What could have been NCAA tournament: Michigan State tops Gonzaga for national title
From the depths of despair in November to cutting down the nets in April, Michigan State went on a wild ride that ended at the pinnacle of the college basketball world. Cassius Winston led the Spartans there to conclude a remarkable career at the highest possible point.
And in keeping with the dramatic arc of the Spartans’ season, it was neither easy nor smooth nor predictable.
Michigan State trailed Gonzaga by as many as 10 early in the second half and didn’t take the lead until there were less than four minutes to play, but the Spartans outscored the Zags 19-10 over the final five minutes to take and keep the lead, even as Gonzaga repeatedly threatened. When Ryan Woolridge missed Gonzaga’s last-chance 3-pointer with 10 seconds to go, the celebration was on in a 81-77 Michigan State victory.
All week, the News & Observer has been simulating the NCAA tournament using whatifsports.com. Last Sunday, we had Washington Post bracketologist Patrick Stevens pick a bracket — based partially on our simulated ACC tournament, which had N.C. State win an unlikely title — and we had a selection show. Then each day, one by one, we broke down the brackets, with Gonzaga winning the West Region, Michigan State the Midwest Region, Auburn the South Region and Maryland the East Region. Today, the tournament concludes with the final four and Michigan State is our simulated national champion.
Winston had 27 points for the second straight game, including a pair of free throws with 18 seconds to play to help seal the win, and was a unanimous choice as most outstanding player, completing a dominant run through the tournament that delivered Tom Izzo a second national title and made him the 16th coach in NCAA history to win multiple championships.
Xavier Tillman added 12 points and 15 rebounds for Michigan State, the No. 2 seed out of the Midwest Region, which went 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the second half. Filip Petrusev led Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed out of the West Region, with 25 points. Corey Kispert had 14 points and Killian Tillie 11 for the Zags.
Michigan State was the preseason favorite but the Spartans’ season took a tragic turn in November when Winston’s younger brother committed suicide and the Spartans got more bad news in December when they found out star Josh Langford would not return from a foot injury in January as the Spartans had hoped.
An up-and-down season took off in March as Winston became an unstoppable offensive force, averaging 24.3 points per game to drag the Spartans through the tournament and to victories over two Big Ten opponents (Indiana and Maryland) and a second straight Final Four and the Spartans’ ninth in 21 seasons under Izzo.
For Gonzaga, it was another close call. In their last title-game appearance, in 2017, the Zags held the lead with as little as 1:55 to play before the North Carolina Tar Heels pulled away. This time, they controlled almost the entire game and still had a chance to tie the score with 10 seconds to go.
So for the second time, Gonzaga was denied a national title by one of the programs that has the kind of resume the Zags are trying to build. Three years ago, it was North Carolina, on its way to its sixth NCAA title. This time it was the Spartans, on their way to a third.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
2 MICHIGAN STATE 81, 1 GONZAGA 77
MICHIGAN STATE — Cassius Winston 27 points; Xavier Tillman 12 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks; Rocket Watts 10 points.
GONZAGA — Filip Petrusev, 25 points, 7 rebounds; Corey Kispert 14 points; Killian Tillie 11 points.
NATIONAL SEMIFINAL
Gonzaga vs. Auburn
There’s no question, after making a second trip to the national championship game in four years, that Gonzaga is the best basketball program on the West Coast, perhaps not the team anyone expected to pick up where UCLA left off many years ago but the only one that’s been able to do it. Arizona and Utah both had their moments, but in terms of consistent excellence, none compares — at this moment — to Gonzaga.
The only thing left for the Zags is to finish the job Monday night, where as the top remaining seed they’ll be favored to finally win it all.
They advanced to the title game with a workmanlike performance against Auburn, taking the drama out of the game by taking the lead with 3:09 to go and nursing it to the finish for a 94-87 win over the upstart Tigers, making their second straight unexpected Final Four appearance and exiting with a second straight semifinal loss.
The score was tied at 82 when Gonzaga took advantage of a turnover and two misses by J’Von McCormick to quickly run its lead to five, all the cushion the Zags would need as the Tigers went cold, missing five of their final six shots and turning the ball over three times.
Killian Tillie and Admon Gilder each had 19 points to lead Gonzaga, which shot 57.6 percent from the floor. Corey Kispert had 11 points and eight assists and Ryan Woolridge had nine points and seven assists for the Zags.
Danjel Purifoy led Auburn with 19 points while South Regional most outstanding player Isaac Okoro was held to 13. Austin Wiley added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers.
Gonzaga now awaits the winner of Saturday’s late Big Ten showdown between Michigan State and Maryland. For the Zags, there isn’t just a national title on the line. They’ve been knocking on the door of the bluebloods for a decade. Now they get another chance to crash that party.
1 GONZAGA 94, 5 AUBURN 87
GONZAGA — Killian Tillie 19 points; Admon Gilder 19 points; Filip Petrusev 15 points, nine rebounds; Corey Kispert 11 points, 8 assists; Ryan Woolridge 9 points, 7 assists.
AUBURN — Danjel Purifoy 19 points; Austin Wiley 15 points, 11 rebounds; Isaac Okoro 13 points; J’Von McCormick 10 points, nine assists.
NATIONAL SEMIFINAL
Michigan State vs. Maryland
Michigan State and Maryland were part of a three-way tie for the Big Ten regular-season title, but the Spartans left no doubt who the superior team was when it mattered. An intraconference national semifinal turned into a rout as Michigan State built on a 15-point halftime lead for a 95-75 win, the Spartans’ first in a Final Four game since 2009.
The preseason No. 1 had a rough ride to this spot, but it’s where the Spartans expected to be when the season began in October. In their way: Gonzaga was the only No. 1 seed to make it to the Final Four, a combination of circumstances that will leave oddsmakers flummoxed.
There was no confusion in Saturday’s second semifinal. Maryland just couldn’t keep pace with Michigan State, which dominated the final eight minutes of the first half and continued to pour it on in the second. Cassius Winston continued his remarkable postseason with 27 points while Rocket Watts (15 points) and Xavier Tillman (13 points) were the only other Spartans in double figures.
Winston was 7-for-12 from 3-point range on a night the Spartans shot 50 percent (14 of 28) from long distance, scoring eight of Michigan State’s points during a 12-3 run to start the second half and remove any hope Maryland had of a comeback. With the title game looming in 48 hours, Tom Izzo was able to pull his starters with more than three minutes to play and a 20-point lead.
Anthony Cowan had 19 points for Maryland and Jalen Smith added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Terrapins, who beat the 8th, 6th, 10th and 14th seeds in the East Region to get to the Final Four. It was the 12th Final Four game between conference opponents, but only the second since 2001. North Carolina and Syracuse played in the last, in 2016.
For Michigan State, this NCAA tournament marks only the third time this season the Spartans have won five or more games in a row. It hasn’t been the smoothest path to the title game, but after a season full of tragedy and bad news, the Spartans are where they thought they could be before it all began.
2 MICHIGAN STATE 95, 3 MARYLAND 75
MICHIGAN STATE — Cassius Winston 27 points; Rocket Watts 15 points; Xavier Tillman 13 points, 13 rebounds.
MARYLAND — Anthony Cowan 19 points; Darryl Morsell 15 points; Jalen Smith 12 points, 12 rebounds; Aaron Wiggins 11 points.
This story was originally published March 21, 2020 at 9:58 AM with the headline "What could have been NCAA tournament: Michigan State tops Gonzaga for national title."