Charlotte Pod Recap, Round of 32
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With two great games on tab for Sunday in Charlotte, the stage was set for two teams to advance to the Sweet 16 and keep their national championship dreams alive. Duke, San Diego State, Michigan State, and Virginia looked to keep surviving and advancing to dance on in the Madness that is March.
The first game of the day in North Carolina was a showdown between red-hot Michigan State Spartans and the University of Virginia Cavaliers. After a first-round resurgence by Justin Anderson, Virginia, led by ACC Coach of the Year Tony Bennett, looked primed for a deep run into the tournament. Michigan State played a tough first-round game against Georgia but ultimately proved too much for the Bulldogs.
Before the game, former Michigan State standout and current NBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate Draymond Green sent senior guard Travis Trice a text message that read:
“Don’t let this be your last game.”
Trice confidently responded, “It won’t.”
From the tip, Virginia grabbed the first bucket, a London Perrantes jumper, and held their only lead of the game for 18 seconds before Branden Dawson tied it up. Trice hit three early shots from behind the arc, and added a nice dunk and layup to give his team an early 15-4 lead.
Despite being a close game, Michigan State would never relinquish the lead. The 13 early points by Trice powered the Spartans to a 20-11 lead, the largest of the game. Virginia, with its stingy defense, would not back down and constantly cut the deficit down to 5, or even 2, but never could make a run to get back into the lead.
HIGHLIGHT: Block leads to a boom for Michigan State! http://t.co/Cs0lVjzwB7
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 22, 2015
A telling stat of the game was the halftime score, as Michigan State led 23-18. Your eyes do not deceive you, and yes, this was in fact a basketball game. The Spartan defense was just tougher than that of the 2nd-best defense in the nation on Sunday. The game would end with a free-throw show for the Spartans who would go on to win 60-54. Trice finished with 23 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Dawson added 15 points and 9 rebounds.
Virginia’s only real factors in this game were Darion Atkins who put up 10 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks; and Anthony Gill who finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds.
Michigan State advances to take on Oklahoma in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York on Friday.
The second game of the day featured Duke, the number 1 seed in the South, battling San Diego State, who possesses the 4th -ranked defense in the nation. A quick look at Duke and some of their trends this year reveals that they should be heavily favored in games against defensive teams and for good reason: Virginia, ranked second in the nation in defense were beaten at home by 6. Wisconsin? Duke won by 10 in Madison. Louisville? Duke won by 11 in the KFC YUM! Center. You get the point. Defensive teams just seem to be what Duke is most comfortable dismantling, and nothing would change Sunday.
This game was all Duke from the start as they pounced early and jumped out to an early 8-0 lead. The Blue Devils ended up holding the Aztecs scoreless for the first 4:39 of the game. Even after a tip-in by SDSU star J.J. O’Brien, Duke kept the foot on the gas and extended their lead to 18 by the under-4 media timeout.
Two of the Blue Devils’ great freshman class stood out in just their 2nd career Tournament game: Justise Winslow and Jahlil Okafor were easily the two best players in the gym on Sunday and they just went to work on San Diego State for 40 minutes. Before the game, Okafor was quoted saying “If they are going to double team me, they are going to pay.”
As it turned out, he was absolutely correct. The Aztecs brought the double team at every point they could if Okafor got a touch in the post. All he did was calmly survey the floor and find shooters. On one occasion, Okafor caught the ball on the low block, received an immediate double team, dribbled out of it, faced up, and then beat his man off the dribble from the three-point line, finishing the play with a touch floater on the baseline. Poetry in motion.
Okafor would finish his dominant performance with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks.
HIGHLIGHT: Pass, pass, DUNK! http://t.co/H7R9zJgfte — NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 22, 2015
Winslow, his running mate, was just as good. Winslow recorded his 2nd “zero-zero” of the season, recording at least 1 stat in every stat column of the season and, and he was everywhere. He drained a three-point shot on an Okafor kick-out from a double team, grabbed rebounds, and led one-man breaks in transition, going coast-to-coast by himself or dishing off to teammates.
One play in particular saw Winslow embarrass poor J.J. O’Brien on what was an open layup until the “Justise League” came flying through the air and sent O’Brien’s shot to parts unknown. The superhero would end the game with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks.
The Blue Devils simply dominated the Aztecs in every facet of the game, and their defense has begun to flex its muscle. SDSU had only one player in double figures, forward Winston Shepard. The final buzzer would sound, and Duke advanced with a comfortable 68-49 win.
Duke will face 5th seeded Utah in Houston on Friday.