2019 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Day 2: Blue Bloods Fall as Auburn and Michigan State Knock Off Kentucky and Duke

2019 NCAA Tournament
Auburn upset Kentucky in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, giving them their first ever Final Four berth (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

In our second day of the Elite Eight we have a pair of matchups sure to excite. The first game of the day is bringing us an SEC matchup between Kentucky and Auburn. Two seeded Kentucky swept the regular season series, including a blowout of Auburn at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena. Fifth-seeded Auburn was already set to have its hands full but without Chuma Okeke their breakout sophomore who tore his ACL versus North Carolina the task got that much tougher.

The second brings us to coaching legends in Coach K’s Duke Blue Devils and Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans. Coach K has typically had Izzo’s number piling up an 11-1 record including a 3-1 record in the tournament. Cam Reddish is a game-time decision after sitting out Friday night’s game with a bad knee that surfaced just before the game.

Auburn Outlasts Kentucky in Overtime of All SEC Elite Eight Matchup

Kentucky came out ready to play building an early 7-0 lead before Auburn finally settled in early. Auburn has made a habit of jumping on teams early with quick starts and hot shooting but not Sunday. Kentucky controlled the majority of the first half even making more threes than the three-point crazed Auburn Tigers. The rabid amount of three was still jacked up by Auburn but the touch they’ve shown the last month was not there.

Keep in mind Auburn’s last loss was that blow out at Rupp and ever since a switch has been flipped. They’ve scored under 70 just twice in their 11 game winning streak. In this game, a 30 point half is what Kentucky was able to limit them too. The story of the half outside Kentucky’s control was the foul trouble both teams experienced. Herro from Kentucky sat the last six minutes of the half, while Auburn had a few of their big pick up two fouls. P.J Washington who didn’t start, led both teams with 15 points in the half.

The second half was a different story, Auburn immediately started the half on a to take their first lead of the game. The game became more of the track meet pace that Auburn thrives on. Kentucky took Auburn’s punch and stood right back in there keeping Auburn right in striking distance.

Throughout the second half, a good dose of P.J Washington kept the Wildcats in the game while Bryce Brown from Auburn got hot. Brown has been a big reason for the Tigers 11-game winning streak with his hot shooting. This game was no different after he hit shot after shot in the second half to keep Auburn in the lead.

The game was tight as expected in what has been outstanding Elite Eight in the 2019 NCAA Tournament so far. It came down to a few last-second shots. Kentucky had a couple of opportunities that Auburn was able to stonewall giving themselves a chance with 10 seconds left. Auburn didn’t get the shot they wanted with Horace Spencer shooting a three as time expired that would miss. For the second straight Elite Eight game of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, we would head to overtime.

Jared Harper then took over in extra time, hitting big buckets on nearly every possession. The Tigers got out to a four-point lead and never relinquished it punching a ticket to the school’s first ever Final Four. Harper was fantastic in overtime scoring 12 points in the period including going six for six from the free throw line. And with it, came his school’s first ever Final Four where they will matchup with Virginia in Minneapolis next Saturday.

Michigan State’s Late 3 Pointer Helps Spartans Advance Past Duke

In the Elite Eight’s only one seed (Duke) versus two seed (Michigan State) in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, it was the two seed who jumped out to the early lead. Michigan State controlled most of the first half with strong defense and timely shots stunning the young Duke Blue Devils.

The Spartans of Michigan State led by their All-American point guard, Cassius Winston moved the ball well on offense. It opened up shots inside the arc as both teams struggled to shoot the three. Duke eventually broke the three-point damn going on a run including hitting three straight threes to open up a nine-point lead late in the first half.

It looked like Duke may finally put their stamp on tournament game since their first-round game they won by double digits. Then Cassius Winston took over. Winston was fantastic down the stretch of the first half powering Michigan State on a 13-0 run to end the half and give the Spartans a lead going into halftime.

The second half followed the same script as the other three Elite Eight games, it was an absolute heavyweight bout. Both teams trading haymakers back and forth waiting for the other team to wilt. The Spartans are an experienced team and coached by Tom Izzo whose teams are known for their toughness. Duke meanwhile is made up of four freshmen, all top ten recruits with loads of talent not willing to back down either.

With ten minutes left in the game, there were already 11 lead changes in the game, 9 of which came in the first ten minutes of the second half. It involved threes, dunks, athletic blocks by Zion Williamson and a circus no-look shot my Matt McQuaid.

The last ten minutes didn’t disappoint either with both teams taking leads throughout. Michigan State again controlled a lot of the game but Duke had one last big run in them to take a late lead. Duke once again looked like they would take hold of this game with a 7-0 run led by their star freshman. The run put Duke up three with under two minutes left.

Once again the Spartans upperclassmen made plays and it resulted in a go-ahead three by Kenny Goins with 34 seconds left to give them a lead they would hold on to. Goins was only two of eight from three but his two makes were huge and his last was one of the biggest of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

The game wrapped up one of the best Elite Eight rounds in recent memory and players on both sides played a fantastic game. Winston put up 20 points and 10 assists and was helped by freshman Xavier Tillman who had 19 with nine rebounds. Zion Williamson not to be outdone put up 24 points with 14 rebounds. It was another absolute classic and arguments could be made it was only the second or third best game of the last two days. That’s just how special this entire weekend was.

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