Duke Faces Michigan State In The Elite Eight With Trip To The Final Four At Stake
On Sunday Duke who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and a one seed in the East Region will meet Michigan State who is a two seed in the East Region and a member of the Big Ten Conference in the Elite Eight with the winner advancing to the Final Four in Minneapolis.
Although Duke may or may not have the services of Cam Reddish for the Elite Eight while Michigan State will have the services of Nick Ward.
Reddish is still unsure whether he will play in Duke's Elite Eight matchup Sunday against No. 2 seed Michigan State, but spoke to the media Saturday with the rest of the team and said he tweaked his knee Thursday, causing it to swell up. Reddish said he and the coaching staff didn't decide he would have to sit out until warmups right before the game against the Hokies. “according to https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/03/duke-mens-basketballs-cam-reddish-a-game-time-decision-against-michigan-state-after-tweaking-knee
"I had an idea, but didn’t really want to believe it. So, I tried to go out there and warm up, get it a little bit loose," Reddish said. "But it wasn’t at full strength and that’s not a risk I really want to take." “according to https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/03/duke-mens-basketballs-cam-reddish-a-game-time-decision-against-michigan-state-after-tweaking-knee
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski called Reddish a "game-time decision" against the Spartans. The team had not yet started practice when it held its pregame press conference. “according to https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/03/duke-mens-basketballs-cam-reddish-a-game-time-decision-against-michigan-state-after-tweaking-knee
If Reddish can't go, sophomore Alex O'Connell would likely step into a big role again Sunday. O'Connell played 35 minutes, holding his own on the defensive boards with seven rebounds and scoring four points. But Reddish's defense and shooting ability are hard for the Blue Devils to replace. “according to https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/03/duke-mens-basketballs-cam-reddish-a-game-time-decision-against-michigan-state-after-tweaking-knee
Nick Ward woke up Saturday, his surgically repaired left hand sore from a Friday night fall. “according to https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2019/03/30/nick-ward-injury-michigan-state-duke/3321015002/
He expected that. He has been through that before. “according to https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2019/03/30/nick-ward-injury-michigan-state-duke/3321015002/
But Michigan State basketball’s power forward said he plans to play Sunday when the No. 2 seed Spartans take on No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils and Zion Williamson for a spot in the Final Four. “according to https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2019/03/30/nick-ward-injury-michigan-state-duke/3321015002/
“Nothing is gonna keep me off the court tomorrow,” Ward said Saturday at Capital One Arena. “according to https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2019/03/30/nick-ward-injury-michigan-state-duke/3321015002/
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound junior missed five games after suffering a hairline fracture on the fourth metacarpal bone on his shooting hand against Ohio State on Feb. 17. He returned and played off the bench in the Spartans’ three-game Big Ten tournament title run, first two NCAA victories over Bradley and Minnesota last weekend in Des Moines, Iowa, and in Friday’s 80-63 win over LSU. Ward got undercut by LSU forward Naz Reid, landed hard on his left hand and got X-rays that came back negative. He suffered a deep bruise on his fifth metacarpal bone this time. “according to https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2019/03/30/nick-ward-injury-michigan-state-duke/3321015002/
“My first thought when I landed on my hand was just making sure everything was all right,” Ward said. “The trainers took me back to make sure everything was cool, and everything looked good. This morning, it was sore. I expected that. It’s more of a day-by-day type deal.” “according to https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2019/03/30/nick-ward-injury-michigan-state-duke/3321015002/
Ward is averaging 13.4 points and 6.2 points for the season in 21.3 minutes per game. “according to https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2019/03/30/nick-ward-injury-michigan-state-duke/3321015002/
Duke comes into the game with a record of 32-5 while Michigan State comes into the game with a record of 31-6.
Duke and Michigan State haven’t met in the NCAA Tournament since 2015. The last time they met was in the 2015 Final Four in Indianapolis -- an 81-61 Duke win behind 19 points from Justise Winslow who currently is a member of the Miami Heat of the NBA. However, they did meet last season during the regular season in the Champions Classic in Chicago, where Grayson Allen who was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 2018 NBA Draft scored 37 in an 88-81 Blue Devil victory…Duke is 9-1 in its last 10 in the series. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211797801&DB_OEM_ID=4200
As for Duke’s previous game, they advanced to the Elite Eight by topping Virginia Tech in the sweet sixteen who like Duke is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Zion Williamson soared for a two-handed, rim-rattling, crowd-thrilling alley-oop slam that gave Duke its biggest lead during a tight tussle against Virginia Tech in the East Region semifinals. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211797782
Williamson scored 23 points, RJ Barrett had 18 and a career-high 11 assists, and Tre Jones added 22 points and eight assists, helping No. 1 overall seed Duke avoid an NCAA Tournament upset and edge No. 4-seeded Virginia Tech 75-73 on Friday night. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211797782
The Hokies had their chances in the closing seconds, the final one coming on an inbounds play with 1.1 seconds left. The ball went to Ahmed Hill as he jumped to the basket, but his attempt to tie it failed to fall. Hill dropped to the court on his back as Williams -- fittingly -- grabbed the basketball and smiled broadly. It was similar to the way two last-gasp shots went off the rim for Duke's second-round opponent, UCF. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211797782
Before that final miss, both Hill and Ty Outlaw airballed 3-point attempts that would have put Virginia Tech ahead. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211797782
But Duke got through, even though it trailed much of the evening, including 38-34 at halftime. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211797782
This time, the Blue Devils were without another terrific freshman, forward Cam Reddish, who was sidelined with a bad knee and was a late scratch. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211797782
It took Duke 13 1/2 minutes just to grab its initial lead, on a three-point play by Jones that made it 26-24. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211797782
But Justin Robinson -- the senior point guard who missed 12 games before the NCAAs with a hurt foot -- and Hill soon replied by sinking 3s, pushing the Hokies back in front. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211797782
Kerry Blackshear Jr. led the Hokies with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Hill scored 15. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211797782
Like Duke, Michigan State also won their previous game as they defeated LSU who is a member of the Southeastern Conference in the sweet sixteen but unlike Duke they won by a bigger margin.
Michigan State scored the first eight points of the game and never trailed on the way to an 80-63 win over No. 3 seed LSU in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena on Friday night.
Freshman forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) scored a career-high 20 points and had eight rebounds while classmate Gabe Brown (Yipsilanti, Mich./Belleville) came off the bench to score a career-best 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line.
Junior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) scored 17 points and handed out eight assists, while sophomore forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) had 12 points and eight rebounds. “according to https://msuspartans.com/news/2019/3/29/m-basketball-no-2-seed-michigan-state-beats-lsu-80-63-advances-to-elite-eight.aspx
Michigan State led by as many as 17 points in the first half and 18 in the second half before LSU pulled to within nine points, 70-61, on a free throw from Darius Days with 3:06 to play. “according to https://msuspartans.com/news/2019/3/29/m-basketball-no-2-seed-michigan-state-beats-lsu-80-63-advances-to-elite-eight.aspx
The Spartans responded with six-straight points from senior guard Matt McQuaid (Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville), a 3-pointer with 2:59 left and a conventional three-point play with 1:32 left, to give MSU a 76-63 lead. “according to https://msuspartans.com/news/2019/3/29/m-basketball-no-2-seed-michigan-state-beats-lsu-80-63-advances-to-elite-eight.aspx
Baskets from Winston (1:03 ) and Henry (38 seconds) closed out the scoring as MSU closed out the win. “according to https://msuspartans.com/news/2019/3/29/m-basketball-no-2-seed-michigan-state-beats-lsu-80-63-advances-to-elite-eight.aspx
The Spartans had a 12-point edge at the break, 40-28, but LSU cut the lead to 45-41 on a dunk from Kavell Bigby-Williams with 16:22 left in the game. “according to https://msuspartans.com/news/2019/3/29/m-basketball-no-2-seed-michigan-state-beats-lsu-80-63-advances-to-elite-eight.aspx
MSU answered the next time down with a 3-pointer from Brown, the start of an 11-0 Spartan run to push the lead back to 15 points, 56-41, when redshirt senior forward Kenny Goins (Troy, Mich./Warren Mott) hit a 3-pointer at the 14:43 mark.”according to https://msuspartans.com/news/2019/3/29/m-basketball-no-2-seed-michigan-state-beats-lsu-80-63-advances-to-elite-eight.aspx
The Spartans took their biggest lead, 66-48, on a pair of free throws from Tillman with 9:30 left before LSU narrowed the gap to 70-60. “according to https://msuspartans.com/news/2019/3/29/m-basketball-no-2-seed-michigan-state-beats-lsu-80-63-advances-to-elite-eight.aspx
Michigan State went into the half with a 40-28 lead at the break, with Henry scoring 13 points and the Spartans holding a commanding 21-10 advantage on the boards. “according to https://msuspartans.com/news/2019/3/29/m-basketball-no-2-seed-michigan-state-beats-lsu-80-63-advances-to-elite-eight.aspx
Tip-off is set for 5:05pm from Capital One Arena that is home to the Washington Wizards of the NBA.