Take it inside: Michigan pounds way to Elite 8
Hunter Dickinson, a 7-1 freshman center, had 14 points and eight rebounds and topseeded Michigan took the inside route to the Elite Eight, pounding away in the paint for a 76-58 takedown of surprisingly helpless Florida State on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Franz Wagner had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines (23-4), who scored their first 30 points of the second half from close range to turn the game into a blowout and lead coach Juwan Howard and Co. to a victory in the only “chalk” meeting between a 1 and 4 seed of the second weekend.
The Seminoles (18-7) didn’t score their 20th point until M.J. Walker (10 points) hit a jumper with 27 seconds left in the first half.
Florida State was outscored 50-28 in the paint, had 14 turnovers, went 5-for-20 from three-point range and was held under 60 points for the first time all season.
UCLA 88, Alabama 78 (OT)
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points, hitting two big jumpers in overtime, and No. 11 seed UCLA held on after Alabama’s Alex Reese forced overtime by draining a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of regulation.
After beating Michigan State in overtime just to escape the First Four, the unheralded Bruins (21-9) are headed to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2008. The only First Four team to reach the Final Four was VCU in 2011, the first year of the 68-team field.
Jahvon Quinerly scored 20 points to lead No. 2 seed Alabama (26-7), which fell to 1-8 in Sweet 16 games.
Gonzaga 83, Creighton 65
Second-team All-American Drew Timme totaled 22 points, six rebounds and four assists as the Zags (29-0) shot 59.6% from the field against the Bluejays (22-9), who led the Big East in defensive field-goal percentage.
The Bulldogs extended their school-record winning streak to 33, the D-I record for consecutive double-digit wins to 26 and reached the Elite Eight for the fourth time in six years.
USC 82, Oregon 68
Isaiah White scored 22 points and No. 6 seed USC (25-7) shut down the third-seeded Ducks (21-7) to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2007. The Trojans shot 57%, including 10-for-17 from three-point range.
Indiana to hire Woodson
Indiana hired Knicks assistant coach Mike Woodson, a former Hoosier player from 197680, as its new coach, replacing Archie Miller, who was fired March 15.
Woodson, who has never coached at the college level, spent 22 of the last 23 seasons coaching in the NBA. He was coach of the Hawks from 2004-10 and the Knicks from 2012-14. He went 315-365 in those nine seasons.
Woodson ranks fifth on Indiana’s all-time scoring list with 2,061 points.