Tourney recap: No. 9 Michigan State rolls No. 8 Miami

The Wolverines set a record for most 3-pointers by a Big Ten team in the NCAA Tournament.

MI erased a six-point second-half deficit with a run of four 3s, the last from Walton with 12:28 to go to take a 62-61 lead.

MI narrowly escaped its first-round matchup with Oklahoma State in a 92-91 thriller on Friday that is a front-runner for best game of the first-round after a Thursday lacking in excitement.

A pair of clutch D.J.

No. 7 MI outlasts No. 10 Oklahoma State, 92-91 – An outburst from beyond the arc helped MI avoid a subtle upset despite constant pressure from the Cowboys’ fast-paced offense.

But rather than change the game plan, Walton followed the script, steadied his team and the shots started going.

North Carolina 103, Texas Southern 64 – Justin Jackson broke out of a shooting slump with 21 points to help top-seeded North Carolina roll past Texas Southern 103-64 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s South Region. The 6-foot-1 guard went for 26 points, 11 assists and five boards, knocking down 6 of 9 3-pointers – five in the second half.

Derrick Walton Jr. did not want his career at MI to come to an end.

The Pokes jumped out to a 27-20 lead with 7:25 left in the first half when Sophomore Jeffrey Carroll barrelled through the lane for the two-hand flush.

No. 9 seed Michigan State (20-14) vs. MI answered loudly, asserting its long-range prowess for one of the great storylines of the tournament. Long story short, this is a young team that took 30+ games to figure out how to play with each other.

Walton heated up at the right time. Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue will compete in the NCAA Tournament, while Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Penn State will participate in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Jayhawks were ranked third in the nation heading into postseason play but will be the fourth team MSU will face that was ranked No. 1 at some point this season. Forte, OSU’s all-time 3-point shooter, finished while 12 points, while Hammonds scored 10 points with seven rebounds. Miami is averaging 69.4 points per game on offense this season while allowing 63.7 on defense.

Oklahoma State could have – should have – gone into the half with a lead for the first time in four games.

A turnover led to Alec Marsh sending a cross-ice pass to Goodwin for the final tally of the first, in the period’s final minute, with the senior captain finding a gap under Nagelvoort’s arm. MSU lost last year’s Player of The Year Denzel Valentine to the first round of the NBA Draft as well as shooter Bryn Forbes and big man Matt Costello. The obvious issue is that Kansas won all of those games despite giving up large totals to the opposing frontcourt.

The Hurricanes rolled out to a seven-point lead.

Coach Jim Larranaga taking a team into the NCAA Tournament means at least one thing: We just know his players will be prepared, whether he’s at the helm of, say, George Mason – or the Miami Hurricanes.