So….that dreadful time has come…if you don’t know what I am talking about then let me clue you in. I am talking about how March Madness is almost over, and more importantly, there are NO MORE B1G teams left in the big dance :'(. So that means that this will be my very last Big Ten Weekly Pull Up of the season until next season and football come back around. So let’s not waste any time and jump right into it.
Sweet 16
#7
Michigan Wolverines vs #3 Oregon Ducks
Tyler Dorsey’s teammates call him “Mr. March.”….Yeah, I would say that fits. Dorsey scored 20 points and made the go-ahead layup with 1:08 left, and third-seeded Oregon held on to end No. 7 Michigan’s dramatic postseason run with a 69-68 victory in a Midwest Regional semifinal on Thursday night. He has come into form with the Ducks need him most as he’s scored 20 or more points in six straight games, a stretch that has seen the Pac-12 POY Dillon Brooks struggle with his shot. Oregon didn’t have the win secured until Michigan’s Derrick Walton Jr., who had carried the Wolverines the last three weeks, was off with his long jumper just before the buzzer. Oregon’s Jordan Bell had a double-double for the Ducks, with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Brooks added 12 points and Ennis had 10. Walton led the Wolverines with 20 points, eight assists, and five rebounds. Zak Irvin had 14 of his 19 points in the second half and DJ Wilson had 12 points but it wasn’t enough for the Wolverines to complete the comeback. The Wolverines have gone through a lot, with their plane incident as they tried to fly to the Big Ten Tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 as a No. 7 seed. Ultimately, fatigue might have caught up to them as they shot just 39.3 percent against the Ducks and didn’t seem to have that special ingredient. While the Ducks set the school record with their 32nd win and are off to the Elite Eight for the second straight year thanks to a big-time performance from Dorsey.
#4 Purdue Boilermakers vs #1 Kansas Jayhawks
It took about 10 minutes for Kansas’ Frank Mason III and Devonte Graham to slow down, gain their composure and get everything under control in their Sweet 16. When that happened, everything promptly sped up for Purdue. With the pace of the game turning in their favor, the high-flying Jayhawks proceeded to wear down the bigger, stronger Boilermakers on Thursday night. And by the time Mason and Graham finished pouring in 26 points apiece, No. 1 seed Kansas had coasted to a 98-66 victory and a spot in the Elite Eight. Josh Jackson added 15 points and 12 rebounds and Landen Lucas did a good job of keeping Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas in check, as the Jayhawks turned a seven-point halftime lead into their third consecutive blowout in the NCAA Tournament. Swanigan still had 18 points and seven boards for the Boilermakers but the 6-foot-9, 250-pound All-America candidate had to work for all of it. The Jayhawks kept collapsing on him in the post, forcing Swanigan to begin taking 3-pointers early in the second half. It wasn’t much longer before the game was out of reach. Purdue just didn’t get any scoring from their big name guys and couldn’t stop anyone on the Kansas side of the ball. The game was then iced with 12 minutes left as Lagerald Vick’s acrobatic 360-degree dunk in transition brought a roar that shook the playing floor. Check it out below:
#8 Wisconsin Badgers vs #4 Florida Gators
With 4 seconds left in overtime, Florida’s Chris Chiozza sprinted down the court of the inbound, hoping to get to the basket or find a pass. Instead, the Florida point guard stopped on a dime right at the 3-point line and let fly with a shot that will go down in Florida history. The 3-pointer hit nothing but net as the buzzer rang sending the Gators Elite 8 with an 84-83 victory over Wisconsin on Friday night in the most dramatic game of this NCAA Tournament (YET). Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes had given the Badgers a 2-point lead with 4 seconds left on two free throws. The Gators immediately inbounded to Chiozza and he took care of the rest for Florida, setting off a frenzy of celebration from the fans. Before all this went into OT, Wisconsin’s Zak Showalter the star before Chiozza took away his limelight. Showalter, a senior, forced overtime with a leaping 3-pointer off one leg with 2.1 seconds left in regulation. As the Badgers wiped out a 12-point, second-half deficit in the last 4:15 to force the OT with the insane shot. Wisconsin actually established a five-point lead in overtime, but with star guard Bronson Koenig hobbled by a leg issue the Badgers couldn’t close out the game. This was an extremely tough game to watch for all Badgers fans, and even as a Big Ten fan, it pained me inside as well.
Big Picture
So, unfortunately, the last three remaining B1G teams were knocked out of the dreaded Sweet 16 and I thought all three had a great shot to move on. Well….except Purdue as they had to face the powerhouse Kansas. I think the B1G had a great season down the back end of everything and I was happy to see three teams get pretty far! I can’t wait to see what next season holds for these awesome teams.
