2024 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: Midwest Region

Detroit - The last four teams remaining in the Midwest Region is how most predicted it would play out. The four best teams remained (Yes, I excluded Kansas) as they dueled it out to get to the Elite Eight. March Madness only has one more weekend of tournament games believe it or not. The greatest post-season event in all of sports is nearing its end. 

#1 Purdue vs #5 Gonzaga

The narrative that Purdue can’t win the important games and advance in the NCAA tournament has officially ended. Gonzaga gave their best effort, but the inevitable foul trouble associated with Zach Edey proved to be their downfall. Edey proves over and over that he is unstoppable, and the Boilermakers feed him in their run to the National Championship. The mountain of Edey was causing havoc early. Ben Gregg, forward for the Zags, picked up two fouls in trying to defend Edey and trying to set a screen on offense. Graham Ike proved to be a difference-maker with his ability to shoot the long ball. This forced Edey to guard him outside the paint and opened the lane for the guards to cut into the lane. After a very much back-and-forth first ten minutes, Purdue’s perimeter players were drilling threes at will. With the lead, Matt Painter decided to rest Edey and this allowed Gonzaga to grab the rebounds that Edey would usually claim. Gregg fouled Edey in Purdue’s final possession of the half to pick up his third foul and it extended the lead to four points at the break, 40-36.

The two-point guards, Ryan Nembhard and Braden Smith, were playing with extreme confidence. Nembhard scored eight points and dished out five assists, halfway to a double-double. Smith also recorded eight points and dealt out eight assists as well. Purdue made their last four field goals to end the half, a lot due to the play of Smith. The Boilermakers came out to start the half as they ended it. Before the 16-minute media timeout could take place, Gonzaga was forced to call a timeout because Purdue went on a 9-1 run, extending their lead to nine points. The timeout disrupted the Boilermakers’ momentum as Gonzaga went on a 9-2 run of their own, led by Nolan Hickman. That run ended rather quickly as the Zags went cold and the Boilermakers got hot.

With Graham Ike fouling out at the 5:07 mark, Purdue scored with ease inside the paint. Edey and the rest of the squad steamrolled their way to victory, 80-68.  Smith filled up the box score with an outlandish performance, finishing the game with 14 points, 15 incredible assists, and collected eight rebounds. This was one of the best performances in the tournament we have seen, nearly completing a triple-double. The inevitable performance that Edey puts up every night continued. He finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds, as they are only one win away from the Final Four.

#2 Tennessee vs #3 Creighton

To what most expected to be a high-scoring affair, it delivered. With Santiago Vescovi out for Tennessee with a sickness (Flu), Rick Barnes changed the starting lineup for the first time in 28 games. The battle between Dalton Knecht and Baylor Scheierman was a sight to behold, as both players scored 25 or more points. After a tough and gritty game, Tennessee pulled out the very important win, 82-75. There was almost a dunk of the tournament sequence within the first three minutes of the game. Knecht had a fast break opportunity and tried to absolutely smother Ryan Kalkbrenner above the rim, but Kalkbrenner had other plans as he rejected it out of the way. Zakai Ziegler, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, was a major pest all night as his on-ball defense is the best in the country. Creighton played great team defense of their own, forcing Tennessee to earn all of their points. 

With Tennessee getting into a small amount of foul trouble, this allowed Creighton to get to the line and score some easy points. Steven Ashworth was starting to find some space from downtown and he was letting loose, knocking down two huge three-pointers. The Tennessee role players stepped up to the occasion, knocking down shots and playing great defense. Neither team held a lead of more than four points in the first half. At the end of the first 20 minutes, Creighton went into the break leading 35-34.

With Trey Alexander struggling to score, Scheierman stepped up to take over the Bluejays offense. The Volunteers’ defense was far too dominant for one player to score against. Knecht took advantage of the forced turnovers and converted them into easy points. Tennessee went on an 18-0 run to take a commanding lead. Jasen Green gave some great minutes off the bench, for the Bluejays, by being opportunistic with second-chance points off offensive rebounds. Creighton shifted their defense to a Triangle and Two, eliminating Ziegler and Knecht from scoring at will. That only lasted for so long as Knecht being the big-time player he is, started making big-time plays. 

The Volunteers played an extremely clean game, limiting their turnovers and playing suffocating defense. Knecht led the game with 26 points, showcasing why he is one of the best college basketball players in the country. Baylor Scheiermann did all he could do for the Bluejays by scoring 25 points and getting involved in numerous hustle plays. Tennessee will advance to the Elite Eight to face the Purdue Boilermakers, who beat them in the Maui Invitation early in the season.