Inside the games

Friday’s leaders

Scoring

Rebounding

Assists

Big Ten comes up really big

The Big Ten has filled almost half the final eight.

The conference that was dominated by Illinois all season and was considered by many to be down this year will have three teams playing this weekend for a berth in the Final Four.

Fifth-seeded Michigan State came up with the biggest shocker in the regional semifinals, beating top-seeded Duke 78-68 Friday night in the Austin Regional.

Just as that game ended, sixth-seeded Wisconsin beat No. 10 North Carolina State 65-56 in the Syracuse Regional to complete the Big Ten’s sweep of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Now, they join top-ranked Illinois, which is in the Chicago Regional, in the round of eight.

The last time one conference had three teams in the final eight was the Big 12 in 2003. Kansas and Texas moved on to the Final Four that year, while Oklahoma lost to eventual champion Syracuse in the regional final.

The only conference to have three teams in the same Final Four was the Big East in 1985 when champion Villanova, Georgetown and St. John’s all got there.

Wisconsin guard Sharif Chambliss was quick to address those who felt the Big Ten was comprised of Illinois and some other teams this season.

“The Big Ten is down this year?” he asked. “How many teams do we have in the Elite Eight?”

He knew the answer.

Spartan outing

Michigan State used its depth to prevent Duke’s J.J. Redick from breaking out of his slump.

Redick, a first-team All-America and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s player of the year, had a total of just 23 points in the Blue Devils’ first two wins in the tournament, one point above his season average.

He didn’t even take his first shot until the game was 10 minutes old, and he finished 4 of 14 from the field, including 3 for 9 on 3s. He had 13 points.

The Blue Devils’ other problem was turnovers. They averaged 13.5 this season but had 16 in the second-round win over Mississippi State and then committed 22 against Michigan State.

Hodgepodge

Julius Hodge was everything for North Carolina State in its first two wins in the NCAA Tournament. On Friday night, he couldn’t hit anything.

The senior forward had 36 points in 79 minutes in the wins over Charlotte and Connecticut. It was his three-point play with 4.3 seconds left that gave the Wolfpack their 65-62 win over second-seeded Connecticut.

There were no heroics for him in the 65-56 loss to Wisconsin, just a lot of missed shots.

Hodge finished 4 for 16 from the field and had 14 points. He missed both his 3-point attempts but long-range shots weren’t the problem. He missed repeatedly from in close after driving to the basket.

The Wolfpack were just 9 for 28 in the second half after leading 30-21 at halftime.

Associated Press