National Post (National Edition)
Wolverines give it their best shot in barn burner
Set school record for 3-pointers
INDIANAPOLIS • Derrick Walton Jr. stuck to the plan Friday.
He kept running the Michigan Wolverines offence against an aggressive Oklahoma State defence and eventually things fell into place. Again.
Walton scored 26 points and had 11 assists as the Wolverines made a school record 16 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game, getting past Oklahoma State 92-91 in the first round of the Midwest Regional.
“We haven’t played a team that got up into us in a minute. It’s hard to simulate that in practice,” Walton said.
“In the second half, I settled down. I wanted to make the right play consistently.”
Coach John Beilein had no complaints.
Seventh-seeded Michigan needed every point it could muster in a game that ended with a parade to the freethrow line, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer and a foe that refused to go away.
The difference: Poise and emotion, the same components that helped Michigan (25-11) overcome last week’s harrowing plane mishap to sweep four games in four days at the Big Ten Tournament.
Early Friday, it looked like Michigan’s momentum was waning. The Wolverines looked out of sync and out of sorts in the first half. But rather than change the game plan, Walton followed the script, steadied his team and the shots started going.
While Michigan made only five shots inside the arc in the second half, it went 11 of 15 from 3-point range — drawing increasingly louder roars from the crowd and more bewilderment from first-year Cowboys coach Brad Underwood. Walton wound up 6 of 9 on 3s, and Zak Irvin made four more in front of his hometown crowd. Irvin finished with 16 points.
For Michigan there was no victory celebration — only relief after winning the highest-scoring game in this year’s tourney.
The Wolverines have won six in a row and need one more to reach their first Sweet 16 since 2014.
Juwan Evans scored 23 points and Jeffrey Carroll had 19 to lead Oklahoma State (20-13), but the nation’s eighth-highest scoring team just couldn’t keep up with Michigan’s 3-point barrage.
MIDWEST REGION LOUISVILLE 78, JACKSONVILLE ST. 63
INDIANAPOLIS • Mangok Mathiang scored 18 points and Deng Adel added 16 Friday to help second-seeded Louisville pull away from Jacksonville State 78-63 in the first round of the Midwest Regional.
OREGON 93, IONA 77
SACRAMENTO, CALIF.• With star big man Chris Boucher cheering in a bulky knee brace from the sidelines, Tyler Dorsey scored 24 points to lead four players in double figures. Canadian Dillon Brooks had 18 points and four assists and No. 3 seed Oregon beat 14th-seeded Iona 93-77 in the firstround of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region.
SOUTH REGION ARKANSAS 77, SETON HALL 71
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Jaylen Barford hit the go-ahead layup with 57.8 seconds left to help Arkansas hold off Seton Hall 77-71 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Barford had 12 of his 20 points after halftime for the Razorbacks (26-9), the No. 8 seed in the South Region.
EAST REGION BAYLOR 91, NEW MEXICO STATE 73
TULSA, OKLA. • Al Freeman came off the bench to score 21 points, and No. 3 seed Baylor defeated No. 14 seed New Mexico State 9173 in the first round of the NCAA’s East Regional. Jo Lual-Acuil scored 16 points and Johnathan Motley added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears (26-7).
EAST REGION USC 66, SMU 65
TULSA, OKLA. • Elijah Stewart hit a late 3-pointer for No. 11 seed Southern California as the Trojans upset sixth seeded SMU 66-65 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. SMU’s Shake Milton missed a floater at the buzzer. Stewart had 22 points for the Trojans (26-9). Bennie Boatright and Chimezie Metu each added 14 for USC, which advances to play Baylor in the second round of the East region on Sunday.