Another one bites the dust
2 Rounds down, 2 more to the Final Four. Highly impressive wins by the Badgers and Spartans. Way to represent the conference.
Purdue played valiantly, but were unable to slow down Xavier from scoring. They managed to take the lead 61-60 with 5:25 left in the game after being down by as many as 9 points, but their defense just wasn’t able to slow down Xavier’s 54 percent shooting streak (a school record). After taking a 1 point lead, The Musketeers responded when B.J. Raymond made a 3 point play along with Drew Lavender’s drive to the hoop. This would be a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game as the two teams seemingly traded baskets until the end. Lavender’s 8-8 free throw shooting in the last minutes did not hurt either.
C.J. Anderson and Drew Lavender each scored 18 points, Josh Duncan had 16, Stanley Burrell added 11 and two other Musketeers scored eight apiece in the most points Purdue has allowed this season. Purdue played well offensively, really well, but it was their well publicized defense which led in the Big Ten this season that let them down.
#3 Wisconsin 72 – #11 Kansas State 55
Another badge of honor for the Big Ten as the Big Ten champions methodically dismantled Kansas State. The same Michael Beasley led Kansas State Wildcats that defeated one of Pac-10’s best, USC in the first round and #1 seed Kansas in the regular season. This is the same Wisconsin team that also beat Texas in Texas in the regular season, yet managed to receive the lowest seed awarded to a Big 6 conference champion.
With all the talk about freshman phenom Michael Beasley, he was relatively useless finishing with 23 points, but only 6 in the entire second half. Credit should be awarded to Wisconsin’s impenetrable defense for holding the Wildcats to their lowest scoring output this season. Wisconsin was my pick for the Final Four simply because of their physical, grind it out on each possession style of play. Like Bo Ryan’s face, they are unbearable to watch at times but it gets the job done and done well.
Wisconsin has now managed to hold their tournament opponents to 56 and 55 points respectively. Watch for another low scoring grudge fest either against Davidson or Georgetown. Though Davidson would be an easier matchup.
If Georgetown manages to beat Davidson, look for a great Wisconsin – Georgetown matchup that will rival the physicality of the Michigan State-Pittsburgh.
#5 Michigan State 65 – #4 Pittsburgh 54
Of the 3 Big Ten matchups in the second round, this one was the toughest and hence the most impressive victory. This game was alot closer than the final score indicated for most of the game. With 10 minutes left in the game, Pitt tied the game at 42 after clawing back from a 10 point deficit. But the Spartans responded with a 3 point play followed by Drew Neitzel’s 8 straight points to distance themselves from the Panthers.
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