Michigan St

Thanks to four players finishing in double figures and another grabbing twelve rebounds, the Tennessee Volunteers are headed to their first-ever Elite 8. Wayne Chism led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds (18 pts in the second half) and Brian Williams added 12 rebounds as the Vols dominated the glass 41-29, grabbing 20 offensive rebounds in their 76-73 win over two-seed Ohio State in St. Louis. Evan Turner scored 31 points to lead the Big Ten Tournament champions but outside of William Buford (15 points) no other Buckeye reached double figures.

#5 Michigan St Spartans

Up 65-50 with 12:42 remaining following a Durrell Summers three pointer, Michigan State looked to be a safe bet to advance to the Sweet 16, despite losing starting point guard Kalin Lucas to an apparent Achilles' tendon injury. But the turnovers, nineteen in total, began to catch up with the Spartans as Maryland made their furious charge back into the game. Thanks in large part to senior Greivis Vasquez the Terps held an 83-82 lead with seven seconds remaining as Vasquez knocked down a driving basket.

Even though many acknowledged that the Cornell Big Red were underseeded in the aftermath of Selection Sunday, it was still a toss-up in regards to whether or not they would beat Temple. But in a game matching mentor (Fran Dunphy) and one-time assistant (Steve Donahue), it was Coach Donahue's team that took control of the game for good in the second half via the three-point shot (Ryan Wittman) on their way to the 78-65 win in Jacksonville.

It’s come to be expected that when a team is named the top overall seed for the NCAA Tournament they’ll receive a favorable draw in regards to the other seeds in their region. No such luck for the Big 12 Champion Kansas Jayhawks, who will begin their run at a second national title in three years against Lehigh. At least Bill Self’s team was taken care of in regards to travel; should open in Oklahoma City, and would head to St Louis should they reach the Sweet Sixteen.

Michigan State Spartans

Big Ten Conference (24-8, 14-4)

 

With four clear-cut big-dancers, the Big Ten oozes front-end quality.  But with lower-seeded teams providing late season scares to perennial powers – see Michigan State barely escaping Penn State in East Lansing last week - look for some drama to unfold this Thursday thru Sunday in Indianapolis.

 

Illinois

Michigan St

Ohio St

Purdue

Wisconsin

Other (Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn St)

Illinois (9-4, at Purdue, at Ohio St)

Michigan St (10-3, vs Ohio St, at Purdue)

Ohio St (10-3, vs Purdue, at Michigan St)

Purdue (9-3, at Ohio St, vs Michigan St)

Wisconsin (9-4, at Minnesota, at Illinois)