Michigan advances, Minnesota sent packing
Friday, March 20th, 2009Greensboro
No. 7 Texas (23-11) 76, No. 10 Minnesota (22-11) 62
Key Moment: Texas’ A.J. Abrams hit six straight 3-pointers to help the Longhorns take control in the second half.
High Point Scorers: Texas — Abrams 26 Minnesota — Lawrence Westbrook 19
Analysis: The better team won this game. When Texas mixed up Abrams in order to establish Damion James and Dexter Pittman on the inside it was too much for the Golden Gophers to overcome. And shooting 40 percent from the field didn’t help Minnesota either. Texas, which has problems with the 3 ball, was 11-19 (58 percent).
What’s Next: Texas advances to the second round where it meet No. 2 seed Duke which easily handled Binghamton 86-62. The Longhorns are going to have to get great guard play from Dogus Balbay to have a chance.
Kansas City
No. 10 Michigan (21-13) 62, No. 7 Clemson (23-9) 59
Key Moment: Clemson’s K.C. Rivers’ contested 3-pointer at the end fell short as Michigan nearly blew at 16-point lead
High Point Scorers: Michigan — Manny Harris 23 Clemson — Trevor Booker 18
Analysis: The Tigers shot themselves out of this game because they were 5-of-22 (23%) from 3-point range. Credit Michigan’s zone defense and patient offense for picking up the program’s first tournament win since 1998. They also survived a bad night from DeShawn Sims who scored only 9 points.
What’s Next: Michigan advances to the second round where it will meet No. 2 Oklahoma, which handled No. 15 Morgan State, 82-54. The Wolverine zone is really going to have to clamp down national player of the year candidate Blake Griffin who has 27 double doubles this year.
By Kevin Lonnquist
DFN Sports Staff Writer