If Michigan beats OR in the Sweet 16, it’ll likely face Kansas in the Elite Eight.
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9 Duke’s dream of a ideal home season and a return trip to the Sweet 16 on Monday night. When the Ducks shoot well, they are virtually unstoppable.
“All these players, even those who haven’t been coached by Coach Kelly [Graves] but have been a part of the program, are so excited for this team”, Alleyne said. Those people are not Dillon Brooks. They have to guard us. “I want to do something for him and for this team as well”. Against Louisville, forward Moritz Wagner took over.
Former Michigan linebacker Joe Bolden is joining the Washington State football coaching staff, CougCenter notes.
DID YOU KNOW: Michigan is 4-0 all-time against Oregon.
The Wolverines shot 46 percent from the field and 79 percent at the charity stripe.
But again, MI is approaching the end of its road.
During that seven minute stretch, OR was outscored 27-8.
“I like it”, said MI coach John Beilein, whose head coaching career began before the shot clock or the 3-point line existed in college. “It’s tough losing a game where you had all the keys to win and you just didn’t lock in and focus”. The Wolverines won the most recent meeting 70-63 in a Thanksgiving tournament in 2014. “Just the way he brings intensity and energy to his team”, Wagner said. Against Oklahoma State he scored 19 points, hauled down five rebounds and blocked four shots. He missed two with the game tied in the final minutes on Sunday. He concluded 6-for-14 from the floor and 1-for-2 from deep.
Jordan Bell is a load inside.
Check out the Associated Press recap of Stanford blowing out Kansas State 69-48 in Manhattan, Kansas, because the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships were held at Maples Pavilion.
“I have been able to monitor Derrick and Zak”, Beilein said.
Purdue coach Matt Painter calls Swanigan, a 6-foot-9 forward, a “poster child for today’s player in terms of going to the draft, listening to what National Basketball Association people do and then improving on the things that National Basketball Association people told him he needs to improve on”. If those two get hot, watch out. He is looking to make a bigger impact this time around.
But Duke could only manage four free throws – two by Brown and two by Crystal Primm – during that stretch to cut the OR lead to 28-26. His lone score of the game bought down the house at the Barclay’s Center.
OR is now the 20th best team in defensive efficiency (per teamrankings.com), which has a lot to do with 6-10 power forward Chris Boucher who averaged 2.5 blocks per game this season.
After the Blue Devils gave up 77 points in an early-season loss to Vanderbilt, one wondered whether Duke’s defense would improve enough to make the team an ACC contender.
OR isn’t a great free-throw shooting team, making just 70 percent of its attempts this season (169th). The Ducks recorded 20 assists on 26 made field goals, with Sabrina Ionescu and Cazorla leading the way with six assists each.
The Wolverines finished 16-for-29 from beyond the arc, including a blistering 11-for-15 in the second half. He could play a pivotal role in Thursday’s tilt. He wasn’t almost as active as he is now, registering three shots in 24 minutes.
Next up for OR is No. 3 seed Maryland, who has won their first two games of the tournament by an average of 34 points.
MI is looking to keep its cinderella run going while OR is hoping to make it back to the Elite Eight for the second straight season. OR had to fly across the country and play in Durham, North Carolina for the first two rounds of the tournament.
My money is on the “underdog” Ducks.
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Combined with D.J. Wilson, Wagner gives MI scoring might on the interior that Oregon’s less equipped to defend now that Boucher is out. The game is scheduled for a 7:09 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on CBS.
