Wayne Chism and No. 6 Tennessee took care of No. 2 Ohio State 76-73 Friday night. Sunday afternoon, they get No. 5 Michigan State in the midwest regional final.
By Jon Harris
Throughout this tournament, cinderellas have ruled. The Elite 8, however, is comprised of some of the most recognizable college basketball teams in the country. No. 1 seeds Duke and Kentucky remain and the lowest remaining seed is No. 6 Tennessee, who is not by any standard, a cinderella. On Sunday, four of those teams will lock in battle for a spot in the Final Four and a chance to play for a national championship. Following an impressive victory over Ohio State, Tennessee gets Michigan State. For the Spartans, they’ll have to pull off the victory without star junior guard Kalin Lucas. The late tip on Sunday is reserved for No. 3 Baylor and No. 1 Duke. After the Bears obliterated Saint Mary’s (Remember how I picked Saint Mary’s? Yeah, my bad.), the Blue Devils followed it up with an impressive second half versus Purdue to grab the victory 70-57.
Midwest Region
#5 Michigan State (27-8) v. #6 Tennessee (28-8)
St. Louis, MO 2:20 p.m. on CBS
Just when I think Michigan State won’t make it to the Elite 8, they make the Elite 8. Tom Izzo and his Spartans have made it to the Elite 8 in six of the past twelve seasons, including a national championship loss last year to North Carolina and a national championship victory in 2000 versus Florida. They seem mediocre at best until the tournament. Coach Izzo is an absolute mastermind in the Big Dance, as he orchestrated a win versus cinderella Northern Iowa without his star player, Kalin Lucas. The Spartans also had a stellar performance from Lucas’ replacement, Korie Lucious. He scored 10 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, had 4 steals and 4 assists against Northern Iowa in 39 minutes of work. Junior guard Durrell Summers also stepped up big, scoring 19 points, eclipsing his season scoring average of 10.9 points per game. If Michigan State is going to beat the Volunteers, they will need a great effort out of 6-foot-8 senior forward Raymar Morgan. Tennessee is a great rebounding team, averaging nearly 37 per game, including 12 offensive rebounds per game, which aides their points-in-the-paint scoring scheme. Will they win the inside battle and defeat the Volunteers?
Absolutely … not. They’ll be about even with Tennessee in the rebounding battle, as the Spartans average 39 rebounds per game, but they’ll ultimately lose the game. Even if Kansas had made it to the Elite 8 to play Tennessee, I would probably take Bruce Pearl’s team, since they beat the Jayhawks in January 76-68. The Volunteers, however, are playing Michigan State, who is nearly identical statistically. Their records are nearly the same as Tennessee just has one more victory. By points, the Spartans average 72.5 points per game offensively and hold their opponents to 64 points per game. Tennessee similarly allows 65.1 points per game and forces 73.6. Coming off of the big victory over Player of the Year Evan Turner and Ohio State, Tennessee is rolling and looking like it could be the best team on the left side of the bracket (Butler and Kansas State are in the west region). Look for Wayne Chism, coming off of a game-high 22 points versus Ohio State, to help the Volunteers move by Tom Izzo’s Spartans.
Prediction:
Michigan State: 66 Tennessee: 75
South Region
#1 Duke (32-5) v. #3 Baylor (28-7)
Houston, TX 5:05 p.m. on CBS
With Kentucky going down on Saturday to West Virginia, the Blue Devils are looking to become the only No. 1 seed to advance to this year’s Final Four. This is the first time since 2004 that Coach K’s team has made it to the regional finals and they are looking to continue their run and earn a date with West Virginia from the east region. Can they do it? Absolutely. The big three, correction, big four on Duke’s roster have led them throughout the NCAA Tournament. The fourth member of the lethal combination is senior 7-foot-1 center Brian Zoubek, who is averaging 8.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Add him to the big three of Jon Scheyer (18.1 pts/game), Kyle Singler (17.9 pts/game) and Nolan Smith (17.1 pts/game), and you have a solid chance of beating No. 3 Baylor.
For Duke to beat the Bears, they must slow down guard LaceDarius Dunn and forward Ekpe Udoh. Udoh is averaging nearly 10 rebounds and 4 blocks per game, while Dunn averages 19.5 points per game. He’s a dangerous outside shooter, making 43 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. The incredible length held by Baylor could be the difference maker in this game. With two forwards that are 6-foot-10 and a 7-footer in their arsenal, Baylor holds opponents to 65.1 points per game in their smothering zone defense. Lucky for the Bears, Duke is even better on defense, allowing only 60.9 points per game. The deciding factor could come from the location of this game: Houston, Texas. It’s a home game for Baylor and their home record is near perfect at 15-1. Watch out Duke, the Bears might just delay your championship hopes for even longer (Blue Devils last won the National Championship in 2001).
Prediction:
Duke: 72 Baylor: 65
