OFF TO THE SWEET 16
Wildcat rookies create NCAA hoopla
INDIANAPOLIS Bam Adebayo timed it perfectly, slapping the shot away with his right hand less than a second before the buzzer sounded. For the 13th game in a row, Kentucky’s fabulous freshmen had their hands all over another win.
Wham, Bam, move on ’Cats, right into the Sweet 16.
The youngest team in March Madness grew up in the closing minutes on Sunday and sent the Wichita State Shockers to yet another second-round heartbreak, 65-62 in the NCAA Tournament.
“They’re young, but they have a will to win and play with courage and are skilled basketball players and great kids who share,” coach John Calipari said.
The freshman trio made all of the significant plays in the final minutes.
De’Aaron Fox had 14 points, including a late steal and dunk. Malik Monk blocked a shot and made two free throws in the final 13 seconds. Adebayo had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and he finished it off by swatting away Landry Shamet’s three-point attempt as it left his hand with less than a second left.
“He pump-faked, and I knew he had to shoot it so I just went up and tried to block it,” Adebayo said. As simple as that. The Kentucky Wildcats (31-5) moved into the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in nine years. The Shockers (31-5) were wiping away tears after another crushing second-round loss.
It felt familiar. Three years ago, Wichita State was 35-0 when it lost to Kentucky 78-76 in the second round, crestfallen after Fred Van Vleet’s three-pointer missed at the buzzer. This time, their attempt at a tying three never had a chance. Shamet finished with 20 points.
Coach Gregg Marshall thought the Shockers were slighted when they got a No. 10 seed. He wasn’t sure what fans would make of another close call against the eighttime national champions.
“How many years do we have to do this to make people respect our program? I don’t know,” Marshall said. “I know that we have the heart of a champion.”
KANSAS 90 MICHIGAN ST. 70
TULSA, OKLA. Josh Jackson scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half to help Kansas pull away late and reach the Sweet 16 for a second straight year with a 90-70 victory over Michigan State on Sunday.
Frank Mason III added 20 points for the top-seeded Jayhawks (30-4), who have advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in nine of coach Bill Self’s 14 seasons.
Devonte’ Graham added 18 points and Landen Lucas had 10 for the Jayhawks, who shot 53.1 per cent (34 of 64) in the win.
Miles Bridges scored 22 points to lead Michigan State (20-15) despite leaving briefly in the first half with an injury. Nick Ward also finished in double figures with 13 points and Joshua Langford had 10 for the Spartans.
MICHIGAN 73, LOUISVILLE 69
INDIANAPOLIS Moe Wagner scored a career-high 26 points and spurred a furious second-half rally to send Michigan past second-seeded Louisville 73-69 on Sunday and into the Sweet 16.
The seventh-seeded Wolverines (26-11) have won seven straight — six since a plane mishap before the Big Ten Tournament. They also earned a ticket to the Midwest Regional in Kansas City, Mo. — their first since 2014.
Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points and Deng Adel had 16 points to lead the Louisville Cardinals (25-9), which had made the Sweet16 in their last four NCAA Tournament appearances.
But Wagner bailed out the Wolverines from a poor game.
Trailing 45-36 with 16:09 to play, the sophomore from Berlin scored on a layup to start a 17-6 run that gave Michigan its first lead since the opening minutes. And after Wagner’s three-pointer broke a 55-55 tie with 6:39 to go, the Wolverines led the rest of the way.
OREGON 75 RHODE ISLAND 72
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. Tyler Dorsey hit a contested go-ahead threepointer from the top of the arc with 38.4 seconds to play, E.C. Matthews airballed a long three in the waning moments trying to force overtime and third-seeded Oregon rallied in the second half to beat upstart No. 11 Rhode Island (25-10) by a 75-72 score Sunday.
Dorsey also tied the game with a three with 1:45 remaining before Dillon Brooks, of Mississauga, Ont., took a charge on the other end for Oregon (31-5). With the season on the brink, Brooks found his stroke and scored 19 points.