Posts Tagged ‘South Region’
Analysis: 1 North Carolina def. 2 Oklahoma
1 North Carolina 72
2 Oklahoma 60
South Region final • FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
By Jeff Greer
– Presumed player of the year Blake Griffin won what was billed as a colossal battle against last year’s top player, Tyler Hansbrough. But Hansbrough’s side won the war. Stocked with great offensive players, the Tar Heels turned to Danny Green (18 points) and Deon Thompson (10) to help star point guard Ty Lawson carry the team’s scoring load. Lawson had 19 points, five rebounds and five assists, showing no signs of the nagging toe injury that had slowed him in the earlier rounds.
Analysis: No. 1 North Carolina def. 4 Gonzaga
1 North Carolina 98
4 Gonzaga 77
South Region semifinals • FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
By Wyndam Makowsky
– What toe? Ty Lawson was the MVP, looking perfectly healthy as he guided the Tar Heels to a relatively easy win. Of course, Lawson wasn’t 100 percent—he needed to come out of the game for retapings and a rest, and he didn’t see much action in the second half—but he was eerily efficient in his time on the floor and showed few signs of duress, scoring 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and dishing out nine assists. He was instrumental in the initial surge that helped the Heels create some early separation against a Bulldogs team that, at first, seemed like it came to play.
Analysis: 2 Oklahoma def. 3 Syracuse
2 Oklahoma 84
3 Syracuse 71
South Region semifinals • FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
By Corey DeMoss
– Oklahoma led the entire game and put this one away early in the second half. After taking a 13-point lead into halftime, the Sooners exploded as the second half began, going on a 17-3 run. The Orange never got within 13 points for the rest of the game.
Analysis: 3 Syracuse def. 6 Arizona State
3 Syracuse 78
6 Arizona State 67
South Region second round • American Airlines Arena, Miami
By Jim Reedy
– Arizona State just couldn’t figure out the 2-3 zone fast enough. Rihards Kuksiks and Ty Abbott each scored 20 points on six 3-pointers, but the Sun Devils got very little from their three best players. James Harden vanished for the third straight postseason game, Jeff Pendergraph was all but lost to foul trouble and Derek Glasser hit one shot from the field. It was impressive, in one sense, that ASU even had the margin as close as four points in the second half.
Zags’ unlikely game-winner is gift that keeps giving
By Andrew Greif
PORTLAND, Ore. — Call it Demetri’s Dagger, redux.
When they were herded into the Gonzaga locker room 10 minutes after the Bulldogs’ last-second, 83-81 win over Western Kentucky, reporters found the entire team congregated around a single 18-inch monitor replaying the series of events that led to a wild Zags celebration at midcourt of the Rose Garden.
Western Kentucky got a tip-in with 7.9 seconds left to tie it at 81. Down nearly the entire game, the Hilltoppers had to keep Gonzaga from going the length of the court, without a timeout, to reach their second straight Sweet Sixteen.
They didn’t.
As the Zags watched on the TV monitor, freshman reserve Demetri Goodson drove the entire court, passing Orlando Mendez-Valdez at the 3-point line on a hesitation move, and shot a floater from the left side that banked in with 0.9 seconds left on the clock.
Analysis: 4 Gonzaga def. 12 Western Kentucky
4 Gonzaga 83
12 Western Kentucky 81
South Region second round • Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.
By Doug Tifft
– Trailing by seven points with less than two minutes left, Western Kentucky rallied to tie the game with a 3-pointer by Orlando Mendez-Valdez and a breakaway dunk and a tip-in by Steffphon Pettigrew. But Gonzaga freshman guard Demetri Goodson took the inbounds pass after Pettigrew tied it with 7.2 seconds left and drove the length of the court, laying the ball in with 0.9 seconds to save the Bulldogs.
Analysis: 1 North Carolina def. 8 LSU
1 North Carolina 84
8 LSU 70
South Region second round • Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, N.C.
By Jeff Greer
– Before the broadcast, we learned that Ty Lawson would play. He had some limitations early, but for the most part, he looked OK. Lawson missed his first three shots, but his first basket came when he chased down a lead pass, cut back and leapt into two defenders for a layup. He hit a 3 for UNC’s first points in the second half and had a nice driving reverse layup a few minutes later. With six minutes left in the game, Lawson crossed over LSU’s entire program and made a sweet hanging floater to give UNC a nine-point lead. Lawson finished with 23 points and six assists.
Analysis: 2 Oklahoma def. 10 Michigan
2 Oklahoma 73
10 Michigan 63
South Region second round • Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.
By Zachary Osterman
– I’ll admit that I held this opinion of Michigan before this game: While I think the Wolverines advanced much more quickly than expected in John Beilein’s thinking-man offense and 1-3-1 defense, they aren’t there yet. Oklahoma did well against that zone defense, but I still think Michigan just hasn’t fully grasped the ins and outs, if you will.
Analysis: 6 Arizona State def. 11 Temple
6 Arizona State 66
11 Temple 57
South Region first round • American Airlines Arena, Miami
By Jim Reedy
– Pac-10 player of the year James Harden didn’t score from the field until the final minutes, but power forward Jeff Pendergraph and point guard Derek Glasser led the way for the Sun Devils in their first NCAA appearance in six years.
Analysis: 3 Syracuse def. 14 Stephen F. Austin
3 Syracuse 59
14 Stephen F. Austin 44
South Region first round • American Airlines Arena, Miami
By Wyndam Makowsky
– Don’t be fooled by the final score—the game was never nearly as close to that margin. Syracuse jumped out to a quick 12-2 advantage, and by the time Jonny Flynn drove the lane for a nice floater to put the Orange up 16-4 it was practically over. That’s probably foolish to say during March Madness, but the Lumberjacks simply never recovered from their slow start, even after Syracuse’s play degenerated during the second half. They looked overcome by a malaise that they couldn’t shake. Missing 12 of your first 13 shots will do that to you.
