had 29 against the Vols, including knocking down two of three free throws at the end of regulation that tied the score.
The 29 points by Edwards brings his tournament total this year to 97. If perchance the Boilermakers reach the championship game and Edwards stays on this scoring pace, he would beat Glen Rice's tournament record of 184 points, set back in Michigan's 1988-89 championship run.
Tennessee's quartet of top players also had their shining moments as well. Grant Williams (21 pts) had a couple of huge buckets down the stretch while Admiral Schofield had a monster second-half and overtime, scoring 20 of his 21 points.
Guards Lamonte Turner and Jordan combined for 25 points and 7 assists.
Purdue will meet the Virginia Cavaliers in the South regional final. Virginia defeated 12th-seed Oregon, 53-49.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs, winners over Florida State 72-58, will meet the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the West final. Texas Tech defeated Michigan, 63-44, to return to the Elite Eight for the second straight year.
Here's a brief look at Friday's games.
(3) LSU vs (2) Michigan State
The LSU Tigers (28-6) built leads in both of their tournament games, only to watch as their opponents have battled back. The Tigers had enough moxie and luck in each, defeating Yale by five and Maryland by two.
LSU has been without head coach Will Wade, whose name was brought up in a recruiting scandal towards the end of the regular season. The Tigers have won 11 of their last 13 games and are balanced in the frontcourt and backcourt. Naz Reid mans the interior, with 27 points and 14 rebounds in the tournament. Guard Skylar Mays is averaging 17.5 ppg, with six made threes.
The Michigan State Spartans (30-6) enter this East region semifinal game having won 12 of their last 13 games. The Spartans average 73 points per game and are holding opponents to 57.5. Michigan State doesn't take a whole lot of threes -- 11 of 34 in the tournament -- and holds a + 36 margin on the boards.
Cassius Winston is dropping 19.5 points and dishing out 6.5 assists in the 2019 tournament.
(5) Auburn vs (1) North Carolina
The first game of the evening in the Midwest region involves a game between the Auburn Tigers (28-9) and the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Auburn rides or dies on their love affair with the three-point shot. It's something that's been working as of late, having won their last ten games, including a SEC tournament title. The Tigers barely escaped their first-round game against New Mexico State before dismantling Kansas.
In two tournament games, Auburn averages 83.5 points while allowing 76. They are 25-61 beyond the arc and are led by guards Jared Harper and Bryce Brown. Harper has 35 points and 10 assists in the tournament, while Brown has 37 points, with nine made threes.
North Carolina (29-6) has won 10 of their last 11 games, with their only loss in that span coming to Duke. The Tar Heels are outscoring opponents in the tournament by 18.5 points.
Senior Luke Maye continues to live in a double-double world. Maye is averaging 18 points and 11.5 rebounds in the tournament on his quest to add another title to his resume. Nassir Little averages 19.5 points off the bench the last two games.
(4) Virginia Tech vs (1) Duke
A team from the ACC will be guaranteed of advancing when the Virginia Tech Hokies take on the top seed Duke Blue Devils in the East region semifinal. The two teams met up once this season, with Duke pulling out a 77-72 victory in a game which Zion Williamson did not play.
Virginia Tech (26-8) relies on a stingy defense. Opponents are scoring only 55 points per game in the tournament, shooting 36.5 and 38.3 percent.
Kerry Blackshear, Jr. had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting with Duke. Blackshear had 19 points in a victory over Liberty, while Nick Alexander-Walker had 20 points and 3 steals in an opening-round win over Saint Louis.
Duke (31-5) escaped by the skin of their teeth in a round of 32 victory over UCF. Williamson had 32 points in this game and is averaging 28.5 in the tournament.
R.J. Barrett has been performing well, averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds per game. Barrett had 21 points in the earlier victory over Virginia Tech.
In two games, the Blue Devils are shooting 41 percent (18-44) from three-point range. This aspect of their game was a weakness throughout much of the season, in which overall Duke is only shooting 30 percent.
(3) Houston vs (2) Kentucky
It's quite possible we'll see a slower pace, defense-minded game in this matchup between the Houston Cougars and Kentucky Wildcats. Houston (33-3) is holding opponents to a 57-point average in the tournament while Kentucky is even better at a clip of 50 points per game.
The Cougars have won six of their last eight games, with their only three losses this season coming in conference (and conference tourney) play. They have one of the strongest backcourts remaining in the tournament, led by Corey Davis, Jr. Davis is averaging 23.5 points per game and has ten 3's, though he was only 3-9 against Ohio State.
Kentucky (29-6) is not the free-wheeling, three-point launching team of old. Both of their opponents shot under 40 percent and teams are a combined 12-41 from three-point range against them.
It's still unknown if PJ Washington will return from injury against the Cougars. Scoring has been balanced in his absence, with Keldon Johnson scoring 25 against Abilene Christian. Two players scored in double figures in the victory over Wofford, led by Reid Travis' 14.
Predictions
A 3-1 night on Thursday night means nothing but here's the predictions for Friday's games. I expect these to be closer than Thursday's games were.- Michigan State over LSU
- UNC over Auburn
- Duke over Virginia Tech
- Houston over Kentucky
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