Men's NCAA Tournament Midwest Region 3rd Round Game Breakdowns
#1 Louisville vs. #8 Colorado State (Lexington, Kentucky)
Not surprisingly, Louisville crushed North Carolina A&T in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by a score of 79-48. The Cardinals Russ Smith led the way with 23 points. They will face a Colorado State team that had a very nice looking win over Missouri. The Rams, the only team in the Mountain West that has not been a disappointment thus far in the NCAA Tournament, beat the Tigers 84-72. Dorian Green tallied 26 points and was pretty much unstoppable inside the arc. But what this game will come down to is rebounding. Colorado State once again proved its dominance on the glass by outrebounding Missouri 36 to 18. That is why they are the best rebounding team in the nation. Colton Iverson led the effort on the glass with 13 rebounds, but Pierce Hornung and a handful of others will do plenty of work on the glass for Colorado State. And that is where the Cardinals will be tested by the underdog Rams. If Gorgui Dieng, Chane Behanan, Stephan Van Treese and company can neutralize the frontcourt of Colorado State, the talent in the backcourt should take Cardinals to victory.
#4 Saint Louis vs. #12 Oregon (San Jose, California)
The Billikens had another great defensive effort to kick off their 2013 NCAA Tournament, holding New Mexico State to just 44 points. They absolutely shut down the size and strength of NMSU in the paint, even if it took a few fouls to do so. The offense had more than enough firepower, mostly from Dwayne Evans, to win comfortably. Saint Louis will go up against Oregon, a 12 seed that “upset” fifth seeded Oklahoma State. The difference for the Ducks was on the glass where Arsalan Kazemi dominated. The Ducks have the potential to be a very potent team offensively, although they have been relatively inconsistent. They will not be able to score too much against Saint Louis’ stellar defense. But UO will need to be patient and either dictate tempo with Dominic Artis or be consistently efficient and effective in the halfcourt offense.
#3 Michigan State vs. #6 Memphis (Auburn Hills, Michigan)
Michigan State’s victory over Valparaiso was more lopsided than the 65-54 score would indicate. The Spartans dominated in the paint, led by Derrick Nix and his 23 points and 15 rebounds. That included an amazing nine offensive boards for the 6-9 senior. Meanwhile, Memphis won a grind-it-out game against the Gaels of Saint Mary’s. The Tigers let the Gaels back into the game with poor free-throw shooting, but managed to get the one stop they needed at the end. Memphis’ athleticism should be on display more prominently against Michigan State, but again it will be the Spartans big men who could make the difference. Nix may not score 23 points this time around, but Adreian Payne is capable of scoring much more than he did on Thursday.
#2 Duke vs. #7 Creighton (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
The Blue Devils did their usual thing against a weaker opponent in the round of 64; getting out to a double digit lead and staying there most of the game. In the end Duke beat Albany 73-61. Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee accounted for 49 of Duke’s points and the Great Danes had absolutely no success stopping either Curry or Plumlee. The Blue Devils will go up against Doug McDermott and Creighton after the Bluejays slipped past Cincinnati in the second round. Duke can be vulnerable because they tend to rely quite heavily on their outside shooting. However, Creighton is exactly the same way. Both teams have players who can do more than shoot, but this game could very well come down to who is hitting their shots. If the outside shooting proves to be relatively even, Gregory Echenique will need to stay on the floor as much as possible in order to stop Plumlee from having his way in the paint.
South Region 3rd Round Game Breakdowns
East Region 3rd Round Game Breakdowns
West Region 3rd Round Game Breakdowns
