(AP Photo/Matt Rourke). North Carolina’s Justin Jackson shoots as Indiana’s Ryan Burton defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the regional semifinals of the men’s NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 25, 2016, in Philadelphia.
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Notre Dame came out on top because of it.
Notre Dame lost to Kentucky a year ago.
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh). Koenig (13.3 points) ended a three-game slide in which he totaled 21 points on 7-of-32 from the field by scoring 20 on 6-of-15 shooting – including 6-of-12 beyond the arc – versus the Musketeers.
The most compelling game of the night is North Carolina and Indiana. London Perrantes had an uncharacteristically sloppy game the last time these two teams met, giving up 7 turnovers. The Cavs can lock down teams and they can score in a shootout. If the Ducks can take care of the ball and get a few fast-break opportunities courtesy of Oklahoma carelessness, that could be the difference. Could the 11-seed Bulldogs continue through the tournament? They’re one of the tournament’s most complete teams. Villanova is shooting almost 60 percent from the field in the tournament.
The Villanova Wildcats keep looking for a better shot, not content with simply a good look at the basket. The Cavaliers contended for their third straight regular-season crown in the high-powered conference while the Orange finished ninth and squeaked into the NCAA Tournament, but both are a win away from joining a league mate in North Carolina or Notre Dame – who play later in the evening – in the Final Four.
OR expects to get Hield’s best. “And it feels great to do that”.
Though his Texas A&M Final Four pick is ruined from Thursday, Obama still has Kansas as his eventual champion. Play him 30-some minutes. Doesn’t surprise me at all to see UVA, Notre Dame, us advancing as far as we have.
SO LOOSE: Gonzaga players were laughing and having some fun at the podium during their news conference. “Top to bottom, we had some really competitive games…. Like (Kyle Dranginis) KD said, we weren’t even supposed to be here”, McClellan said. The NCAA Tournament has only once sent all four No. 1 seeds to the Final Four, in 2008 when Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, UCLA advanced and the Jayhawks topped the Tigers for the national championship. The Virginia Cavaliers are, bar none, the best defensive team in the entire country.
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“I give these guys an unbelievable amount of credit”, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. Notre Dame are more talented and experienced on paper, counting on Zach Auguste (13 points, 13.5 rebounds in the tournament) and V.J. Beachem to use their advantage in the paint against a Badgers team that lacks a real big man. Getting Ethan Happ in early foul trouble could go a long way for the Fighting Irish, who don’t want this to become another close game with a slow pace and plenty of mistakes, which suits Wisconsin perfectly.
