#WhatIf tournament: Top-seeded Kansas sent home by MSU
Udoka Azubuike has been a wrecking ball in the paint for Kansas throughout the top-seeded Jayhawks’ run to the Final Four in the Review-Journal’s What If Tournament.
Michigan State finally found a way to neutralize him and the No. 2 Spartans were rewarded with a trip to the championship game, where they will face fourth-seeded Oregon, a winner over No. 3 Villanova.
Azubuike picked up two fouls in the first five minutes, another when he was reinserted late in the first half and eventually fouled out in just 21 minutes as Michigan State held on for an 89-84 win in the national semifinals.
Xavier Tillman had 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for the Spartans and played a major role in getting Azubuike to the bench. Both of Azubuike’s early fouls were on strong moves to the rim by Tillman. A the fifth came on an offensive foul when Tillman held his ground and drew a charge with five minutes remaining and the game tied at 74.
Cassius Winston took over from there for Michigan State, which stretched its win streak to 13.
Winston had 11 of his game-high 24 points over the final five minutes, making all six free throws in the final 52 seconds.
Kansas trailed by as many as 15 points early in the second half after falling behind 13 at the break, as Azubuike was held scoreless in seven minutes of action.
Devon Dotson sparked the rally with nine of his 19 points during a 14-3 rally to get the Jayhawks back in the game. They just couldn’t keep the momentum going after Azubuike fouled out.
Azubuike had nine points and six rebounds in his limited action.
Aaron Henry added 16 points in the win for Michigan State in the first of two hypothetical games on Saturday.
Oregon 81, Villanova 77 — The Wildcats did everything they could to limit Payton Pritchard’s shot attempts, but the Oregon senior made the most of his opportunities in the win.
Under constant harassment from a variety of defensive looks, Pritchard hit 7 of 9 from the field, including all three of his 3-point attempts.
No shot was bigger than a 28-footer with a hand in his face to put the Ducks up 81-75 as the shot clock expired with 9.2 seconds remaining after Jay Wright elected to allow his team to play defense instead of fouling to put the 82 percent free-throw shooter on the line.
The decision proved costly. Villanova missed a pair of jumpers on the other end before putting in a rebound at the buzzer for the final margin.
Pritchard finished with 23 points and eight assists as the Ducks advanced to the title game for the first time since their 1939 national championship.
Oregon’s Chris Duarte continued his impressive comeback from a late-season injury with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Jermaine Samuels had a game-high 25 points for the Wildcats.
Oregon will play Michigan State on Monday night
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.