SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) – Wayne Blackshear almost willed Louisville to another trip to the Final Four.
The hard-charging senior scored 28 points on Sunday, but a missed free throw by Mangok Mathiang with 4.9 seconds left in regulation cost the Cardinals a trip to their third Final Four in four seasons. Michigan State beat them 76-70 in overtime in the East Regional final of the NCAA Tournament.
”We wanted to get back to another Final Four. It didn’t go that way,” Blackshear said, not really wanting to think about what was his last college game. ”The better team won tonight.”
It was tied at 65 at the end of regulation after Mathiang’s missed free throw. The Spartans, keyed by a critical follow by Branden Dawson and some strong team defense, dominated the overtime.
Led by 12 points each from Blackshear and Montrezl Harrell, the Louisville offense shot 53.1 percent (17 of 32) in the first half, dominating 24-10 in the paint. The second half was almost the reverse – 5 of 25 – and the game slipped away. Louisville missed seven layups and a point-blank putback in the final 11 minutes to let the game slip away.
”We got what we really wanted,” Blackshear said. ”We got to the rim, missed a lot of layups. It wasn’t nothing that they did different. It was what we were beating ourselves up with.”
Harrell, a junior, was honored at Senior Day because he is expected to declare for the NBA draft. After hitting six of seven shots and handing out four assists in a stellar first half, he missed all five shots he attempted in the second half, missed five free throws, and didn’t notch another assist, finishing with 16 points.
”We kept swinging the ball, moving it and moving it, making them have to close in tough situations. It put them in a bind,” Harrell said of the first half. ”The second half we got away from that. We just stood around like spectators.
”I can’t say what went wrong. I was a big part of it. I shot terrible from the free throw line. I put a lot of it on myself,” Harrell said. ”We just got away from our plays, and we did a lot of one-on-one, standing around. Our defense broke down and they hit big-time shots.”
Michigan State hit nine 3s, but a miss from beyond the arc in the left corner by Bryn Forbes with just over 30 seconds left proved pivotal. Clinging to a 72-70 lead, Dawson snared the rebound and scored on a putback with 31.7 seconds left and the Cardinals were out of rallies.
”Any time you lose in overtime, it’s a heartbreaker,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. ”It’s very difficult for all the players. We had a difficult second half. We’ve got to give them credit. We almost came back and won the game. We’re a free throw away from winning the game, which would have been amazing.”
Counted out for done as recently as six weeks ago, the seventh-seeded Spartans (27-11) let it all out in a thrilling display of perseverance and defensive grit to oust the fourth-seeded Cardinals (27-9).
”I’d like to tell you that I thought five different times this year that we were good enough to get to a Final Four, but I’d be lying to you,” said coach Tom Izzo, who described this as the best of seven regional final victories he has enjoyed.
Trice led the Spartans with 17 points. Dawson had 11 rebounds, and Denzel Valentine scored 15 points for a Michigan State team that won for the 12th time in 15 games. It’s a run that included them knocking off second-seeded Virginia last weekend and third-seeded Oklahoma in the regional semifinal on Friday.
Michigan State will meet Duke, which beat Gonzaga 66-52 in the South Regional final, on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Louisville was denied a shot of making its third Final Four in four years, and 11th overall.
It’s the ninth Final Four appearance for the Spartans, and first since 2010, when they lost 52-50 to Butler in the national semifinals. Izzo has led them to seven Final Fours including the 2000 national championship.
The Spartans rallied from a 40-32 halftime deficit.
TIP-INS
Michigan State: Izzo improved to 13-9 when facing a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament. … The Spartans evened their tournament record against Louisville to 2-2. The Cardinals beat the Spartans in the 2012 West Regional semifinal, while the Spartans beat the Cardinals in the 2009 Midwest Regional final. Louisville also beat Michigan State in 1959.
Louisville: The Cardinals dropped to 52-10 when facing a lower seed in the NCAA Tournament, while Pitino dropped to 53-18. … Buffalo Bills center Eric Wood, a Louisville alum, was among those in attendance.
UP NEXT
Michigan State: Advances to Final Four to play South Regional champion Duke.
Louisville: Season over.
Add A Comment