Oregon ends Michigan’s inspired run
Tyler Dorsey scored 20 points and made the go- ahead layup with 1: 08 left, and third- seeded Oregon ended seventh- seeded Michigan’s dramatic postseason run with a 69- 68 victory Thursday in the semifinals of the Midwest Regional in Kansas City, Missouri.
Dorsey, the man the Ducks ( 32- 5) call ‘‘ Mr. March,’’ turned in his sixth consecutive game with 20 or more points.
The Wolverines ( 27- 11) had one more chance to extend their run after Oregon’s Dylan Ennis missed a free throw with 15 seconds left. But Derrick Walton, who had carried Michigan the last three weeks, was off with his long jumper just before the buzzer.
The Wolverines had won six consecutive games since their plane slid off the runway before their flight to the Big Ten tournament in Washington. Michigan proceeded to win four games in four days to win the conference tournament, then won its first two games in the NCAA tourney.
Jordan Bell had a double- double for the Ducks with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Pac- 12 player of the year Dillon Brooks added 12 points and Ennis 10 for Oregon, which is headed to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season.
Walton led the Wolverines with 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Zak Irvin scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, and D. J. Wilson added 12 points.
Kansas 98, Purdue 66
Frank Mason III and Devonte Graham each scored 26 points, and the top- seeded Jayhawks ( 31- 4) turned on the jets in the second half on their way to routing the fourthseeded Boilermakers ( 27- 8) in the semifinals of the Midwest Regional in Kansas City, Missouri.
Josh Jackson added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Kansas, which used a 22- 7 burst at the end of the first half to open a 47- 40 halftime lead, then used an 11- 0 run in the second half to turn a shaky 58- 54 edge into a comfortable 69- 54
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It only got worse from there for Purdue, which was led by Caleb Swanigan’s 18 points and seven rebounds.
Xavier 73, Arizona 71
Trevon Bluiett scored 25 points, former Benet star Sean O’Mara converted the tiebreaking basket with 44 seconds left and the 11thseeded Musketeers ( 24- 13) stunned the second- seeded Wildcats ( 32- 5) in the semifinals of the West Regional in San Jose, California.
Xavier stayed with Arizona behind Bluiett’s 18 first- half points and tracked down the Wildcats after they tried to pull away in the second half. O’Mara scored on a power move inside to give the Musketeers the lead, but he missed a free throw with 27 seconds left to give Arizona a final chance.
The Wildcats’ Allonzo Trier missed a three- pointer in the closing seconds, and Xavier dribbled out the clock to earn its first trip to the Elite Eight since 2008.
Gonzaga 61, West Virginia 58
Jordan Mathews made a goahead three- pointer with less than a minute left, and the top- seeded Bulldogs ( 35- 1) survived a rough shooting night for both teams to slip past the fourth- seeded Mountaineers ( 29- 8) in the West Regional semifinals in San Jose, California.
In a game that featured 51 fouls and only 34 made baskets, Mathews delivered the big shot that sent Gonzaga to the Elite Eight for the third time in school history.
It didn’t come easily. West Virginia had three shots to tie the score, but Tarik Phillip missed a jumper from the lane before Jevon Carter missed two three- pointers after Silas Melson split two free throws. The Mountaineers rebounded both of Carter’s misses but couldn’t get off another shot before the buzzer.