#1 Duke vs #2 Alabama
What was looking to be a good game between #1 Duke and #2 Alabama both coming off of great performances ended in a blowout for Duke. Mark Sears and Alabama coming off of a record breaking performance in total team 3’s fell completely flat offensively.
They turned the ball over a ton with Mark Sears ending with 6 points and 5 turnovers alone. Labaron Philon played his heart out ending with a leading score of 16 points on efficient shooting but Duke’s defense was too good. Kon Knueppel showed out with 21 points and Cooper Flagg ended with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. Overall it was a dominant performance by Duke ending at 85-65, and shows why they should be a good candidate for a championship winning team.
Cooper Flagg was named East Region Most Outstanding Player for the Blue Devils.
#1 Florida vs #3 Texas Tech
Two-high powered offenses clash in the west region final and look to punch their ticket to the Final 4 in San Antonio. The Gators vs the Red Raiders. The teams went back and forth all the way up until halftime, trading leads and multiple ties.
Out of the half, it was still back and forth until about 11 minutes left when Texas Tech player’s Federiko Federiko and Chance McMillian sparked a 12-2 Texas Tech with back-to-back two-pointers. An alley-oop to Federiko Federiko capped the run and the score was 67-57 Texas Tech with 7 minutes left. A few baskets were traded 71-61. All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. of Florida, had to come up with some heroics as he nailed a 3 pointer and bulldozed to the basket for a quick 2. It was now 73-66 until Tech forward JT Toppin scored a shot from the right block, off the glass, making it 75-66.
The Gators now felt rushed and hustled down the floor. Clayton kicked it out from the corner to Thomas Haugh who buried the triple, and possession later, Haugh buried another one it was now only a three point deficit, 75-72. A possession later Walter Clayton sized up his defender and rose up on the left wing to bury another 3 and tie the game at 75 with 1:23 left. The tie didn’t stick very long as Darrion Williams of Texas Tech bullied his way in for 2 as it was now 77-75 in the Red Raiders favor. Seconds later, Thomas Haugh hit Walter Clayton, who was cutting to the hoop, but Clayton was met by two defenders and dribbled out to the three point line and in Stephen Curry fashion nailed a three pointer off the turnaround giving the Gators the lead right back after being down 10 just a few minutes prior.
The Red Raiders ended up coming up empty the next few possessions leading Florida free throws and the game was over. Florida had come back and won off of Walter Clayton Jr’s heroics. He finished with a dazzling 30 points and Thomas Haugh had 20 with 4 threes and also 11 rebounds. The defeated Texas Tech Red Raiders got 20 points and 11 rebounds from star JT Toppin and 23 points and 3 steals from Darrion Williams.
The Gators will face off against Auburn in the Final 4 in San Antonio this weekend.
Walter Clayton Jr. was named West Region Most Outstanding Player.
#1 Houston vs #2 Tennessee
After some exciting moments in the Sweet 16 between Houston and Purdue, and Kentucky and Tennessee, fans were now hyped up for the Elite 8.
Fans anticipated a hard-fought game between the #1 Houston Cougars and the #2 Tennessee Volunteers, but this game was the complete opposite of that. Houston ran away with the game early, making a statement. The score was a whopping 34-15 at the end of the first half, and fans knew who was going to win this one.
After dazzling performances from Houston guard L.J. Cryer, having an all-around game with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, and guard Emanuel Sharp who scored 16 points, the Houston Cougars booked their appointment to the Final Four, where they will face off against #1 seed of the East Region, the Duke Blue Devils.
Emanuel Sharp with his three late 3-pointers helped him earn the Midwest Region Most Outstanding Player award.
#1 Auburn vs #2 Michigan St.
The southern region is now finally wrapped up after an electric Elite 8 game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Auburn Tigers. This was a dominant victory for Auburn. The most MSU was ever up was by 2 and that was with 17 minutes left in the first half when it was 8-6. Auburn took the lead after that with 2 back to back Miles Kelly jumpers and just never looked back. Michigan State went almost 6 minutes without a score in that time, when Coen Carr made a dunk at 15:50 and the next bucket for them was at 10:01 when Frankie Fidler hit a free throw. Auburn went up 15 at this time and that was the largest lead of the game. MSU brought it back within 5 with 3 minutes left in the first and Auburn began to pull away again starting with a Tahaad Pettiford made layup.
The second half kicked off and Auburn and MSU were scoring almost evenly. MSU would score then Auburn would respond right away. This happened the entire way throughout the second half. There were no major leads and no one went on a crazy run. Johni Broome, Auburn’s best player, went down with a scary injury around the 10 minute mark. However, he returned just 5 minutes later and managed to put up very impressive stats in his pivotal role to win this game. Towards the end of the game, Jaden Akins made back to back 3 point jumpers. However, this wasn’t enough to make a large impact, and Michigan State lost by 6.
Johni Broome led all scorers with 25 points on an impressive 10/13 from the field. He also accumulated 14 rebounds in the 28 minutes he played. Jaxon Kohler led scorers for the Spartans with 17 points, shooting 6/8 from the field and 3/4 from 3. He also accumulated 11 rebounds of his own in the 28 minutes he played.
The final score of 64-70 didn’t really show just how dominant of a victory this was for Auburn, who is now set to play Florida in the Final 4 and are hoping to play either Houston or Duke in the championship.
Johni Broome ended up being handed the South Region Most Outstanding Player award.
