I. Renko is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report from Lexington after Thursday’s Second Round game between Louisville and North Carolina A&T. Follow him on Twitter @IRenkoHoops.

Three Key Takeaways:

Peyton Siva and Company Rolled On…

1. Louisville Went for the Knockout Punch Early — The Cardinals didn’t waste any time tonight, unleashing their full-court press early and often. By the 10-minute mark of the first half, they’d forced eight turnovers and led 25-7. That was all the margin that Louisville would need, as NC A&T never got any closer than 14 points the rest of the way. All told, Louisville’s press forced 27 turnovers, which the Cardinals converted into 34 points. The competition will get stiffer, but this kind of defense is what has made Louisville the team to beat.
2. NC A&T’s Fighting Spirit — The odds that North Carolina A&T faced tonight were as long as any that March has to offer. Just 48 hours removed from their last game, with only a day to prepare for Louisville’s vaunted pressure defense, and in front of a rabidly pro-Louisville crowd, the Aggies showed tremendous heart just by competing for 40 minutes. After falling behind 25-7, they actually outscored Louisville over the next 15 minutes of the game, until the Cardinals reeled off a 14-0 run to effectively end the game. Kudos, too, to the NC A&T fans who made the trip to Louisville. Their enthusiastic support never wavered. We spend a lot of time in March celebrating the underdogs who win, but it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the ones who lose with dignity and determination.
3. The ‘Ville Practiced Its Rebounding — You don’t want to overstate the point, given the quality of the competition, but Louisville had a strong performance in one area that has been a weakness for them this year — defensive rebounding. They pulled down almost 80 percent of the Aggies’ misses. Louisville tends to win despite this flaw, and it’s almost an accepted fact of their pressure/zone defense, but they need to be very wary about yielding too much in their next game. Each of their potential Third Round opponents (Colorado State, Missouri) is ranked in the top 10 in the nation in offensive rebounding and will be looking to pound the glass.

Star of the Game: I don’t think Russ Smith gets the attention and praise he deserves as the best player on the best team in the country (yes, he is the best player on the team). He was left off the USBWA’s and The Sporting News’ first and second All-American teams. A dominant performance may not not turn any heads, but it confirmed what many of us already knew about Smith’s ability. He led the attack tonight at both ends of the court, scoring 23 points on 10-of-16 field goal shooting and recording eight steals.

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Andrew Murawa is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after the Round of 64 NCAA Tournament game between #1 Gonzaga and #16 Southern in Salt Lake City.

Three Key Takeaways.

Kelly Olynyk and His Troops Sure Had to Sweat on Thursday

1. Keeping It Close. After keeping it tight for the better part of 30 minutes, it looked like Gonzaga was ready to pull away and ease to victory. Kelly Olynyk had scored 15 of the Zags first 18 points in the second half and with Southern having no one with the size and quickness to match him, we were ready for the inevitable double-digit win. But then something funny happened. Some of the Bulldog jumpers stopped going down, they turned it over a few times and the next thing you know, following some key blocks and increasingly improbable three-point shots going down for the Jaguars, we were all tied up with under four to go. But down the stretch, the Gonzaga guards took the baton from Olynyk and between Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr., scored the final ten points for the Zags to seal the game.
2. So That’s A Number One Seed? There was plenty of talk since the brackets were announced about the long-term viability of the Bulldogs after earning their first-ever one-seed. And, the early returns are not promising. Certainly, the Jaguars needed to hit some insane three-pointers to stick around, and Olynyk looked at times like a guy capable of overpowering his smaller opponents, but this was not an impressive performance by the Zags. Elias Harris turned in a 2-for-10 outing and got rejected at the rim twice by smaller Southern defenders and the Bulldog backcourt caused absolutely no problems for the quick Southern backcourt. With a tough and talented Wichita State team awaiting in the next round, Gonzaga is going to have to play much better. One area where the Zags do deserve credit thought: down the stretch as the game tightened up where it could have been really easy for them to feel the pressure, they played with poise in the final few minutes.
3. Southern Celebrations. We’ll have hazy memories of these guys years in the future, so let’s take some time right now to recognize some of the great performances turned in by Jaguar players today. Off-guard Derick Beltran time and time again hit big shots, knocking down four threes as well as a pair of late two-point jumpers in his defender’s face; point guard Jameel Grace was nails throughout, getting into the lane in order to create opportunities, even if he hit just one of his eight field goal attempts; Brandon Moore and Javan Mitchell patrolled the paint, racking up seven blocks between them against taller opponents. And all told, the Jaguars got terrific performances by guys up and down the roster.

Star of the Game.  Southern University. I could pick somebody from the winning team here (Olynyk’s 21/10 or Pangos’ 16 and big shots down the stretch are good candidates), but really, the star here was Southern University from start to finish. And I can’t even single out one of the players. From head coach Roman Banks on down the line, the Jaguars all deserve credit.

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RTC is reporting on the NCAA Second Round games at the San Jose pod today.

Three Key Takeaways.

Oregon Is a Dangerous Team As a Clearly Underseeded #12

1. The Ducks Were No #12 Seed. And they played like it. From the opening tip of this game, Dana Altman’s team played with a moxie and a poise that said, “no way in hell are we a #12 seed!” A lot of pundits suggested that the Ducks would play today as if they had been slighted, and they did. They stepped on Oklahoma State’s neck early, running out to a 19-12 lead and never really looking back. OSU struggled shooting the ball throughout, ending up with a brick-laying 39% performance. For every mini-run from the Cowboys, Oregon always had some kind of an answer — it was clear to everyone in the building, and many of those were Oregon partisans, that the Ducks were the better team. We’re not sure what the NCAA Selection Committee was thinking with that #12 seed, but this proves even more than before how much of a whiff that decision was.
2. Marcus Smart, Not Impressive. (note: after the game, Smart’s right hand was wrapped in ice and he said it was “killing him.” – even if the injury gave him problems after that point in the game, he still could have performed better prior to that point) I voted for Smart as the National Freshman of the Year for the USBWA last weekend, and after this performance — 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, eight rebounds, four assists, five steals, and five turnovers — I’m not sure what to think. He filled the stat sheet, sure, but he never once really wowed me with either his game or his leadership. I know he’s probably capable of much more, but a truly great point guard gives his team what it needs to succeed. Today, Oklahoma State needed him to go off for 25 points because his typical scoring mates such as Le’Bryan Nash (10 points) and Phil Forte (five points) weren’t actively involved.
3. Dominic Artis is Back and Oregon is a Different Team Because of It. Oregon rose to the top 10 in America driven by its dynamic point guard Dominic Artis before his midseason injury. In the last two weeks as he’s worked his way back into the lineup, he hasn’t looked quite as dynamic or on top of his game as he had before the injury. In the last six games, for example, he had scored a total of 20 points and grabbed two steals. Today against Oklahoma State, though, he scored 13 points and ripped off four steals from a very athletic backcourt. When Artis is performing like this along with contributions from Kazemi and Dotson, Oregon is very tough to beat. Certainly as Oklahoma State found today.

Star of the Game. Arsalan Kazemi, Oregon. If you can forgive his two #rimstuff missed dunks today, he was the best player on the floor for the Ducks. He was obsessively active around the rim on both ends, grabbing a ridiculous 17 rebounds (six offensive) while also going for 11 points in the win. His teammates Damyean Dotson and Dominic Artis were also instrumental to the victory, but Kazemi as the transfer senior wasn’t going to waste his opportunity to get an NCAA win for the first time in his career.

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I. Renko is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report from Lexington after Thursday’s Second Round game between Marquette and Davidson. Follow him on Twitter @IRenkoHoops.

Three Key Takeaways:

1. Marquette Saved Its Best for Last, and Davidson Saved Its Worst — After trailing for almost the entire second half and staring at a seven-point deficit with under two minutes to play, Marquette found the wherewithal to stage a March-worthy comeback. Through 38 minutes and 57 seconds, Marquette had shot 1-of-11 from three-point range, but they managed to drain three straight contested threes in the final 63 seconds, the last of which pulled them to within a point with 11 seconds left. And that’s when Davidson threw away the game. They’d committed just one turnover in the second half, in the face of heavy perimeter pressure. But De’mon Brooks chose the worst possible moment to throw a wild pass into the frontcourt that Nick Cochran could not track down. With the ball back and five seconds left, Marquette’s Vander Blue drove to the basket, and Davidson’s defense, which had contained dribble penetration all game, retreated, allowing him to convert a relatively easy layup to win the game with a second left.
   

   Vander Blue’s game-winning layup put Marquette to the third round and sent a devastated Davidson squad home. (AP)

2. This Was As Tough a Loss as They Come — For 39 minutes, Davidson withstood Marquette’s bruising physicality, even seeming to out-tough them at times. Their defense clamped down on Marquette’s guards, clogging the paint, shutting down their dribble penetration, and contesting shots all game. They held Marquette to just 34 percent field goal shooting (and 27 percent from three-point range). And when their hot three-point hand cooled off, they mustered enough offense against Marquette’s tough interior defense to be in a position to win. It was the kind of gutsy mid-major performance that makes March special, and it made the Wildcats’ collapse in the final minute all the more painful.
3. Marquette’s Aggression on the Boards Paid Off — Offensive rebounding is an important part of Marquette’s offensive attack, and at halftime, they had rebounded 10 of their 22 misses. But they converted these boards into just three second-chance points. That was  due, at least in part, to Davidson’s tough gang defense under the rim. But the Golden Eagles kept at it, and in the second half, they scored six key second-chance points late in the game.

Star of the Game: Vander Blue, Marquette’s leading scorer, had a mediocre offensive game overall, but he came through when it counted most. His three-pointer with 11 seconds to play pulled the Golden Eagles to within a point, and his drive and finish on the final play of the game gave us our first great Tournament moment.

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Will Tucker is a RTC correspondent. Will is covering the Auburn Hills pod of the Midwest Region. You can also find him on Twitter @blrdswag.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. Memphis is always a threat to get out and run. Even against the fifth-most efficient offense in the country, the Tigers found ways to capitalize on missed shots by getting out in transition and exploiting their athleticism. Outlet passes to a streaking Joe Jackson on blocks and defensive boards routinely led to points, as the shifty point guard would set up easy baskets for Tarik Black, D.J. Stephens and others. That advantage became less apparent as the Gaels’ cold shooting subsided, making fewer defensive rebounds available in the second half. But as St. Mary’s clawed back into the game, Memphis responded by turning up the defensive intensity, creating 19 points off turnovers with dunks and transition threes.
   

   It wasn’t easy, but Joe Jackson and Memphis advanced to the third round. (Getty)

2. Simply put, Shaq Goodwin needs to foul less. Goodwin sat for most of the first half after accumulating two fouls in the first three minutes, in yet another installment of his well-documented issues with personals. His 3.3 fouls per game ranks top 40 in the country, despite only playing 21 points per game. Which is exactly the issue, because Josh Pastner needs the powerful 6’9″ freshman on the court if the Tigers are going to take down Michigan State’s frontcourt. The abusive tandem of Derrick Nix (6’9″, 270) and Adreian Payne (6’10″, 240) already demonstrated earlier in the day how productive they can be when they get anywhere near the offensive glass. Memphis has a plethora of athletes, but outside of Goodwin and Tarik Black, they don’t have the bulk to contain Michigan State’s big men in the style of play Tom Izzo will try to dictate on Saturday.
3. Defensive rebounding and free throw shooting remain question marks for this club. Josh Pastner prioritized both after the Tigers shot 33% from the line and gave up an absurd number of second-chance opportunities in a loss to Xavier. The Tigers seemed to have reformed themselves since giving up 41.5% of available offensive boards to the Musketeers, but they allowed the Gaels to grab 15 offensive boards and score 17 second chance points today. They also shot 50% from the charity stripe, and made only 4-of-10 in the final three minutes, which left the door open for the Gaels to attempt a game-winning three at the buzzer that missed long.

Star of the Game. Joe Jackson, who posted team-highs of 14 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds, as well as orchestrating a beautiful transition offense that never let its foot off the gas. Discounting a crucial turnover at the end of the game, Jackson generally had a good awareness of time and situation, and helped hold Steve Holt and Matthew Dellavedova to a combined 4-of-23 from the field. (Co-star: Josh Pastner, who won his first NCAA Tournament game as a head coach.)

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It’s not been an insane day yet, but who knows what the Thursday evening sessions might have in store for us. Let’s continue our analysis of all of today’s games with the evening slate of eight contests.

#1 Louisville vs. #16 North Carolina A&T – Midwest Region Second Round (at Lexington, KY) – 6:50 PM ET on TBS

First things first — congratulations to the Aggies for taking care of business in Dayton, no matter how narrow the final margin was. Their reward is the number one overall seed in the Tournament, and a shot at history. This is the nice way of thinking about things in Aggie-land. Realistically, Cy Alexander’s team will be happy if they can hang around for a half. But if we are actually being realistic, I wouldn’t plan on that happening. A&T’s 73 point output on Tuesday marked just the third time in 2013 that they scored that many in a game, and rest assured they have not seen a defense near the caliber of Louisville’s during that time.

Peyton Siva and Louisville, the tournament’s #1 overall seed, begin its quest for a title today against North Carolina A&T. (USA Today)

Only VCU turns teams over more often than do the Cardinals, and rest assured that Peyton Siva, Russ Smith and the rest of the gang will be salivating at the sight of the Aggies and their 292^nd ranked turnover percentage. If this is to be a game, A&T must limit turnovers, keep it in the half-court, and hope to make as many shots as they did in Dayton. It’s the definition of a mission impossible, and A&T will find out fast that, despite calling Freedom Hall home for over 50 years, Louisville is most certainly not Liberty.

The RTC Certified Pick: Louisville

#8 Colorado State vs. #9 Missouri – Midwest Region Second Round (at Lexington, KY) – 9:20 PM ET on TBS

For those seeking to avoid watching a game in the 50’s at all costs, this matchup of top-15 offenses is your best bet in the second round. Missouri is led by the mercurial Phil Pressey, whose breathtaking moments of wizardry are too often eclipsed by mind-numbing late game decisions. He is my guilty pleasure in this Tournament: A point guard who I would not trust to run my own team, but who is too brilliant for my neutral observer eyes to ever look away. He should have his run of things on Thursday; that is, if Colorado State’s recent ineptitude covering scoring guards continues. We all remember Kendall Williams’ explosion in Fort Collins a few weeks back, but Derrick Marks (Boise State) and Deonte Burton (Nevada) have since had their own field days against the Rams. Pressey should get his (and his teammates theirs), but this will be a game decided on the backboards. Missouri is not a bad rebounding team at all (actually 7^th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage), but compared to the Rams, they are. Colorado State is the single best rebounding team in the land, despite running out a starting frontcourt that features two players under 6’6”. Pierce Hornung, Greg Smith and Colton Iverson are all relentless in pursuit of missed shots on both ends of the floor. The onus will be squarely on Alex Oriakhi and Laurence Bowers to match that intensity. I’m not sold on that happening, and I’m also struggling to trust in a Missouri outfit that has looked unfocused all season long. Far easier to believe in a veteran Ram team that was in this same position a year ago – give me Colorado State in an entertaining battle.

The RTC Certified Pick: Colorado State Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Murawa is the RTC correspondent. Andrew is covering the Salt Lake City pod of the West Regional this weekend.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. Out-Tough. One of the concerns I had for Wichita State coming into the game was their ability to hang with Pitt, one of the nation’s best rebounding teams, on the glass. Despite being undersized almost all the way across the board, it was the Shockers who, shockingly, owned the glass. They grabbed 34.4% of their own misses and turned those boards into 14 points. The Shockers also earned their way to the line more than twice as much as the Panthers, getting to the line 41 times and converting 33 of their attempts from back there. And, perhaps most importantly, even as Pitt senior guard Tray Woodall admitted, the Shockers “got to most of the loose balls.” In a battle of two teams whose identity is based around toughness, the winner here was the team that was the toughest.
   

   Cleanthony Early was a big reason why the Shockers advanced to the third round. (AP)

2. Sometimes You Just Gotta Make Shots. It’s easy to look at the stat sheet and say, oh, Pitt was awful. But the Panthers got what they wanted at times on offense, getting into the lane and creating more shots in the paint than anywhere else. All told, 28 of their 54 shot attempts came within five feet of the basket, and yet, the Panthers missed 13 of those 28 attempts. Even worse, the Panthers only made six shots all day from outside of five feet, going 6/26 on jumpers. Sometimes it’s a real simple game; you gotta make shots.
3. Not A Thing Of Beauty. As you could have anticipated when this game first showed up in the bracket, this game was not exactly the type of game that is going to bring in a ton of new fans. Not that it wasn’t well played at times – it was, with both teams running good offense and playing hard-nosed defense – but it was rough and tumble, physical under the hoop and out at the perimeter. And, with neither team featuring many great jumpshooters or finishers, even when that good offense resulted in good looks, often those good looks went awry. In the end, the teams combined for 3-of-37 shooting (8.1%) from behind the arc and a 38.3 eFG%.

Star of the Game. Malcolm Armstead, Wichita State. Armstead did everything for the Shockers today, leading all scorers with 22 points, handing out five assists and even chipping in on the boards with four, including a couple offensive rebounds. And on a night where it seemed like just about everybody else had trouble shooting the ball, Armstead made 6-of-14 shots from the field and knocked down all nine of his free throws. Armstead didn’t limit his contributions to the offensive end either, as he was a key cog in helping to harass Pitt’s starting backcourt of Tray Woodall and James Robinson into 3-of-20 shooting and a seven turnovers. While Armstead gets the slight nod, his teammate Cleanthony Early also deserves mention, as he threw in 21 points and, normally more comfortable on the wing, helped out with seven rebounds, including three on the offensive end.

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RTC is reporting on the NCAA Second Round games at the San Jose pod today.

Saint Louis Shut Down the Aggies This Afternoon (Thearon Henderson)

Three Key Takeaways:

1. Saint Louis Was Never Threatened. The Billikens hardly had to sweat against New Mexico State today, as the Aggies really couldn’t put two plays together and never once threatened to make the game interesting. There was a brief period during the second half when NMSU went to a full-court press and caused the Saint Louis backcourt a bit of consternation with consecutive turnovers and some shaky play when they made it past half-court, but that was short-lived. Put simply, it was a methodical defensive clinic, the kind of which you might expect a #4 seed to put on a #13 seed in this round. The stats tell the story: NMSU shot 28% for the game, had a grand total of zero fast break points, and had no answer for Dwayne Evans (his 16 points at the half equaled the Aggies).
2. Smothering Doesn’t Describe It Well Enough. Everyone knows that the SLU defense is legit — after all, it is ranked seventh in the nation according to KenPom, and its 57.7 PPG allowed is in the top 15. But until you see how they simply do not allow good looks at the basket, it’s hard to believe. Every pass, catch, dribble, and of course shot is challenged. I counted only two solid scoring opportunities for the Aggies in the first nine minutes of the game — situations where New Mexico State had clearly solved the defense for a good look. As noted above, the only time they ever made a “run” was in the second half off of their press — when left to depend on their offense figuring out the defense in the half-court, the Aggies were hapless.
3. Sim Bhullar is an Interesting Case Study. First of all, this guy is enormous. There were times as he stood in the paint today where it appeared he was the early puberty kid among a bunch of 10-year olds. The difference between his size — 7’5″, 360 pounds — and everyone else was that stark. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him whenever he was in the game, and on his first two catches in the paint, he couldn’t hang on to the ball. But he calmed down as the game went on, and the big burly freshman actually made a couple nice offensive moves and ended up with four points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. He needs to lose 50 pounds to have better conditioning, but he’s got a promising future in college basketball.

Star of the Game: Dwayne Evans, St. Louis. Evans carried the Billikens in the first half, scoring 16 of his game-high 24 and equaling the entire team output of the Aggies at that point, but it was his play early that calmed his team and allowed their smothering half-court defense to get it going. The junior forward is playing great, going for 16 or more points in all of the Billikens’ last nine games.

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I. Renko is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report from Lexington after Thursday’s Second Round game between Butler and Bucknell. Follow him on Twitter @IRenkoHoops.

Three Key Takeaways:

1. Mike Muscala Could Not Get It Going — All eyes were on Bucknell’s Mike Muscala this afternoon, and the big man shrunk under the spotlight. He got off to a poor start, scoring just two points in the first half on 1-of-9 FG shooting. He started to find the net a bit in the second half, as the Bison climbed back from a double-digit deficit to make it a competitive game. But he never developed a good rhythm, and at the end of the day, Bucknell needed more than his nine points on 4-of-17 shooting. Butler’s defense gets some credit, but Muscala missed a lot of shots that he typically makes.
   

   Brad Stevens’ crew flustered the Bucknell offense all game long. (AP)

2. Not That Easy on the Eyes — Apart from an exciting stretch in the middle of the second half, this game was plagued by ineffective offense. Butler hardly put on an offensive clinic, but Bucknell was the biggest offender. After shooting a miserable 25.9 percent from the field in the first half, they couldn’t find a consistent rhythm in second. Apart from a pair of lightning quick runs that actually gave them a six-point lead, the offense continued to struggle. And it wasn’t just Muscala who struggled. The Bison’s second and third leading scorers, guards Cameron Ayers (12.5 ppg) and Bryson Johnson (11.1 ppg), continued the disappearing act that they unveiled in the Patriot League tournament, combining for 0 points on 0-of-4 FG shooting in the first half.
3. Butler Overcame Its Cold Shooting — Rotnei Clarke and Kellen Dunham combined to make more than 150 threes this year, but against Bucknell, the two were stone cold. They shot a combined 2-of-9 from three-point range and missed several two-point jumpers, combining to go 5-of-18 from the field. The two guards made up for their poor shooting, though, by taking care of the ball. Turnovers have plagued the Bulldogs’ guards all season, but Clarke and Dunham committed none today.

Star of the Game: With Butler’s shooters in a game-long cold spell, it fell to Roosevelt Jones to ignite the offense with his unorthodox game. Perhaps it was fitting that Jones, who resembles a fullback in appearance and style of play, was the star of a contest that had a 21-14 football-like score at halftime. Jones’ ugly shotput runners in the lane and ragged drives to the basket epitomized the ugly nature of Butler’s win. He finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting and added five boards and four assists. The turnover-prone guard also had just one miscue.

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Will Tucker is a RTC correspondent. Will is covering the Auburn Hills pod of the Midwest Region. You can also find him on Twitter @blrdswag.

Denzel Valentine of the Michigan State Spartans reacts in the first half against the Valparaiso Crusaders. (Getty)

Three Key Takeaways:

1. Michigan State can make huge runs with its defense. The Spartans sleepwalked for the first 13 minutes, which underscored the sense that they don’t have elite offensive efficiency, but they do have the ability to make dramatic runs quickly with defense and the transition shooting of Gary Harris and Keith Appling.
2. Gary Harris has the poise and temperament of an upperclassman. He struggled shooting the ball for most of the game and suffered a 14-minute shooting drought on either side of halftime. But Harris contributed in other ways, adding a game-high four assists and team-high two steals to accompany his 10 points and four rebounds. More importantly, he showed the patience and judgment of an upperclassman, and helped energize his team after a lethargic opening performance. Plus, the MSU crowd absolutely loves him. “Freshman of the year, right there!” a fan screamed proudly after the Big Ten FOY drained his second gorgeous three in the first half.
3. Derrick Nix is going to be hard for anyone in the bottom half of the Midwest Region to stop after the way he played today. While Memphis has incredible athleticism at every position, they’ve shown vulnerabilities on the glass against big teams like Southern Miss. St. Mary’s presents a much tougher matchup with their depth and size in the front court, so Michigan State fans might be inclined to root for the Tigers to knock off the Gaels today.

Star of the Game. Derrick Nix (23 points, 15 rebounds) was a man possessed against a team with decent size that entered today ranked #34 in the country in defensive rebounding percentage. With nine offensive boards, he helped the Spartans build a +23 rebounding margin and score 14 second chance points.

Quotable. “Not every player at this tournament gets to play in their home state. Make your state proud.” — Tom Izzo before the game.

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