Wagner sparks Michigan win
Michigan’s Moe Wagner gritted his teeth, pumped his fist and stuck out his mouthpiece to the crowd's delight on Sunday.
A few minutes later, the tough German took a couple more bows — first on the baseline in front of Michigan's bench, then with the rest of his teammates near midcourt.
Suddenly, the often overlooked 6-foot-11 forward was the well-deserved center of attention in Indianapolis.
Wagner scored a career high 26 points, made a basket that spurred Michigan's furious second-half rally and capped the day with a threepointer to give the Wolverines the lead for good as they knocked off second-seeded Louisville, 73-69, to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014.
The Wolverines will face Oregon on Thursday.
“He's got the mentality where he wants to make the play,” said Derrick Walton Jr., who drove in for Michigan's final basket with 29 seconds left.
“He just makes the right play at all times. He has the calls to make the big plays, so we feed off him because he's not afraid of anything.”
Wagner's fearlessness has played a big part in Michigan's late-season run. In late February, Michigan was just 19-11 and trying to keep its NCAA tournament hopes alive.
Since then, it has won seven straight, six coming after a frightening plane accident on their way to the Big Ten tournament.
Oregon 75, Rhode Island 72: With Oregon's season on the brink of an early NCAA tournament exit, Tyler Dorsey and Dillon Brooks delivered as they have so many times this season in crunch time.
Dorsey made a contested go-ahead three-pointer with 38.4 seconds to play as the third-seeded Ducks (31-5) rallied in the second half to beat No. 11 Rhode Island (2510) in Sacramento.
Dorsey, who had 27 points, also made a threepointer to tie the score at 72 with 1:45 remaining.
Stanford Robinson had 21 points, matching a career high, for the Rams, who had their nine-game winning streak snapped to end the season.
Kansas 90, Michigan State 70: Josh Jackson scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half to help the Jayhawks pull away from the Spartans in Tulsa, Okla.
Frank Mason III added 20 points for the top-seeded Jayhawks (30-4), who will face Purdue in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.
Miles Bridges scored 22 points to lead ninth-seeded Michigan State (20-15) despite leaving briefly in the first half because of an injury. Nick Ward added 13 points and Joshua Langford had 10 for the Spartans.