Spartans, Blue Devils Round Out Final Four

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils after a 78-71 win against the Baylor Bears. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images )

Raymar Morgan became Michigan State and Tom Izzo’s saving grace against the Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday. He clinched the Spartans’ eighth appearance in the Final Four—sixth under the Izzo reign—with a free throw with less than 2 seconds on the clock for a 70–69 victory.

Morgan was sent to the line after a foul by Tennessee guard J.P. Prince with the score knotted at 69.

Morgan hit the first free throw and an attempt to run out the clock with an intentional miss on the second free throw was put to bed by Tennessee center Brian Williams. Williams pulled down the rebound and called a timeout with 1.6 seconds.

After mildly mishandling the receipt of the inbounds pass, Prince came up short with the last second half court heave, bringing an end to a tight and tense nail-biter.

Michigan State’s Durell Summers shot lights out, hitting four 3-pointers and finishing with a game high of 21 points, while J.P. Prince finished with 12 points and the led in assists with 5.

The Elite Eight is the furthest Tennessee has gone in the Men’s NCAA basketball tournament, yet that doesn’t make the loss any easier for seniors, J.P. Prince, Wayne Chism, Tyler Smith, Qiun Cannigton, and Bobby Maze.

“Anytime we watch college games or during tournament time, we’ll always come back to that very moment where we were just too short,” Maze said after the game.

The Spartans will face off against fifth seeded Butler University, the hometown favorite next weekend in Indianapolis.

On Saturday, Butler knocked off No. 2 Kansas State 63–56.

Duke Only No. 1 Seed Left

Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke Blue Devils defeated third-seeded Baylor 78–71 to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2004.

Baylor led 61–60 with just under four minutes to play when the Blue Devils went on a 12–1 run putting the game out of reach.

Two back-to-back 3-pointers by guards Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer put the nail in the coffin, ending the six-year drought for Duke who will return to the Final Four for the 11th time under “Coach K.”

“We played against a great team,” said Krzyzewski. “It was such a well-played game, and we were fortunate to win.”

Smith finished with the game and career high of 29 points, 4–6 from 3-point range, and Scheyer had 20 points.

Duke shot 48 percent from the 3-point land, hitting 11–23. Baylor’s LaceDarius Dunn had his team’s high of 22 points.

The Blue Devils will move on to play West Virginia next Saturday night in Indianapolis.

On Saturday, West Virginia, the Big East champs, knocked off No. 1 Kentucky 73–66.