At this point in Tom Izzo’s career it doesn’t really matter what seed his Spartans get. They could be a 2 or, as we’ve seen this year, a 7, and a deep tournament run is pretty much a given for them. With its 60-54 win Sunday over No. 2 seeded Virginia, Michigan State advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year and seventh time in eight seasons. Not bad for a team that lost 11 games this year and at one point looked as if it might not even make it to March.
NCAA Tournament scores 2015: Michigan State making another deep March run
You can pretty much count on Michigan State to be playing deep into the NCAA Tournament no matter how the Spartans performed during the regular season or what seed the selection committee assigned them.
This also marked the the second straight year in which the Spartans knocked the Cavaliers out of the NCAA Tournament. Virginia, who finishes the season at 30-4, was held to just 29.8 percent shooting and connected on only two of its 17 attempts from beyond the arc. The Cavaliers held just one lead all game -- after they scored the contest's first basket -- and had no answer for Spartans senior guard Travis Trice, who scored a game-high 23 points.
Michigan State will now face Oklahoma, the No. 3 seed in the East, Friday night. That Michigan State is actually favored by 2.5 points shows that the seeds assigned by the selection committee no longer matter. There are only 16 teams left. The one being led by Tom Izzo has as good a shot as any of making the Final Four.
No. 1 Wisconsin 72, No. 8 Oregon 65 (West)
For the second straight year Wisconsin was able to eliminate Oregon. Now the Badgers find themselves just two wins away from advancing to their second straight Final Four. Tom Izzo might get most of the publicity this week, but the job that Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan has done shouldn’t go unnoticed. His Badgers will be playing in their seventh Sweet 16 since 2003. Not a bad for a guy who used to coach Division III.
As for the game, well, it was far from a typical Wisconsin one. The team's offense, usually efficient and precise, struggled mightily. The Badgers hit just 16 of 23 shots from behind the three-point line and finished the game shooting 43 percent, their worst output in more than a month. But Wisconsin got big shots when it needed them, particularly from Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky, and pulled away late in the second half after Oregon, who was led by Joseph Young's 30 points, had tied the game at 52 with 5:56 left to play.
Dekker finished with a team-high 17 points, while Kaminsky had 16 had seven rebounds. Wisconsin will face No. 4 North Carolina Thursday in Los Angeles.
No. 3 Oklahoma 72, No. 11 Dayton 66 (East)
Dayton hung around for a while, which is really more than anyone could have expected from the Flyers. But Oklahoma was just too big and too deep and kept Dayton from pulling off its second upset of the weekend.
Dayton did get off to a fast start and led 49-46 at the half. But a 23-10 Oklahoma run over the game's final 10 minutes helped Lon Kruger's crew advance to the Sweet 16, becoming the fourth school that Kruger has coached to do so (Kansas State, Florida and UNLV are the other ones). The Sooners were led by sophomore guard Jordan Woodard, who scored 16 points off the bench.
Oklahoma, who is the highest seed remaining in the East, will face No. 7 Michigan State on Friday.
No. 7 Wichita State 78, No. 2 Kansas 65 (Midwest)
For years Wichita State has been trying to get Kansas to play them, and for years the Jayhawks have said no. After Sunday’s game between the two teams, and neighbors, the first since 1993, we now know why. Wichita State, who had five players score in double figures and who was led by Fred VanVleet’s 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steal effort, controlled the game early before building a double-digit lead in the second half. This is the second time in three years that Wichita State has advanced to the Sweet 16.
That odd year out came during last year's tournament, and was a result of a second round loss to the No. 9 seed and Final Four-bound Kentucky Wildcats. If the Shockers win their Thursday game against No. 3 Notre Dame, they'll likely get another shot at John Calipari's crew.
No. 6 Louisville 66, No. 5 Northern Iowa 53 (East)
The craziness in the East bracket continued on Sunday as No. 6 Louisville, a team many had predicted would fall in the first round to UC-Irvine, knocked off No. 5 Northern Iowa to advance to Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year. The lesson: don’t pick against Rick Pitino, who now looks like he might, somehow, be headed for a third straight Final Four.
Louisville’s next game will be Friday against No. 8 NC State. The winner of that game will face the winner of the Oklahoma and Michigan State matchup.
As for Sunday, Louisville played as well as it has all year. The team shot 45.8 percent from the field despite playing a Northern Iowa squad that had been riding its defense all season. Terry Rozier led the Cardinals with 25 points and 7 assists.
No. 2 Gonzaga 87, No. 8 Iowa 68 (South)
Gonzaga’s had a rough go of it in the NCAA Tournament over the past few years. The team that once used to pull off upsets became the one constantly getting upset. So Sunday’s easy blowout win over Iowa had to feel extra nice for head coach Mark Few, whose team advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time in five years.
Gonzaga won the game on the offensive end of the floor, where it shot a ridiculous 61.5 percent. This, despite facing an Iowa team that had been holding opponents to 39 percent shooting all season. Many of these baskets came in the paint, where the Bulldogs scored 40 points. Kyle Wiltjer, a transfer who played on Kentucky's 2010 national title team, led Gonzaga with 24 points.
The Bulldogs will face No. 11 UCLA on Friday. If they win they will advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1999.
No. 5 West Virginia 69, No. 4 Maryland 59 (Midwest)
This game was closer than the final score, but an inability to handle West Virginia's zone pressure cost Maryland a Sweet 16 birth. The Terrapins turned the ball over a season-high, astronomical 23 times. Senior guard Dez Wells "led" the way with eight, while Jake Layman had five and Melo Trimble added in three.
West Virginia will face Kentucky next, on Thursday. This will be the third time in the last six years that the two teams will meet in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 1 Duke 68, No. San Diego State 49 (South)
Freshman phenom Jahlil Okafor hit 12 of his 16 shots from the field and scored 26 points in 33 minutes to lead the Blue Devils back to the Sweet 16 after a one year absence. Okafor added in six rebounds, three blocks and two assists in a game that was over almost as soon as it begun.
Duke will next face No. 5 Utah. That game will be Friday night in Texas.
See More:
