Written by Merrissa Vault
WASHINGTON D.C. – It was a memorable night in Capital One Arena witnessed by over 20,000 fans as the Battle between two historical programs, under two legendary coaches faced off in the Elite 8. The #1 Duke Blue Devils post-game season was running off leadership from 3 freshmen talent and a little bit of luck over the last two games, but the Blue Devil’s luck finally came to an end as the #2 Michigan State Spartans punched their ticket to the Final Four
Straight off the tip, Zion Williams won the toss, but it was the Michigan State Spartans that marked the scoreboard first with a slam jam dunk by MSU’s Kenny Goins. Three minutes into the game and with MSU up, Freshman Cam Reddish entered into the game making his first appearance of the weekend in Washington, DC. Reddish missed Friday’s game against Virginia Tech with a knee injury.
With Cassius Winston and the Spartans leading the offensive charge and holding a solid defensive front, Duke finally broke through at the 4-minute mark and went on a 12-0 run for 3 minutes. RJ Barrett led the charge in the first half for the Blue Devils with 12 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. It took Coach Izzo calling a timeout to halt Duke’s run and reset the Michigan State offense. Within minutes the Spartans went on their own 13-0 run for 4 minutes and ended the half leading the Blue Devils 34-30. Cassius Winston led the green and white with 12 points, 1 rebound and 5 assists.
Both teams were even in FG% at the half, however Duke ended the half with 10 turnovers in which Michigan State scored 15 of their points off of. 24 of Michigan State’s points came from inside the paint, with Xavier Tillman recording 9. It appeared that age and experience showed as Duke was riding off the emotion of being in the Elite 8 and Coach K spent time refocusing his team.
“We wanted it too much. I spent most of the first half not Xing and Oing, but just settle down. And just be you. Be you.”
Coming back out to the floor in the second half, Duke appeared to have zeroed back in and started to play Duke basketball. After 16 lead changes throughout the game it came down to Duke leading 66-63 with 1:41 left, after a made lay-up by Zion. After an MSU timeout, Tillman found the basket off an assist from Winston to make it a 1-point game. Barrett retaliated with a failed jump shot and Goins pushed down the floor sinking a huge 3-pointer to give the Spartans the 66-68 lead with 34 seconds on the clock.
Familiar to being within a narrow scoring difference under 1 minute, Duke pushed down the floor and Barrett was fouled and sent to the line. With 12 seconds left and a chance to tie the game RJ missed the first free throw and made the second free throw in an attempt to miss. The Spartans inbounded the ball with 5 seconds left, with the ball in the hands of Xavier Tillman who found Cassius open to win the game and punch their ticket to the Final Four.
“I told Kenny, you go that way [up court], Cash go that way. And then I smacked the ball. I tried to fake it and Cash got open. I thought he was going to get fouled. When he didn’t get fouled, I was ecstatic.
The Duke University Blue Devils end their season with a record of 32-6. For many, this season will go down as one of the most memorable seasons in Duke history with one of the most talented teams. Zion Williamson ended his season tonight, and Duke career, with 24 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocks.
Coach K had favorable words to say about Zion after the game.
“…Kenny, Xavier and Nick, they did a good job battling Zion down there. I mean that kid is worth everything they say about him and then more.”
We might not see Zion Williamson in the blue and white again, but we can be assured that we will see him in the next level.
For Michigan State, Cassius Winston and the Spartans will celebrate their win tonight but will use the week ahead to prepare for their next challenge. This will be Michigan’s 8th Final Four appearance and they have only captured one win.
“my dream came true tonight on the floor, because Cassius’ mother said — I said, how about that– and she said, that’s not good enough. We’ve got two more. I looked at her and I said, a woman of my heart. I just absolutely loved it. I said thank you. Thank you. I’m going to make sure I let your son and all the other players know exactly what you said. So, it’s going to be grind city again. And we’ve got to figure out how we do things a little different because there’s some good teams up there, and not get enamored with this win even though this is a big win for us and our program.
Grind city will start on Saturday, April 6th when the Spartans face #3 Texas Tech in the Final Four in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
