Izzo’s guys advance to familiar territory
Here we go again for Michigan State. Make it to the NCAA tournament, prepare for any possibility in the first two games, and then focus on the next stop.
It’s a March tradition for Tom Izzo and the Spartans.
Gary Harris scored 16 of his career-high 23 in the first half and third-seeded Michigan State (27-8) took a 70-48 victory over sixth-seeded Memphis (31-5) on Saturday in Auburn Hills, Mich., putting the Izzo-led program in the regional semifinals for the fifth time in six years and the 11th time in his career.
The Spartans will play the winner of Sunday’s Duke-Creighton game on Friday in the Midwest Regional semifinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Izzo improved to 18-3 in the second game at an NCAA tournament site, proving again he gets his players prepared to play very well with one day to prepare.
The Spartans’ top post players — Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix — combined for 27 points and 18 rebounds. Payne had a career-high five blocks, boosting his stock if he skips his senior season to enter the NBA draft.
Memphis’ Geron Johnson scored 13 of his 16 in the first half, and Joe Jackson finished with 12 points.
Keith Appling made his first and only shot to put Michigan State up by nine with 13:17 to go, but the Spartans’ leading scorer left for good five minutes later when his right shoulder took the brunt of Johnson’s drive into the lane. Appling said he will be ready to play in the next round.
“It was very painful, but I could’ve gone back in if I had to,” Appling said.
Louisville 82, Colorado St. 56
Russ Smith led four players in double figures with 27 points, and the top-seeded Cardinals (31-5) put on a defensive clinic in dismantling the eighth-seeded Rams (25-8) in Lexington, Ky. Louisville forced the Colorado State into a season-high 20 turnovers, made Colton Iverson look as invisible as a 6-10 guy can be and limited one of the nation’s best rebounding teams to 24 boards, more than a dozen below their average. The Cardinals took their 12th consecutive victory and move on to play Oregon on Friday in Indianapolis.
Oregon 74, Saint Louis 57
The Ducks (28-8) will ride their much-debated No. 12 seed all the way to the round of 16. Damyean Dotson scored 23 points as hotshooting Oregon sprinted past the fourth-seeded Billikins (28-7) in San Jose, Calif.
Dotson made his first five three- pointers to carry the Ducks into the second weekend for the first time since 2007. Oregon went 8-for-11 from beyond the arc, while St. Louis finished 3-for-21 from long range. Kwamain Mitchell scored 18 and Dwayne had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Billikens.