Texarkana Gazette

What to watch: Michigan seeks to keep Big Ten alive in NCAAs

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What to watch today at the NCAA tournament­s in Indiana and Texas:

Top Games

Men: No. 4 seed Florida State (186) vs. No. 1 seed Michigan (22-4), East Region semifinal, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapol­is. Tipoff: 5 p.m. Eastern on TBS.

Michigan has withstood an injury to second-leading scorer Isaiah Livers to become the last team remaining from the Big Ten’s nine NCAA Tournament selections. This game features two exceptiona­l freshmen in Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson and Florida State’s Scottie Barnes. Florida State has allowed its first two NCAA Tournament foes to shoot just 33.6% and average 53.5 points. Michigan is averaging 84 points in the NCAA Tournament.

Women: No. 2 seed Louisville (25-3) vs. No. 6 seed Oregon (15-8), Alamo Region semifinal, Alamodome, San Antonio. Tipoff: 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

Oregon is seeking to reach its fourth straight regional final, while Louisville’s trying to get there for a third consecutiv­e time. Louisville erased an 18-point deficit in its second-round victory over Northweste­rn.

Oregon had lost five of six games heading into the NCAA Tournament but has bounced back with wins over South Dakota and Georgia.

Louisville’s Dana Evans is the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year but shot just 3 of 18 from 3-point range in the first two rounds.

What else to watch for

Men: The other men’s games include Creighton-Gonzaga, Alabama-UCLA and OregonSout­hern California. … Creighton is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1974. … Gonzaga (280) has won by double figures in all but one of its games. … USC beat Oregon 72-58 in Los Angeles on Feb. 22. … Alabama leads the nation in 3-pointers made (341) and attempted (961). … UCLA is trying to become the first team to go from the First Four to a regional final since VCU’s 2011 team made it all the way to the Final Four.

Women: The other women’s games include Georgia TechSouth Carolina, Missouri StateStanf­ord and Texas-Maryland. … Missouri State will try to improve its NCAA Tournament record against No. 1 seeds to 3-2. Its previous two wins against No. 1 seeds came in 1992 against Iowa and 2001 against Duke. … Georgia Tech is in the Sweet 16 for only the second time. The Yellow Jackets also made it in 2012. … Maryland leads the nation in scoring (91.8) and assist-turnover ratio (1.7). … Texas’ Charli Collier is a potential No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick.

 ?? AP Photo/Charlie Riedel ?? ■ Louisville guard Kianna Smith (14) shoots a free throw while Northweste­rn guard Sydney Wood (3) watches during the second half of a college basketball game in the second round of the women’s NCAA tournament Wednesday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Louisville won 62-53. ()
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel ■ Louisville guard Kianna Smith (14) shoots a free throw while Northweste­rn guard Sydney Wood (3) watches during the second half of a college basketball game in the second round of the women’s NCAA tournament Wednesday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Louisville won 62-53. ()
 ?? AP Photo/AJ Mast ?? ■ Michigan center Hunter Dickinson (1) grabs a rebound over LSU forward Darius Days, left, during the second half of a second-round game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapol­is.
AP Photo/AJ Mast ■ Michigan center Hunter Dickinson (1) grabs a rebound over LSU forward Darius Days, left, during the second half of a second-round game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapol­is.

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