WASHINGTON — Breaking down Sunday’s East Region Elite Eight game between No. 2 Michigan State basketball and No. 1 Duke in the 2019 NCAA tournament:
Records: No. 2 seed Michigan State (31-6, 16-4 Big Ten); No. 1 Duke (32-6, 14-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Fast facts: 5:05 p.m. Sunday (CBS), at Capital One Center, Washington, D.C. Winner plays next Saturday in the Final Four in Minneapolis against the West Region winner of Gonzaga vs. Texas Tech.
Windsor: Aaron Henry starting to look like a pro — just in time for Duke
About MSU
Tournament record: 68-31, 32 years (last Elite Eight, 2015).
Scoring: Team (78.5 ppg); Cassius Winston (18.8); Nick Ward (13.4); Matt McQuaid (9.8); Xavier Tillman (9.8); Kenny Goins (8.1); Aaron Henry (6.0).
Rebounds: Team (40.9); Goins (9.0); Tillman (7.2); Ward (6.2); Henry (3.9); Winston (3.1).
Assists/turnovers: Team (18.7/12.8); Winston (7.5/2.9); Goins (2.3/1.5); McQuaid (2.1/0.9); Henry (1.5/1.5).
3-pointers: Team (.382); Winston (80); McQuaid (69); Goins (54); Kyle Ahrens (20); Henry (14); Gabe Brown (16).
Last 10: 9-1.
[ Big Ten fanatics, check out our free Best of the Big Ten newsletter! Subscribe here. ]
Overview: MSU continued to show its resiliency in the second half of Friday’s 80-63 victory over LSU. After the Tigers cut the Spartans’ lead from 17 to four early in the second half, they responded with a 16-5 run. Then when LSU pared that deficit to nine points, MSU ripped off a 10-2 knockout punch to close the game’s final 2:56. The final rebounding total of 41-34 does not paint the full picture of how well the Spartans dominated the boards for most of the game by boxing out the Tigers. Freshmen Aaron Henry and Gabe Brown combined for 35 points to help offset slow scoring nights for seniors Matt McQuaid and Kenny Goins, who each had six points. Junior point guard Cassius Winston committed five of MSU’s seven turnovers in the game, but he also scored 17 points and drained three of the Spartans’ 13 3-pointers. Nick Ward suffered a deep bone bruise on his surgically repaired left hand and was not allowed by MSU trainers to go back in to Friday’s win. His status for Sunday is unknown, though he said he plans to play. MSU coach Tom Izzo is 1-11 vs. Duke, with the lone win in the 2005 NCAA tournament Sweet 16.
Solari: MSU's date with Duke a long-awaited showdown for Final Four berth
About Duke
Tournament record: 114-37, 43 years (last Elite Eight, 2018).
Scoring: Team (83.1 ppg); RJ Barrett (22.7); Zion Williamson (22.6); Cam Reddish (13.6); Tre Jones (9.5); Marques Bolden (5.4); Alex O’Connell (4.5).
Rebounds: Team (41.2); Williamson (8.7); Barrett (7.6); Jack White (4.9); Javin DeLaurier (4.2); Bolden (4.5); Reddish (3.7); Jones (3.7).
Assists/turnovers: Team (16.0/12.7); Jones (5.3/1.5); Barrett (4.3/3.1); Williamson (2.1/2.3); Reddish (2.0/2.7),
3-pointers: Team (.307); Reddish (87); Barrett (70); O’Connell (30); White (27); Jones (27); Williamson (22).
Last 10: 8-2.
Overview: The Blue Devils escaped Virginia Tech for a 75-73 victory in Friday’s Sweet 16, their second straight one-possession win aided by a last-second miss (they beat UCF 77-76 in the second round). Duke is a young group led by national player of the year candidate Zion Williamson, a 6-foot-7, 285-pound freshman who can do otherworldly things — scoring, rebounding, soaring for alley-oops and swooping in to block shots. But he’s not a one-man rookie wrecking crew, as 6-7 wing Barrett and 6-2 point guard Jones combined for 40 points to go with Williamson’s 23 in the win over the Hokies. Fellow 6-8 freshman Cam Reddish (knee) sat out, and his status for Sunday is unknown, but Duke has a significant amount of size off the bench — nine players 6-7 or taller, including four 6-10 or above — to throw at the Spartans, who are using a three-man post rotation and have limited numbers on the wing due to injuries. However, coach Mike Krzyzewski used mainly six guys against Virginia Tech, none of whom were seniors.
[ Duke's belief in itself helping Blue Devils through thrilling tournament run ]
Pick: Duke 79, MSU 76
The Spartans can get to the Final Four. The Blue Devils are beatable. It might take a career game from McQuaid and Goins to do it. But MSU lacks the interior depth to stop Williamson and Duke’s other weapons all at once, with Krzyzewski once again eking past Izzo and ending the Spartans’ season.
[ Lessons from the MSU team that beat Duke: 'You just have to play fearless' ]
Contact Chris Solari at csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2019/03/30/michigan-state-basketball-duke-blue-devils-prediction/3319685002/
2019-03-30 18:33:34Z
52780252314813
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar