2017 March Madness

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Flashback Friday | Dieng, Cardinals Advance To Championship Game

With the NCAA Final Four happening this Saturday, we are going back to April 4, 2015 when Tyus Jones and the Duke Blue Devils took down the Michigan State Spartans 81-61 to advance to the NCAA championship.

Jones, a freshman, played a game-high 38 minutes and finished with nine points, four assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block. Not a crazy stat line, but the fact that he had just one turnover in nearly 40 minutes is pretty remarkable.

During his only season and Duke, Jones averaged 11.8 points, 5.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. 

Hint: Jones had a pretty solid championship game for Duke.

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March Memories | Jones, Duke Advance To Championship

With the NCAA Final Four happening this weekend, we thought we’d go back to April 5, 2008 when Brandon Rush, Cole Aldrich and the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 84-66 to advance to the championship game.

Rush led the way for Kansas, finishing with a game-high 25 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists and a block in 32 minutes. He shot an efficient 11-for-17 from the field.

Aldrich, a freshman, came off the bench and had a solid eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Despite both teams being the No. 1 seeds in their respective regions, North Carolina came in as favorites led by Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and future Timberwolves guard Wayne Ellington.

It was also the matchup of North Carolina head coach Roy Williams against his former school.

We could leave you waiting to hear whether or not Kansas won the national championship, but we hope you already know.

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March Memories | Rush Scores 25 To Help Kansas Advance To Championship

In the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2013, future Wolves wing Shabazz Muhammad finished with a team-high 20 points and four rebounds.

Despite Muhammad’s performance, ULCA lost (ironically) to the state Muhammad would be traded to in the NBA Draft the next season, the Minnesota Gophers, 83-63.

"I thought we were prepared," Muhammad said, according to CBS Sports. "They came out and jumped on us early and they really played well."

UCLA had four future pros who played in that game: Muhammad, Larry Drew II, Norman Powell and Kyle Anderson.

During his only season as a Bruin, Muhammad averaged 17.9 points per game while shooting 37.7 percent from the 3-point line.

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March Memories | Muhammad Scores 20 vs. Gophers In First Round

In the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2009, the No. 2-seeded Kansas Jayhawks beat Dayton 60-43 behind a monster game from Minnesota native Cole Aldrich.

The sophomore center finished with 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocks.

Aldrich, a 2008 national champion with Kansas (and current teammate Brandon Rush), shot 6-for-12 from the field.

Unfortunately, Aldrich and the Jayhawks would fall in the next round to Michigan State, but Aldrich was solid throughout the tournament, averaging 17.6 points, 15.6 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game.

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March Memories | Aldrich Goes For Rare Triple-Double In Second Round

During Adreian Payne’s senior season at Michigan State, he was an absolute monster, averaging 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 42.3 percent from the 3-point line.

During the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014, No. 4 Michigan State faced off against No. 13 Delaware and Payne showed how dangerous he could be.

Payne led the Spartans to victory despite playing just 24 minutes. Payne finished with 41 points and eight rebounds while shooting 10-for-15 from the field, 4-for-5 from the 3-point line and a perfect 17-for-17 from the free-throw line.

To put that in perspective, the MSU’s other four starters combine for just 27 points.

The Spartans went all the way to the Elite Eight that season before falling to Connecticut. During that tournament, Payne averaged 20.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Unfortunately for Payne and his Spartans, MSU lost in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament to Kansas on Sunday.

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March Memories | Payne Drops 41 In First Round

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Throwback Thursday | Brandon Rush #MarchMemories

On March 28, 2015, future Wolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns powered Kentucky past Notre Dame in the round of eight with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in a 68-66 win.

Towns shot an efficient 10-for-13 from the field and 5-for-6 from the field.

Notre Dame’s star guard, then-junior Demetrius Jackson, finished with just two points in 40 minutes while shooting 1-for-7 from the field and 0-for-1 from the 3-point line.

Why are we talking about this game on March 15, 2017, you ask?

Because tonight, Towns and the Wolves face off against Jackson and the Celtics in Boston.

The Wolves and Celtics tipoff tonight at 6:30 p.m. on FOX Sports North and WCCO 830-AM. 

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March Memories | Towns Powers Wildcats Over Fighting Irish

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