What could have been NCAA tournament: Michigan State over Cinderella Houston in Midwest
Death. Taxes. Tom Izzo in March.
Michigan State is headed back to the Final Four — its ninth in 21 years under Izzo — but it needed overtime to hold off eighth-seeded Houston in the Midwest regional final and get there with a 106-103 win at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Cassius Winston was yet again the big star for the Spartans, with 25 points and six assists, but reserve Marcus Bingham hit the biggest shot of the game, a hurried, off-balance buzzer-beater from the free-throw line at the end of regulation after the Spartans’ final play — inbounding the length of the court with only two seconds left — broke down and Bingham found the ball, unexpectedly, in his hands amid the chaos.
That was after the Spartans erased a nine-point deficit in the final four minutes and Houston’s Nate Hinton made only one of two free throws with two seconds to play to leave the door open for Michigan State. Aaron Henry’s 3-pointer with 1:49 to play in overtime put the Spartans ahead for good in a game Houston led for almost all of regulation.
After a first-round win over Rutgers, Houston knocked off heavyweights Kansas and Kentucky on its way to the regional final, only to be derailed by another heavyweight in Indianapolis. Quentin Grimes had 23 points and Hinton 22 for the Cougars, who shot 47.2 percent (17-for-36) from 3-point range.
The Spartans, who shot 56.7 percent from the floor, will make their second straight Final Four appearance, but haven’t won a game in the Final Four since 2009, losing in the semifinals in 2010 (Butler), 2015 (Duke) and 2019 (Texas Tech), or a national title since 2000. They beat Eastern Washington, Indiana and Creighton to make the regional final, with Winston averaging 23.0 points per game during the tournament.
This trip will be especially meaningful after Winston lost his younger brother to suicide in November, a tragedy which rocked the Spartans’ season, and before they learned star wing Josh Langford would not be able to return from a foot injury.
It took the Spartans until March to find their footing and play like the preseason No. 1 team. It always seems to happen in March at Michigan State.
Michigan State became the second team to make the ‘What could have been’ Final Four. On Monday, Gonzaga beat Duke in the West Regional final. We are using whatifsports.com to simulate all the games.
AT INDIANAPOLIS
2 MICHIGAN STATE 106, 8 HOUSTON 103 (OT)
MICHIGAN STATE — Cassius Winston 25 points, six assists; Rocket Watts 21 points; Gabe Brown 15 points; Xavier Tillman 13 points, 10 rebounds.
HOUSTON — Quentin Grimes 23 points, six assists; Nate Hinton 22 points; Caleb Mills 16 points; Fabian White 14 points.
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
AT INDIANAPOLIS
8 HOUSTON 93, 4 KENTUCKY 88 (OT)
HOUSTON — Nate Hinton 16 points, 11 rebounds; Fabian White 16 points; Quentin Grimes 13 points; DeJon Jarreau 11 points; Marcus Sasser 10 points; Chris Harris 10 points; Caleb Mills 10 points.
KENTUCKY — Nick Richards 22 points, 11 rebounds; Immanuel Quickley 18 points, 7 rebounds; Ashton Hagans 17 points, 6 rebounds; Tyrese Maxey 10 points, 8 assists.
GAME NOTES — Seven Houston players scored in double figures as the Cougars bulldozed another blue blood on the way to the regional title game, this time in overtime. Houston trailed 88-85 after Kentucky’s Richards dunked off a nice pass from Maxey with 1:53 to play. But the final stretch belonged to Houston, which got two free throws from White and then a jumper from Grimes with 40 seconds left to grab a lead it would not relinquish.
AT INDIANAPOLIS
2 MICHIGAN STATE 89, 3 CREIGHTON 80
MICHIGAN STATE — Cassius Winston 26 points; Xavier Tillman 11 points, 9 rebounds; Rocket Watts 10 points.
CREIGHTON — Marcus Zegarowski 21 points, 6 assists; Ty-Shon Alexander 14 points, 10 rebounds; Christian Bishop 11 points; Denzel Mahoney 10 points.
GAME NOTES — When Creighton’s Jalen Windham took a pass from Mitch Ballock and sank a 3-pointer with 5:20 to play, the Blue Jays trailed just 75-74. But Michigan State never trailed in the second half, and outscored Creighton 14-6 down the stretch. That was consistent with the first half, in which the Spartans turned around a game they were trailing 31-30 with 4:04 left in the half and went on a 16-8 run to take a 46-39 lead at the break.
SECOND ROUND
AT OMAHA
8 HOUSTON 82, 1 KANSAS 69
HOUSTON — Caleb Mills 23 points; Quentin Grimes 14 points; Marcus Sasser 14 points.
KANSAS — Devon Dotson 16 points; Udoka Azubuike 14 points, 11 rebounds; Isaiah Moss 13 points.
GAME NOTES — The No. 1 Jayhawks fell apart in the second half. Leading 41-39 at halftime -- and 61-53 with 12:01 to play -- Kansas was outscored 29-8 the rest of the way. Houston took a 63-61 lead on a 3-pointer by Sasser with 9:30 to play. By the time Nate Hinton hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 6:46 to play the Cougars led 68-61 and Kansas was never able to close the lead.
AT TAMPA
4 KENTUCKY 83, 12 RICHMOND 82
KENTUCKY — Immanuel Quickley 22 points, 9 of 10 free throws; Tyrese Maxey 17 points; Ashton Hagans 14 points, 8 rebounds 7 assists; Nick Richards 10 points.
RICHMOND — Nathan Cayo 17 points; Blake Francis 13 points; Grant Golden 12 points, 10 rebounds; Jacob Gilyard 10 points, 6 assists; Nick Sherod 10 points, 6 rebounds.
GAME NOTES — Maxey drained a buzzer-beater from the top of the key to give Kentucky the win. UK led for most of the first 25 minutes before Richmond grabbed the lead on a 3-pointer by Francis with 14:20 to play. It was back-and-forth from there and Richmond grabbed its final lead, 82-81, with 22 seconds left on a 3 by Francis.
AT ST. LOUIS
3 CREIGHTON 91, 6 BYU 77
CREIGHTON — Ty-Shon Alexander 24 points, 8 rebounds; Marcus Zegarowski 18 points; Christian Bishop 17 points, 7 rebounds; Damien Jefferson 11 points, 6 rebounds.
BYU — Yoeli Childs 24 points, 9 rebounds; TJ Haws 13 points, 7 assists; Jake Toolson 10 points, 6 rebounds.
GAME NOTES — Creighton opened on fire and led 21-8 seven minutes into the game. It was more or less able to maintain or stretch that lead for most of the afternoon, leading 46-33 at halftime and 70-56 with 10 minutes left in the game.
AT CLEVELAND
2 MICHIGAN STATE 91, 10 INDIANA 68
MICHIGAN STATE — Cassius Winston 23 points, 6 assists; Xavier Tillman 14 points, 14 rebounds; Gabe Brown 10 points; Rocket Watts 10 points.
INDIANA — Devonte Green 18 points; Justin Smith 11 points.
GAME NOTES — In a second-round Big Ten battle, Michigan State dominated Indiana in the second half, outscoring the Hoosiers 47-31 in the final 20 minutes after grabbing a 44-37 halftime lead. It was a measure of revenge for the Spartans, who fell to Indiana during the regular season in Bloomington, 67-63.
FIRST ROUND
AT OMAHA
1 KANSAS 93, 16 ROBERT MORRIS 64
KANSAS — Devon Dotson 23 points, 6 assists; Udoka Azubuike 22 points, 11 rebounds; Marcus Garrett 12 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists; Silvio De Sousa 10 points.
ROBERT MORRIS — Charles Bain 10 points; DJ Russell 10 points.
GAME NOTES — Kansas outrebounded Robert Morris 41-21. The Jayhawks shot 62.5 percent (35-for-56) from the field, including 50 percent (7-for-14) from 3-point range.
AT OMAHA
8 HOUSTON 82, 9 RUTGERS 79 — Fabian White 14 points; Chris Harris 12 points, 6 rebounds; Nate Hinton 11 points, 8 rebounds; Quentin Grimes 11 points, 7 rebounds.
RUTGERS — Ron Harper Jr. 20 points, 6 rebounds; Akwasi Yeboah 17 points, 7 rebounds; Geo Baker 14 points; Montez Mathis 10 points.
GAME NOTES: The score was tied 76-76 with 1:11 remaining. That’s when White made a floater for Houston to take the lead. White also hit four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
AT TAMPA
12 RICHMOND 88, 5 LOUISVILLE 79
RICHMOND — Jacob Gilyard 23 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists; Grant Golden 18 points, 7 assists; Blake Francis 14 points; Nick Sherod 12 points, 7 rebounds.
LOUISVILLE — Jordan Nwora 18 points, 11 rebounds; Darius Perry 13 points; David Johnson 10 points.
GAME NOTES -- Richmond trailed by a point at halftime and still trailed 66-64 with 6:32 to play. The Spiders went on a 19-6 run over the next four minutes to upset the ACC powerhouse.
AT TAMPA
4 KENTUCKY 89, 13 VERMONT 83
KENTUCKY — Immanuel Quickley 19 points, 8 rebounds; Ashton Hagans 17 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists; Nick Richards 17 points, 7 rebounds; Tyrese Maxey 14 points; Nate Sestina 11 points.
VERMONT — Anthony Lamb 16 points; Stef Smith 15 points; Ryan Davis 12 points, 6 rebounds; Ben Shungu 11 points.
GAME NOTES — Vermont led 40-37 at halftime and outrebounded Kentucky in the game 40-35. But the Wildcats shot the ball well, making 51 percent (31-for-61) of their shots, including 50 percent (7-for-14) from 3-point range.
AT ST. LOUIS
6 BYU 88, 11 CINCINNATI 81
BYU — Alex Barcello 23 points; Jake Toolson 18 points, 7 assists; TJ Haws 15 points; Yoeli Childs 12 points, 6 rebounds.
CINCINNATI — Keith Williams 19 points; Jarron Cumberland 15 points, 9 assists; Chris Vogt 12 points, 8 rebounds; Jaevin Cumberland 12 points.
GAME NOTES — BYU scored 44 points in each half. The Cougars’ biggest lead was nine points late in the second half.
AT ST. LOUIS
3 CREIGHTON 90, 14 NORTH TEXAS 64
CREIGHTON — Ty-Shon Alexander 19 points; Mitch Ballock 17 points, 6 rebounds; Damien Jefferson 17 points, 8 rebounds; Denzel Mahoney 10 points.
NORTH TEXAS — Thomas Bell 14 points, 6 rebounds; Javion Hamlet 11 points.
GAME NOTES — This one was never in question as Creighton outscored North Texas by 13 points in each half.
AT CLEVELAND
10 INDIANA 102, 7 ARIZONA 89
INDIANA — Trayce Jackson-Davis 20 points, 11 rebounds; Al Durham 16 points, 6 assists; Devonte Green 16 points, 7 assists; Rob Phinisee 12 points; Joey Brunk 11 points, 14 rebounds; Justin Smith 10 points.
ARIZONA — Nico Mannion 22 points; Dylan Smith 16 points; Josh Green 15 points; Zeke Nnaji 14 points, 8 rebounds.
GAME NOTES — In a coaching battle of Miller brothers, Archie’s Hoosiers exploded for 60 points in the second half to overcome Sean’s Wildcats’ six-point halftime lead.
AT CLEVELAND
2 MICHIGAN STATE 80, 15 EASTERN WASHINGTON 64
MICHIGAN STATE — Cassius Winston 18 points; Xavier Tillman 14 points, 7 rebounds; Gabe Brown 13 points; Rocket Watts 11 points.
EASTERN WASHINGTON — Mason Peatling 20 points; Jacob Davison 12 points, 6 rebounds.
GAME NOTES — Michigan State outrebounded Eastern Washington 48-25 as they slowly built on their 37-32 halftime lead in the second half.
FIRST FOUR
AT DAYTON
16 ROBERT MORRIS 79, 16 SIENA 78
ROBERT MORRIS — AJ Bramah 21 points; Charles Bain 13 points; Yannis Mendy 12 points, 7 rebounds; Josh Williams 11 points; Dante Treacy 11 points, 8 assists.
SIENA — Elijah Burns 20 points, 6 rebounds; Manny Camper 12 points, 11 rebounds; Don Carey 12 points; Jalen Pickett 10 points, 7 assists.
GAME NOTES: Treacy hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to give Robert Morris the win. Gary Harris, who had only taken three shots all night and had two points, missed a 14-foot jumper at the buzzer for Siena.
AT DAYTON
12 RICHMOND 75, 12 TEXAS 66
RICHMOND — Jacob Gilyard 15 points, 7 assists; Nick Sherod 15 points, 8 rebounds; Blake Francis 15 points; Grant Golden 11 points, 10 rebounds.
TEXAS — Matt Coleman 17 points; Courtney Ramey 14 points, 7 rebounds; Jericho Sims 10 points, 18 rebounds.
GAME NOTES: The game was tied 25-25 at halftime and 49-49 with 10 minutes left to play before the Spiders pulled away.
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 10:50 AM.