Creighton Bluejays vs. Oregon Ducks
Pittsburgh — After a tough 86-73 double-overtime triumph over Oregon on Saturday, March 23rd, in Pittsburgh, Pa., Creighton’s men’s basketball team returned to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four seasons. Creighton (25-9) advances to Friday’s regional semifinal in Detroit versus Tennessee.
Baylor Scheierman‘s free throws started the Bluejays’ rally to force overtime from 62-58 with under 30 seconds left. Scheierman hit a pull-up jumper with 9.0 seconds left to tie the game at 62-62. Oregon almost won the game in the extra five minutes, but they lost.
Jermaine Couisnard’s three-pointer tied the game with 16 seconds left in the first overtime, and Trey Alexander’s buzzer-beater attempt went off the rim.
Early in the second overtime, the Bluejays scored 15 points. In the second overtime, Steven Ashworth, and Alexander each scored five points, helped by Ashworth’s three-pointer and Ryan Kalkbrenner’s trey, to make it 77-71 with 3:09 left. The Jays advanced to the regional round when freshman reserve Jasen Green’s first college tip-dunk put them up eight. Oregon scored only 34 seconds into the second overtime as Creighton extended their lead to 86-71.
Six ties and two lead changes occurred in the first half, as neither team could score much. Two days after scoring 40 points, Couisnard faced benching due to two early fouls. After returning, he scored 15 points to lead the first half. The Ducks led 32-30 with 1:46 left in the first quarter before Scheierman and Ashworth scored trifectas to take a 36-34 advantage into halftime.
Kalkbrenner led CU with 12 points and seven boards at halftime, while Alexander and Scheierman each had eight points and Green and Scheierman had six. In Thursday’s win over Akron, Creighton made six of 23 three-pointers in the first half after going 10-of-17 from downtown.
Couisnard or N’Faly Dante scored Oregon’s first 26 points after halftime (24-12). Couisnard’s trey gave the Ducks a 9-0 lead at 58-52, but Ashworth’s three-ball during a Bluejay timeout started a 6-0 Creighton run, as Kalkbrenner had two free throws and Mason Miller tied the game with 1-of-2 from the line.
Cousinard scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds on 13-of-33 shooting. Dante resumed his dominance in March with 28 points and 20 rebounds. His 20 rebounds were one shy of his career-high set against Georgia in the season opener. The Ducks shot 31-of-77 (40.3%) and 7-of-21 (33.3%) from three.
Kalkbrenner had 19 points, 14 rebounds, and five swats, while Ashworth had 21 points and four assists. Alexander scored 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in 50 minutes, while Scheierman scored 18 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. The Jays shot 38.7% (29-75), 15-of-39 three-pointers, and 13-of-14 at the line. Despite outscoring 40-18 in the paint, CU won the rebound battle 48-43.
Trey Alexander started his ninth NCAA Tournament game, a program record. This was Creighton’s 100th straight televised game. Oregon has won 20+ games in 14 straight seasons, while Creighton has done it 13 times. Creighton fired a three-pointer for 1,019 straight games. A late first-half triple by Baylor Scheierman brought his career total to 350. Creighton has attempted 995 three-pointers this season, breaking the 2018-19 record of 961 in 35 games.
Michigan State led top-seeded North Carolina by 12 points in the first half on Saturday. The Spartans sought their first March Madness triumph over the Tar Heels.
NC ended the second half on a 23-3 run and never looked back, reversing what seemed like another Tom Izzo masterpiece.
The Spartans lost 85-69 to North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, to now be 0-6 against the Tar Heels in the Big Dance.
Michigan State guard Tyson Walker scored 24 points on 9 of 16 shots, followed by Malik Hall with 17 and Jaden Akins with 11.
The Spartans had no answer to Harrison Ingram, Armando Bacot, and RJ Davis’ 21, 18, and 17 points.
The highlights of Michigan State’s Saturday season-ending loss to North Carolina are:
1. Carolina beat Michigan State 85-69 in a slugfest to progress to the 16th round.
2. The win gives Carolina 133 NCAA Tournament wins, leading the nation. The time of Thursday’s Los Angeles match between the Alabama and Grand Canyon champions is unknown.
3. Thanks, Harrison Ingram. The Carolina forward scored 17 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and tied his career high with 5 three-pointers. Armando Bacot scored 18 and RJ Davis scored 20—a game-high. With 14 points, Cormac Ryan became the fourth Heel in double figures.
4. Seth Trimble had two of the top guard blocks halfway through the second half (and a third with 7:26 left, though it wasn’t counted). Trimble scored again on A.J. Hoggard in transition 90 seconds after his post-basket against Jaxon Kohler. Trimble was crucial off the bench in a game when Elliot Cadeau struggled, a troubling trend given his 6-25 shooting record in the prior four games.
5. For Cadeau, say this: He watched fifteen minutes of the second half. He scored immediately after returning to the rim. His aggressive performance was just what Carolina’s offense needed.
6. Reserve Jae’Lyn Withers’ stunning run with less than ten minutes left assisted Trimble in the second half. He scored four points, induced two turnovers, and grabbed an offensive rebound against Michigan State. Saturday’s Jalen Washington follow-slam with less than five minutes left helped Carolina’s bench contribute this time of year. In his last six games, Withers has had 39 rebounds.
7. Carolina had no offensive rebound in an unusual first half, outrebounded 18–12. Michigan State was tough on the glass, as Armando Bacot had one rebound. Bacot had a great second half, with two blocks and good rim play to offset the Spartans’ early intensity. He made seven of eight free shots in the first half.
8. Offensive rebounding changed in the second half. The Tar Heels scored ten second-chance points on five offensive rebounds in the final 20 minutes. That and 16 turnover points helped Carolina expand their lead. Still, the Spartans won the rebounding game 37–31.
9. The Heels warmed up off the field to overcome early rebounding issues. Carolina hit four of their final six trifectas in the last 5:36 of the first half. Harrison Ingram set up the game’s final possession by swimming near the buzzer during a Hubert Davis timeout.
10. It’s no secret that opponents interfere with Elliot Cadeau’s perimeter guarding. The rookie feels compelled to make the shot even though he lacks confidence because no one is within a few feet. On Saturday, he missed all four three-point shots.
11. Key Tar Heel bench minutes late in the half. Jalen Washington played six minutes, while Paxson Wojcik grabbed some boards and forced one up the floor, which the Heels turned into a Davis three-pointer.
12. Carolina is 14-1 in Charlotte and 36-2 in North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. They’re 6-0 against Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament. This game comes 67 years and one day after their first, a 1957 national semifinal triple-overtime win. Excellent Spectrum Center Tar Heel.
13. Finally, Tar Heel Sports Network commentator Tyler Hansbrough’s Saturday statement is humorous. “I was kind of lost looking for our locker room,” he said of the 2007 NCAA Tournament photo showing Michigan State players staring at him in astonishment. Seeing Michigan State around the corner was surprising. I said, ‘Clearly, this isn’t the right approach,’ and they saw me.
