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For Jon Teitel’s interview with Duke Cheerleading Social Media Coordinator Taylor Lipsich – CLICK HERE
For today’s UTR News, Notes and CIT Preview – CLICK HERE
Despite getting into early foul trouble and into an 11-point deficit at halftime, Florida State looked like they just might pull off an upset over Gonzaga for the second straight season in the tournament. They got as close as 4 points with 4 minutes remaining following a free throw by Trent Forrest, but a 12-2 run by Gonzaga shut the door on the Noles and Gonzaga ended up with a 72-58 win to advance to the Elite 8 for the 3rd time in 5 seasons (and 4th time overall in program history). They’ll face Texas Tech on Saturday – the Red Raiders held Michigan to a season-low 44 points in their victory last night. The other stat of the night was the Wolverines’ inability to hit from the perimeter; they were 1-of-19 from behind the 3-point arc.
Tennessee actually took the reverse approach from their first two games in the NCAA Tournament; this time they found themselves in a big hole against Purdue and trailed by 17 with 16 minutes to play in the game. A 19-2 run by the Vols put Tennessee up midway through the second half, but an odd mix of hot 3-point shooting by both teams and poor free throw shooting eventually sent the game into overtime before Purdue finally pulled away with a 99-94 victory. This is the first time since 2000 that the Boilers advanced to the Elite 8; now they will seek their first Final Four since 1980.
Their opponent will be the Virginia Cavaliers – UVa had multiple scoring droughts throughout the game, and found themselves tied with Oregon late in the game before Ty Jerome hit a 3 that put the Cavaliers ahead for good. Oregon only managed four free throws in the final 5 minutes of the game as Virginia ended up winning 53-49. They move on to their first Elite 8 appearance since 2016 and will be seeking their first Final Four appearance since 1984.
EAST REGIONAL
(3) LOUISIANA STATE VS (2) MICHIGAN STATE (7:09 PM, CBS) – While Michigan State did have a brief scare in their opener against Bradley last week, they breezed past Minnesota last Saturday and must now face the regular season champion out of the SEC. LSU led Maryland for most of their game last Saturday, but it took a game-winning drive by Tremont Waters to finally finish off the Terps and advance to the program’s first Sweet 16 since 2006.
(4) VIRGINIA TECH VS (1) DUKE (approx. 9:39 PM, CBS) – This could actually be a de facto road game for Duke tonight given the large amount of alumni that Virginia Tech has in the DC area, but it is worth noting that Virginia Tech did beat Duke at home earlier this year when Zion Williamson was out with an injury for the Blue Devils. Nonetheless, Duke did survive a major scare against Central Florida last Sunday when a couple of potential game-winning shots rimmed out for the Knights.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
(5) AUBURN VS (1) NORTH CAROLINA (7:29 PM, TBS) – It took a while for Auburn to jell this year, but they are the hottest team out of a loaded SEC right now and are playing every bit like the national contender that they were expected to be. They did survive a scare against New Mexico State, but smashed Kansas in their last game. North Carolina also has played three straight halves of quality basketball after actually trailing Iona at halftime in their tournament opener.
(3) HOUSTON VS (2) KENTUCKY (approx. 9:59 PM, TBS) – Off the court, there is rising speculation that Kelvin Sampson might already have one foot out the door on his way to Arkansas after Houston’s season is over. On the court, the Cougars have rode stifling defense to easy victories against Georgia State and Ohio State. Kentucky also rode some stifling defense of their own against Wofford/Fletcher Magee to survive a potential upset bid against themselves. All indications are that PJ Washington will be a game time decision for Kentucky tonight as to whether or not he plays, so it may be fortuitous that the Wildcats play in the last game tonight.