Zags and Ducks Advance, KU Falls
When the Kansas Jayhawks entered Saturday’s game at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO, they expected to have a number of fortuities on their side; namely, an overwhelmingly blue and red crowd, and a wave of momentum built off three 90+ point games in the tournament. They, however, did not expect Jordan Bell to block eight shots in a single game. Nor did they expect to be stifled so swiftly on offense. The Ducks came out looking like the stronger team in this Elite Eight matchup. They kept the pressure turned up on KU’s Big Three (Frank Mason III, Josh Jackson, and Devonte Graham) all game long. Jackson went without a single point in the first half. Devonte Graham was held to three points after scoring 26 in the Sweet Sixteen. Mason’s 21 points were the only highlight in an otherwise dim Kansas performance.
While on the other bench, the Ducks had four of their starting five in double digits: Tyler Dorsey scored 27, going 9 for 13 from the field, and 6 for 10 from three. He also had five rebounds. Dillon Brooks tacked on 17. But the biggest story of the night for Oregon was junior forward Jordan Bell’s 11 point, 13 rebound, 8 block game. His eight blocks earned him a school NCAA tournament record for a single game. Bell set the tone for an Oregon defense that simply overwhelmed the Jayhawks all game long. Using a mix of zone and man-to-man, the Ducks watched KU go 1-of-15 from 3-point range in the second half, and 35% from the field for the whole game. It was a season low for Bill Self’s Jayhawks. Meanwhile, the Oregon Ducks are heading to the Final Four where they’ll face the North Carolina Tar Heels or the Kentucky Wildcats.
On the other side of the bracket, Xavier’s cinderella story ended before their pumpkin could turn into a chariot. Number one seed Gonzaga outwitted the Musketeers 83-59. Okay maybe ‘outwitted’ isn’t quite as apt as ‘destroyed’. In a game that was going to send one team to their first Final Four no matter who won, the Bulldogs demonstrated why they were awarded a number one spot in the tourney. Nigel Williams-Goss dropped 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, going 4-7 from three. Johnathan Williams had another stellar game, scoring 19, snagging 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Josh Perkins and Jordan Mathews also scored 11 each. The story of this game could be told in the three-point stats alone. Gonzaga shot 12-24 from three-point land while Xavier shot 2-16. It was a difficult night for the Musketeers. But the Bulldogs have proved their one-loss season was/is not a fluke. They’re here for real. And with Florida and South Carolina up to bat on Sunday, the Zags are poised to make their first title run in school history.
Talk about March Madness. The other two Elite Games kick off on Sunday with the Gators and Gamecocks starting at 2:20 and UNC/UK starting at 5:05.
