Sweet Sixteen, Duke and Gonzaga progress

Sweet Sixteen of March Madness wrapped on Friday as the final four schools punched their tickets to the Elite Eight. The East and South regional semi-finals threw up little in the way of surprise with only one lower seed beating out a better placed rival. That honour went to Michigan State, the school stopped Oklahoma at the Sweet Sixteen stage.

The other teams lining up in the Elite Eight after Friday’s action are Louisville, Gonzaga, and Duke, and here’s how the contests played out.

Duke vs. Utah, 63-57
Top seed Duke booked safe passage from the Sweet Sixteen and will now clash with second seed Gonzaga in the Elite Eight. The Blue Devils are marching to their 20th overall regional decider and were buoyed by the consistent scoring of Justise Winslow, who contributed a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Tyus Jones followed up with 15 points for Duke, while Brandon Taylor matched that for Utah.

Gonzaga vs. UCLA, 74-62
Gonzaga breezed past 11th seed UCLA in a game that went to form, with the second seed heading to the Elite Eight for just the second time. Some thought UCLA was lucky to be included in March Madness period, so a run to the Sweet Sixteen is good going for the Bruins. Przemek Karnowski was the pick of the players with 18 points and 9 boards for Gonzaga, with the school now heading to a regional final against Duke.

Louisville vs. North Carolina State, 75-65
Fourth seeded Louisville overcame eighth seed N.C. State by double digits to put its name on the Elite Eight fixture list. Louisville fought back from a losing first half to end the Wolf Pack’s run, with Montrezl Harrell leading the way with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Terry Rozier had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the winners, the only double-double of the game, while Trevor Lacey led North Carolina with 18 points.

Michigan State vs. Oklahoma, 62-58
Michigan State bested Oklahoma to reach the regional East final where the school will clash with Louisville. Seventh seed Michigan is the lowest ranked team heading to the Elite Eight and was the only school to down a superior seed through this year’s Sweet Sixteen. Travis Trice set the scoring tone for the winning effort with 24 points, followed by Denzel Valentine with 18 points and 7 rebounds for Michigan.