Duke survives Red Storm scare with Final Four spots in sight as the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament nears the Elite Eight
By Jacob Lev, Kevin Dotson, CNN
(CNN) — Both NCAA tournaments are in full swing on Friday as Sweet 16 action heats up, with the men’s bracket finishing up the round with four games and the women’s tourney showcasing four games as well.
Here’s a look at who triumphed so far on Friday and moved one step closer to the Final Four:
Duke squeaks past St. John’s
The ACC and Big East champions clashed as No. 1 overall seeded Duke Blue Devils faced off against No. 5 seed St. John’s Red Storm in Washington, D.C. Hoops fans were treated to a thrilling first half in the nation’s capital as the two conference champs traded haymakers in Friday’s opener.
Duke jumped out to an early lead, but St. John’s battled back to take the advantage behind swarming pressure defense. But foul trouble for two of the Johnnies biggest role players – Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins – gave Duke an opening.
The Blue Devils took advantage, thanks in large part to their twin freshmen stars Cameron and Cayden Boozer, who combined for 16 first-half points. Isaiah Evans added nine points for Duke in the first half.
But St. John’s surged back to take a 40-39 lead into halftime thanks to red-hot shooting from 3-point land. The Red Storm was 9-for-18 shooting from long-range in the opening half, including 3-of-3 from Ruben Prey coming off the bench.
St. John’s, which is appearing in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999, came out of the locker room hot, sprinting to a 10-point lead. But Duke once again had an answer and fought back to retake the lead as the clock ticked inside 10 minutes.
Neither team showed any sign of wilting as the Blue Devils and Red Storm traded buckets coming down the stretch.
But Duke began to assert its superiority down the stretch, thanks in large part to Caleb Foster. After a scoreless first half, Foster poured in 11 points in the second half. The junior guard was playing for the first time since surgery on his right foot less than three weeks ago.
Some spotty free throw shooting from Duke left St. John’s with a chance to tie it in the final seconds, but second round hero Dylan Darling could not connect with an attempt at a game-tying 3-pointer as Duke went on to win 80-75.
No. 1 Michigan leads No. 4 Alabama
No. 1-seeded Michigan and No. 4-seeded Alabama are treating fans to a track meet in their Sweet 16 matchup in Chicago, with Wolverine and Crimson Tide players flying up and down the court.
The frenetic pace seemed to suit Alabama just fine, as the Tide defense forced six turnovers by the Wolverines in the first half. Michigan, however, relied on its size advantage, blocking five Alabama shots before the intermission.
Alabama finished the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 49-47 lead into the locker room as sophomore guard Labaron Philon Jr. piled up 19 points before the intermission.
Big Blue was fast out of the gates in the second half, quickly running up a double-digit lead over the Tide.
The Wolverines are being carried by their star forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who has 22 points and 11 rebounds as Michigan currently holds a comfortable lead.
No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 2 UConn, 9:45 p.m. ET, CBS
Speaking of blue-bloods, No. 2 UConn will face No. 3 Michigan State for the third time in tournament history.
Both programs have split the two meetings, the last coming in 2014 in the Elite Eight and on Friday, they will play for a chance at advancing to that stage of the tournament – a familiar spot for both teams.
Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. broke a school record by dishing out 16 assists in their win against Louisville in the second round and will look to do the same against the Tarris Reed Jr.-led Huskies defense.
Reed finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds in UConn’s win against UCLA last week.
Buckle up for Tom Izzo vs. Dan Hurley because you never what might happen with that combustible combination.
No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Iowa State, 10:10 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV
No. 2 seeded Iowa State have had an interesting week in regard to injuries and coaching rumors.
Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson suffered an ankle injury in their first round game against Tennessee State, resulting in the 22-year-old missing the team’s second round showdown with Kentucky.
Head coach T. J. Otzelberger called Jefferson a game-time decision.
“We’re going to give him every opportunity up until the game to do everything he can. He’s a fierce competitor. Our medical staff has been amazing, and he’s continued to work diligently,” Otzelberger said on Thursday.
Speaking of Otzelberger, the same North Carolina rumors were swirling around the 48-year-old this week. However, Otzelberger confirmed he would be staying in Ames, Iowa.
“I couldn’t be more excited about our future. I couldn’t be more thrilled for what we have in front of us, and couldn’t be more proud of being part of Cyclone basketball,” Otzelberger said.
As for the Volunteers, the Rick Barnes-led squad will look to advance to the Elite Eight for the third consecutive year and will lean on Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie to help lead the charge.
Four marquee games in the women’s bracket
The women’s Sweet 16 kicked off Friday with four marquee matchups.
The slate was headlined by No. 1 seeds UConn and UCLA, both of which won comfortably.
The Huskies entered Friday with a perfect record and dominated No. 4 seed North Carolina 63-42 to extend their winning streak to 53 games dating back to last season.
Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo played lights out in the No. 6 seeded Irish’s 67-64 upset victory over No. 2 Vanderbilt. Hidalgo broke the NCAA’s single-season record for steals while recording a triple-double – scoring 31 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and bagging 10 steals in the victory. The Irish will face UConn on Sunday.
The Bruins faced No. 4 seed Minnesota, who are coming off a buzzer-beater win against Ole Miss in the second round. There was no magic for the Golden Gophers on Friday as the Bruins pulled away in the second half to win 80-56.
Here’s the full women’s schedule:
- Notre Dame 67, Vanderbilt 64
- UConn 63, North Carolina 42
- UCLA 80, Minnesota 56
- No. 2 LSU vs. No. 3 Duke, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN
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