GREAT TEAMS TOURNAMENT

[PointGuard]

SWEET 16 BRACKETS

Midwest

#1 Michigan (1993) vs #13 Iowa State (2017)
#2 Oklahoma (1988) vs #3 Kansas (2008)

East

#1 Duke (1992) vs #5 UConn (2004)
#2 Syracuse (1987) vs #3 Maryland (2002)

South

#1 Kentucky (1996) vs #5 Memphis (2008)
#2 Florida (2007) vs #3 North Carolina (2005)

West

#1 UNLV (1991) vs #4 Louisville (2013)
#2 Arizona (1997) vs #6 Loyola Marymount (1990)

[PointGuard]

Round 3 (Sweet 16)

Midwest

#1 Michigan Wolverines (1993) vs #13 Iowa State Cyclones (2017)

Records thus far:

Michigan (1993)—74, Northwestern (2017)—57
Michigan (1993)—92, Purdue (1994)—69
Iowa State (2017)—85, Indiana (1987)—75
Iowa State (2017)—76, Wisconsin (2015)—62

Michigan Starting lineup: PG Jalen Rose; SG Jimmy King; SF Ray Jackson; PF Juwan Howard; C Chris Webber
Iowa State Starting lineup: PG Monte Morris; SG Nazareth Mitrou-Long; SF Nick Weiler-Babb; PF Deonte Burton; C Darrell Bowie

Michigan jumped out to a 10-3 lead and held onto that til midway through the half. At that point their offense, led by Jalen Rose’s 13 points and Chris Webber’s 12 points, shot the Wolverines ahead to a 49-27 halftime advantage. The Cyclones were just simply outclassed.

The 2nd half was pretty much just a continuous exchange of baskets with little variation in the point difference between the two teams. Iowa State hit a couple late buckets to cut the Michigan’s margin of victory to 89-73. Michigan grabbed 9 more rebounds and had 3 less turnovers than Iowa State and shot just a little better than the Cyclones as well.

The entire starting 5 for Michigan scored in double figures: Chris Webber—18, Juwan Howard—17, Jalen Rose—15, Ray Jackson—14, and Jimmy King—14 with Jackson, Webber, and Howard hauling down 9, 8 and 7 rebounds, respectively. Iowa State’s Deonte Burton had 14 points and 9 rebounds and Nazreth Mitrou-Long scored 12.

Steve Fisher, Michigan’s head coach, praised his team by saying, “Our guys came out focused and executed our game plan to a T. We got out to a quick lead and kept the Cyclones from making any serious runs the entire game.”

[PointGuard]

Round 3 (Sweet 16)

Midwest

#2 Oklahoma Sooners (1988) vs #3 Kansas Jayhawks (2008)

Records thus far:

Oklahoma Sooners (1988)—100, Minnesota (2017)—68
Oklahoma Sooners (1988)—80, Cincinnati (1993)—59
Kansas Jayhawks (2008)—84, Oklahoma State (2017)—61
Kansas Jayhawks (2008)—95, Butler (2010)—76

Oklahoma Starting lineup: PG Ricky Grace; SG Mookie Blaylock; SF Andre Wiley; PF Harvey Grant; C Stacey King
Kansas Starting lineup: PG Russell Robinson; SG Mario Chalmers; SF Brandon Rush; PF Darnell Jackson; C Cole Aldrich

The two teams battled the entire first half with Kansas nursing a small lead until Oklahoma came on in the final few minutes to overtake the Jayhawks and take a 47-46 lead to the locker room. Harvey Grant scored 14 for Oklahoma and Mario Chalmers had 13 for Kansas. While both teams were assessed 14 personal fouls, the Sooners got 10 more free throw attempts and scored 6 more points on foul shots. Blaylock and King for Oklahoma and Rush for Kansas each have 3 fouls.

Kansas came out in the 2nd half blazing and carved out a 10 point lead within the first 4 minutes. The Sooners cut that lead to 4 points but then the Jayhaws, behind the scoring of Darnell Arthur, Darnell Jackson, and Mario Chalmers exploded to lead 77-63 with 9 minutes left to play. Oklahoma responded with a run cutting the lead to 83-79 with 4 minutes remaining. Tony Martin drove the lane and scored to tie the game at 84-84 with 2 minutes to go. Kansas’ Russell Robinson drove, pulled up and canned a 10 footer to put the Jayhawks back on top by 2. Both teams turned the ball over on their next possessions and then the Sooners Mookie Blaylock worked inside and hit a fadeaway jumper to tie it up again with 57 seconds on the clock. Darnell Jackson missed a shot, but got his own rebound and put it back up and in to put the Jayhawks ahead 88-86 with 35 seconds to play. Stacey King was fouled on his shot but made just 1 of 2 free throws and Kansas regained possession with 24 seconds left. Oklahoma immediately fouled. Russell Robinson could hit the first and missed the 2nd shot, but Darnell Arthur fought to pull down an offensive rebound who was promptly fouled. Arthur coolly sank both free throws to put Kansas ahead by 4 with 19 seconds still to play. Oklahoma’s Mookie Blaylock missed a shot badly but was fouled. Kansas coach Bill Self was incensed by Mario Chalmers fouling on the shot. Blaylock drilled both free throws to get the Sooners within 2 but there were but 9 seconds remaining. Oklahoma fouled on the inbounds pass. Russell Robinson was only able to make 1 of 2 from the line. The Sooners made a long inbounds pass past midcourt to reserve guard Terrence Mullins who turned, took one stop and lobbed up a long 3-pointer that settled cleanly through the silk to tie the game at 92-92. Kansas was unable to get on a final shot so the game went to overtime.
Oklahoma had 3 starters (Grace, Grant and King) who had fouled out and Kansas had 2 starters (Rush and Aldrich) on the bench with 5 fouls to begin OT. Terrence Martin knocked down another 3 on Oklahoma’s first possession in OT. Mookie Blaylock popped in a deuce on the Sooners next possession making it 97-92. Turnover and missed shots doomed the Jayhawks. Oklahoma escaped with a 105-99 overtime win. Kansas outshot Oklahoma 55% to 51% and were plus 9 on the boards, but the Sooners scored 18 more points than the Jayhawks on free throws.

For Oklahoma Harvey Grant had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks, Stacey King scored 14 and had 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 blocks, Mookie Blaylock scored 14, Tyrone Jones scored 13, and Tony Martin finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks. The Jayhawks’ Mookie Blaylock led all scorers with 26 points while reserve C Darnell Arthur had 25 points and 7 boards. Darnell Jackson scored 19 and pulled down 9 rebounds and Russell Robinson had 11 points and 10 assists.

Coach Billy Tubbs said, “Kansas was darned tough. We were lucky to be able to pull this one out. Terrence (Mullins) pulled our fat from the fryer by hitting the 3 to tie the game and get us to OT and then got us off to great start in the OT with another big time 3.”

[PointGuard]

Round 3 (Sweet 16)

East

#1 Duke Blue Demons (1992) vs #5 UConn Huskies (2004)

“Christian Laettner has really done a great job of carrying us thus far. But as we go deeper in the tourney I’m expecting others to step up to give us a boost,”said Duke coach Mike Krzyewski. “Laettner’s a definite force and Duke is loaded with very good players. But I like our chances, since our entire starting 5 have been playing well together and they’re all contributing nicely to our offense,” said UConn coach Jim Calhoun.

Records thus far:

Duke (1992)—71, Rhode Island (2017)—57
Duke (1992)—86, West Virginia (2010)—63
UConn (2004)—76, Navy (2012)--61
UConn (2004)—91, Villanova (2018)—80

Duke’s starting lineup: PG Bobby Hurley; SG Thomas Hill; SF Brian Davis; PF Grant Hill; C Christian Laettner
UConn starting 5: PG Taliek Brown; SG Ben Gordon; SF Denham Brown; PF Charlie Villanueva; C Emeka Okafor

UConn got a break when Laettner, who had scored Duke’s first 4 points of the game, picked up his 2nd foul just 7 minutes into the game. The Huskies took advantage and stormed to a 26-10 lead. Duke kept trying to cut into the lead but UConn stubbornly held on and by the end of the half, the Huskies wide margin had grown to 42-22. Emaka Okafor had picked up his 3rd foul late in the first half though.

90 seconds into the 2nd half, Laettner was tagged for another foul, and he joined Cherokee Parks, his primary replacement, on the bench with 3 fouls apiece with Duke still down by 16 points. Duke’s defense shut down the Huskies’ offense though and by the midpoint of the 2nd half UConn’s lead was down to 47-40. The margin was reduced to 5 points with 4-1/2 minutes remaining. UConn held on, though, to defeat the Blue Demons 72-66.

Ben Gordon led all scorers with 19 points plus he had 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 6 steals. Denham Brown tossed in 16 points and Emaka Okafor added 11 points and 3 blocks for UConn. Christian Laettner kept from picking up his 4th foul and scored 16 plus pulled down 9 boards for Duke. Thomas Hill also scored 16 and he had 3 steals. Bobby Hurley scored 10 points and dished out 7 assists and Grant Hill had 9 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.

“Even though we had a big lead in the first half, the game got all too close in the late going. It was a great team effort by my guys with our bench outscoring the Blue Demons bench 17-6. Fortunately we were able to force Duke to make 21 turnovers and I think that ultimately was the difference in the game,” said Huskies coach Jim Calhoun.

[Wayne23]

U-C-O-N-N! UCONN, UCONN, UCONN!!! Laettner was arguably the dirtiest player in college hoops history.

[PointGuard]

Round 3 (Sweet 16)

East

#2 Syracuse Orange (1987) vs #3 Maryland Terrapins (2002)

Records thus far:

Syracuse (1987)—86, Xavier (2017)—71
Syracuse (1987)—75, Georgetown (1989)—65
Maryland (2002)—85, Creighton (2017)—56
Maryland (2002)—78, Massachusetts (1996)—48

Syracuse starting lineup: PG Sherman Douglas; SG Howard Triche; SF Herman Harried; PF Derrick Coleman; C Rony Seikaly
Maryland starting lineup: PG Steve Blake; SG Juan Dixon; SF Byron Mouton; PF Chris Wilcox; C Lonny Baxter

“Rony (Seikaly) has led us thus far (averaging 24.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg) and seems intent on keeping us moving within this tourney. Juan Dixon (22.0 ppg) is a heckuva competitor and he’s backed up by a good supporting cast that has had Maryland whipping up on their opponents. We need to slow down their potent offense,” said Coach Jim Boeheim of Syracuse.

Syracuse turned the ball over 5 times in the first 5 minutes and fell behind 8-2. Syracuse narrowed the gap but wasn’t able to gain a lead until there were 9-1/2 minutes remaining in the half. Defense predominated with Maryland forcing 13 turnovers by the Orange and Syracuse holding the Terrapins shooting in the half to just 37%. Maryland eked out a 35-33 halftime advantage. Steve Blake scored 10 points for the Terrapins and Rony Seikaly had 11 points for Syracuse. Neither team was able to make a major run in the first half. Could either team do so in the 2nd half?

It took nearly 3 minutes for either team to score at the beginning of the 2nd half. The Terrapins hit a series of 3’s to jump ahead 52-40 with 10 minutes to play. Turnovers continued to hamper Syracuse as they attempted to get back into the game. But the Orange were able to close to within 6 points with 5 minutes left. Maryland’s perimeter players continued to fire away. That carried the Terrapins to a 71-58 victory.

The outside shooters for Maryland were enough offense to ensure the win with Steve Blake scoring 20 plus dishing out 5 assists and getting 3 steals, Juan Dixon dropping in 15 points and grabbing 4 boards, and Byron Mouton popping in 13 points and getting 6 rebounds. Chris Wilcox had 8 points and 8 rebounds. Syracuse’s top scorer again was Rony Seikaly with 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Sherman Douglas poured in 19 points and he had 4 assists.

Maryland’s coach Gary Wilcox said, “We got outshot by the Orange but our defense resulted in Syracuse making 23 turnovers, 10 more than us. That was the big difference in this game. Seikaly and Douglas did a lot of damage but we controlled the rest of their team very well. Too many fouls on our big men limited our interior game but we just kept firing away from outside and enough of those shots went down to give us the win.”

[PointGuard]

Round 3 (Sweet 16)

South

#1 Kentucky Wildcats (1996) vs #5 Memphis Tigers (2008)

John Calipari, coach of Memphis, expressed concern, “Kentucky presents a huge hurdle for us. The Wildcats are a heckuva talented team and they’ve been crushing their opponents thus far. They’re big favorites. But our guys are excited about taking them on and I expect us to give Kentucky a real battle.”

Records thus far:

Kentucky (1996)—83, Texas Christian (2017)—49
Kentucky (1996)—94, Texas (2003)—67
Memphis (2008)—90, Clemson (1990)—65
Memphis (2008)—72, Virginia (2019)—59

Kentucky starters: PG Anthony Epps; SG Tony Delk; SF Derek Anderson; PF Antoine Walker; C Walter McCarty
Memphis starters: PG Derrick Rose; SG Antonio Anderson; SF Chris Douglas-Roberts; PF Robert Dozier; C Joey Dorsey

Kentucky dropped in the first 11 points as it took Memphis 4-1/2 minutes to score. The Wildcats gradually extended their lead and by the end of the half, they were on top 44-23. Kentucky outshot the Tigers 57% to 38% and Memphis had 15 turnovers compared to just 5 by the Wildcats. Antoine Walker threw down 17 points for Kentucky in the first half.

The Tigers were unable to make a dent into Kentucky’s large lead. The final score of 83-57 revealed just how dominating Kentucky was in this game.

Kentucky’s potent office was led by Antoine Walker’s 23 points (and he grabbed 7 boards also). Tony Delk hit for 15 points and Walter McCarty added 12 points and 6 rebounds with Anthony Epps dishing out 13 assists. Memphis’ Derrick Rose had 14 points and 6 assists with Chris Douglas-Roberts, Antonio Anderson, and Shawn Taggart each scoring 9 points with Taggart also gaining 6 rebounds.

“We did exactly what we needed to do, scoring well and our defense making it tough for Memphis to get clear shots and also forcing the Tigers to make 19 turnovers,” said Kentucky coach Rick Pitino.

[PointGuard]

Round 3 (Sweet 16)

South

#2 Florida Gators (2007) vs #3 North Carolina Tar Heels (2005)

“I believe that the tough challenge we overcame against LSU in the 2nd round was good for us. It strengthened the team and I feel we’re ready to take on any team including a good North Carolina squad tonight,” said Florida Coach Billy Donovan. “These two teams are pretty equally matched, but I’m feeling real good about how my guys are playing.”

Records thus far:

Florida (2007)—79, Florida State (2017)—56
Florida (2007)—79, Louisiana State (1990)—77
North Carolina (2005)—91, South Carolina (2017)—77
North Carolina (2005)—93, Georgia Tech (1990)—82

Florida Starters: PG Taurean Green; SG Walter Hodge; SF Corey Brewer; PF Al Horford; C Joakim Noah
North Carolina starters: PG Raymond Felton; SG Rashad McCants; SF David Noel; PF Marvin Williams; C Sean May

The Tar Heels got off to a good start with some hot shooting and by the midpoint of the first half they led 27-17. The half ended with North Carolina holding a 48-43 lead. Even though the Tar Heels made 16 turnovers they outshot the Gators 60% to 48% and held a 16-7 rebounding advantage. Marvin Williams poured in 14 points for North Carolina while Florida’s Taurean Green hit for 13 points.

Defense prevailed for the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half, but then the offenses of both teams rekindled. Florida crept up and with 9:21 remaining Hodge sank a 3 to put the Gators on top 63-61. The lead shifted back and forth and the game was tied with 1-1/2 minutes to go. The Tar Heels went ahead by 2 but then Green dropped in a long 3 to put Florida on top 79-78 with 47 seconds left on the clock. Both teams missed repeated opportunities to score. After Florida missed a shot with 7 seconds left, North Carolina rebounded, outletted the ball to Raymond Felton who spurted up court, pulled up from nearly 30 feet away, cast up a shot that settle cleanly through the net with one tick left. That gave North Carolina a thrilling 81-79 victory. The Tar Heels hit 51% of their shots compared to 45% by the Gators and were +9 on the boards but made 5 more turnovers.

North Carolina’s Sean May had 17 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Teammate Marvin Williams also scored 17 and he pulled down 9 boards while Raymond Felton scored 15 and had 8 assists and David Noel had 13 points, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Florida had two players carry their offense: Taurean Green scored 21 points and had 7 assists and 3 steals; and Joakim Noah dropped in 20 points plus had 7 seals, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

“Sean (May) was a beast out there tonight, but we got good scoring throughout our roster. We were sloppy hanging onto the ball so need to correct that before our next game. Felton’s shot with the clock running down was fantastic! If the team hadn’t lifted him onto their shoulders, I would have,” said Tar Heels’ coach Roy Williams.

[PointGuard]

Round 3 (Sweet 16)

West

#1 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (1991) vs #4 Louisville Cardinals (2014)

“UNLV has been tearing up their opponents with a potent offense. We need to slow them down. That could be tough since they’ve been distributing points well between all 5 of their starters and some of their reserves. But I think my guys are up to the task,” said Louisville coach Rick Pitino.

Records thus far:

UNLV (1991)—91, Baylor (2017)—66
UNLV (1991)—96, UCLA (2008)—51
Louisville (2014)—74, Wichita State—52
Louisville (2014)—85, Illinois (2015)—71

UNLV’s starters: PG Greg Anthony; SG H. Waldman; SF Stacey Augmon; PF Larry Johnson; C Elmore Spencer
Louisville starters: PG Peyton Siva; SG Russ Smith; SF Wayne Blackshear; PF Chane Behanan; C Gorgui Dieng

UNLV wasted no time. They hit a FG in the first 10 seconds and then dropped in a 3 on their 2nd possession of the game. 4-1/2 minutes into the game, the Runnin’ Rebels were up 10-2. The Cardinals couldn’t crack UNLV’s defense and were trailing by 17 points before UNLV’s offense went ice cold in the final 5 minutes of the half which allowed Louisville to reduce the lead to 33-25 at halftime. UNLV hit 37% of their FG’s while Louisville put in just 28% of their shots.

Defense continued to dominate early in the 2nd half as each team could score but 2 points in the first 3-1/2 minutes. But then UNLV got their offense going while continuing to disrupt the Cardinals’ offense and ballooned their lead to 26 points midway through the half. The Runnin’ Rebels relaxed their defense at that point, but still held Louisville off to record a lopsided 76-57 win. UNLV won by outshooting the Cardinals 47% to 31% (and 60% to 22% on 3’s).

Stacey Augmon scored 19 plus had 8 boards and 2 blocks while Larry Johnson had 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals. Other Runnin’ Rebels scoring in double figures were: H. Waldman with 14 points (plus 4 steals) and Greg Anthony who scored 13 and had 3 assists. Louisville was led by Russ Smith’s 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals while Chanel Behanan scored 10 and Peyton Siva added 9 points.

Coach Jerry Tarkanian of UNLV said, “Everybody thought we were just offense, but we showed tonight that our D can win games as well.”

[PointGuard]

Round 3 (Sweet 16)

West

#2 Arizona Wildcats (1997) vs #6 Loyola Marymount Lions (1990)

“After watching the Lions annihilate their opposition with an awesome offense led by the amazing Hank Gathers, I doubt anyone wants to go up against that buzzsaw. But you have to take on all-comers to win this tournament and my guys relish the challenge,” said Arizona coach Lute Olson.

Records thus far:

Arizona (1997)—77, Saint Mary’s (2017)—69
Arizona (1997)—81, Arkansas (1994)—63
Loyola Marymount (1990)—114, Kansas State (1988)—82
Loyola Marymount (1990)—102, Michigan State (2000)—73

Arizona starters: PG Mike Bibby; SG Miles Simon; SF Eugene Edgerson; PF A.J. Bramlett; C Donnell Harris
Loyola Marymount starters: PG Terrell Lowery; SG Jeff Fryer; SF Bo Kimble; PF Chris Scott; C Hank Gathers

Arizona hit 11 of their first 13 FG’s and all 5 of their FT’s to go ahead 29-17 and got 2 fouls called against Hank Gathers. The half ended with the Wildcats on top 52-41. Both teams hit 59% of their FG’s. But the difference was that the Lions made 12 turnovers and that Hank Gathers was limited to playing just 12 minutes during which he scored 8 points but picked up 3 fouls. In addition the Wildcats’ bench outscored the Lions bench 18-5. Leading the charge for Arizona was Miles Simon who pumped in 19 points. For Loyola Marymount Bo Kimble! put in 16 points.

Loyola Marymount started the 2nd half with an 8-1 run that cut the Wildcats’ led to 4 points with 18:12 to play. But Arizona re-established their 11 point lead within the next 90 seconds. Nearly single-handedly Bo Kimble led the Lions to claw their way back to trail 85-84 with 5 minutes to go. Then, even though he was playing sporadically due to having 4 fouls, Hank Gathers jammed down a monstrous dunk to put Loyola Marymount ahead 86-85 with 4:46 left. Kimble then scored 5 straight points and Gathers added a nice finger roll to put the Lions ahead by 9 with 1:42 remaining. Loyola Marymount continued their late onslaught to bury Arizona 104-91. An amazing comeback win by the high-scoring Lions! The Lions did it by knocking down 60% of their FG’s (and 62% of their 3’s) plus turning around the turnovers in the 2nd half to finish with 20 but force Arizona to make 21 (two-thirds of those in the 2nd half).

But the real hero for the Lions was Bo Kimble, who with Hank Gathers forced to sit on the bench 18 minutes, scored 40 points and had 8 rebound, 2 assists and 2 steals. In Gathers’ limited time in the game, he scored 15 and had 5 boards, 3 assists, 4 steals and a block. Jeff Fryer also scored 15 and Terrell Lowery had 11 points, 12 assists, and 3 steals for Loyola Marymount. Arizona’s top scorer was Miles Simon with 29 points (and he also had 3 assists and 2 steals), Mike Bibby and Michael Dickerson both scored 13, Bennett Davison scored 12 and had 5 rebounds, and Donnell Harris had 10 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

“We had our hands full in this game. The Wildcats came out blazing hot and stayed that way much of the game. But our guys just refused to lose and came on so strongly in the final 7 or 8 minutes. It was like an escape by Houdini. I’m still shocked we were able to score 63 points in the 2nd half against a team as talented as Arizona. Even with Hank (Gathers) in foul trouble the entire game, Bo (Kimble) showed that we aren’t a one-man band. Bo carried our team on his back the entire way,” said Lions coach Paul Westhead.