A weekend filled with upsets and exciting finishes took a gruesome turn on Sunday when University of Louisville guard Kevin Ware broke his leg in the team’s Elite Eight matchup with Duke University.
Ware went up to contest a Tyler Thornton 3-point attempt right in front of the Louisville bench, but landed on his right leg awkwardly.
Ware suffered an compound fracture of his right tibia, meaning that the bone went straight through the skin. His teammates on the bench turned away in horror, and the ones on the floor dropped to the ground, unable to handle what had just happened. But amidst the tears and confusion, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino kept imploring his team during timeouts to “win it for Kevin,” and they did so in spectacular fashion, beating the Blue Devils by 22 points en route to the team’s second consecutive Final Four berth.
Thursday’s Sweet 16 games were unspectacular (for my bracket, at least), save the Ohio State-Arizona game. The Buckeyes blew a six-point lead with 1:30 to go, before their reserve forward LaQuinton Ross hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the game to send them to the Elite Eight. Thursday also had the first of my Final Four picks, Miami, fall to Marquette. The Golden Eagles shot a spectacular 54 percent from the field while holding the Hurricanes to less than 35 percent. It was the first Elite Eight appearance for Marquette since Dwayne Wayne led the team to the Final Four in 2003.
The other two games that night featured No. 1 seed Indiana University falling to Syracuse, and No. 9 seed Wichita State winning the battle of the underdogs over No. 13 seed La Salle.
Friday night gave way to what I thought was the best game of the Tournament (although many around the area would disagree). The South region’s No. 1 seed and local favorite Kansas Jayhawks faced the NBA talent-laden Michigan Wolverines in a Sweet Sixteen contest that went to overtime after the Jayhawks blew a 14 point lead with less than seven minutes remaining. The comeback was capped by a desperation 3-pointer from Michigan superstar Trey Burke to tie the game. The Wolverines rode their end-of-regulation momentum into overtime, where they won 87-85 following Naadir Tharpe’s missed three-pointer at the buzzer.
Friday also had Duke and Louisville winning, and Florida Gulf Coast University’s Cinderella run coming to an end after losing to the University of Florida 62-50.
If you polled 100 people right after Selection Sunday and asked them what Kansas school would advance the farthest, I’m sure at least 80 would answer with the Jayhawks, with a few bold people selecting Kansas State, but the Shockers lived up to their name in defeating Ohio State on Saturday to make their first Final Four since 1965, when only 23 schools played in the tournament.
The other game on Saturday had Syracuse using its stifling zone defense to hold Marquette to 39 points on 22.6 percent shooting, exacting their revenge for a 2011 second round loss to the Golden Eagles. The Orange underachieved greatly in conference play, going 11-7 in Big East play before rallying in the conference tournament, making it all the way to the finals. That said, I did not expect them to make it further than the game against Indiana, but Michael Carter-Williams and James Southerland have both stepped up their games to lift the Orange to make a run at a championship in head coach Jim Boeheim’s fourth Final Four in four decades.
The other two teams in the Final Four are Michigan, after pummeling Florida by 20, and the aforementioned Louisville. Louisville will be going up against Wichita State, and Syracuse will be matched up against Michigan on Saturday.
I see Louisville being able to use its press to wear down the Shockers’ offense and force turnovers to end the Shockers’ run. I also think Syracuse’s zone will keep the Michigan offense at bay, and Trey Burke will have trouble offensively with Michael Carter-Williams hounding him. Syracuse’s success from behind the 3-point line will propel the Orange to victory, where they would face Louisville in the national championship game.
I have Louisville winning it all, with the motivation of bringing the NCAA trophy back to Ware. The Cardinals’ suffocating pressure by Peyton Siva and Russ Smith and shot-blocking force in Gorgui Dieng will keep Syracuse from scoring even in the 60s.
My final score prediction is Louisville 71 – Syracuse 58.
