HOUSTON -- Mike Krzyzewski and Duke are one win away from getting back to the NCAA Final Four, this time with a talented group of freshmen.
Justise Winslow, the freshman from Houston playing at home the day after his 19th birthday, had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the South Regional's top-seeded Blue Devils in their 63-57 Sweet 16 victory over revived Utah on Friday night.
Duke (32-4) is going to its 20th regional final, the 14th under Coach K for the most by any active coach. The last Final Four appearance was in 2010, when the Blue Devils also went through Houston on way to their fourth national title.
Winslow is one of three freshman starters for Duke, a trio that includes standout big man Jahlil Okafor and guard Tyus Jones, who had 15 points. Okafor had six points and eight rebounds.
"He gave us his trust and just believed in us," Winslow said of Krzyzewski. "When you have that, you play like yourself."
Brandon Taylor had 15 points for the Utes (26-9), the No. 5 seed with an at-large berth out of the Pac-12.
The Blue Devils play No. 2 seed Gonzaga (35-2) today in the South Regional final, with the winner going to Indianapolis for the Final Four. The Bulldogs beat 11th-seeded UCLA 74-62.
Utah and its Coach K, Larry Krystkowiak, got to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005, and only three years after winning six games in Krystkowiak's first season.
Utes leading scorer Delon Wright, who got his third foul on a questionable call with about five minutes left in the first half, finished with 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Dallin Bachynski added 11 points for the Utes, and 7-foot freshman Jakob Poeltl had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Even after Utah didn't score until nearly five minutes into the game, Duke was down 8-5 before going ahead to stay with an 8-0 run in just over 2 1/2 minutes when all the Blue Devils freshman starters scored.
Winslow's 3-pointer at 12:36 tied the game 8-8 before Amile Jefferson's tiebreaking layup. Okafor had a jumper before Jones' layup made it 14-8 with 9:54 left. Another 8-0 run after halftime pushed the Blue Devils to a 49-34 lead with 8:41 left.
Michigan State 62,
Oklahoma 58
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Denzel Valentine scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half to lead Michigan State an East Regional semifinal win.
Counted out in February, the Tom Izzo-coached Spartans (26-11) are instead headed to the Elite Eight for the second straight year and fourth time since 2009. And they're going as a seventh-seeded team that knocked off the third-seeded Sooners (24-11), a week after knocking off No. 2 Virginia.
Travis Trice led the Spartans with 24 points, while Branden Dawson had 11 rebounds. Buddy Hield led the Sooners with 21 points.
Michigan State is the lowest-seeded team still in the tournament, and advances to face fourth-seeded Louisville today for a trip to the Final Four.
The game turned once Michigan State took its first lead, going up 44-42 on Dawson's 8-foot turnaround jumper with 9:26 left. The teams traded the lead four times before the Spartans went ahead for good with 6:42 left, when Matt Costello put back his own miss with an emphatic dunk.
After Hield missed a 3-point attempt at the other end, Valentine responded by hitting a pull-up 3-pointer in transition to make it 51-47.
And Michigan State maintained the lead by finally hitting shots from the free-throw line. After missing seven of their first 10, the Spartans were perfect on their final six free throws.
Trice hit two to put Michigan State up 62-58 with 13.2 seconds left.
Louisville 75,
North Carolina St. 65
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Montrezl Harrell scored 24 points, and reserve Anton Gill keyed a late-game surge for Louisville.
After toppling top-seeded Villanova, North Carolina State (22-14), the eighth seed, saw its postseason run end against a team that refused to quit. Louisville (27-8) wasn't given much chance of playing in late March after it lost two of three entering the NCAA Tournament, but gritty wins over UC Irvine and Northern Iowa had the Cardinals brimming with confidence.
Terry Rozier had 17 points and 14 rebounds and freshman guard Quentin Snider added 14 points for the Cardinals.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino has a 12-1 record in Sweet 16 games, 6-1 with the Cardinals.
Trevor Lacey led the Wolfpack with 18 points, while Ralston Turner had 12 and Kyle Washington 11.
Anthony "Cat" Barber, the spark of the Wolfpack's attack, finished with eight points on 3-of-14 shooting, only briefly getting untracked early in the second half.
Sports on 03/29/2015