Written by Ryan Musich
Kansas City, MO - With both teams coming back from halftime deficits in the round of 32, the 7th seeded Michigan Wolverines faced off against the 3rd seeded Oregon Ducks. The Wolverines are coming off an upset win against #2 seed Louisville Cardinals in the round of 32. Michigan’s Moritz Wagner led the way with 26 points while going 11-14 from the field. Michigan star shooting guard Derrick Walton Jr. struggled from the field going 3-13 and missing 5 of his 7 three pointers. Michigan was down 8 at halftime with all momentum on Louisville’s side, but that changed quickly at the start of the 2nd half. Michigan ended up playing solid defense, and scoring 45 points. Oregon’s game was pretty similar to their counterpart’s game last weekend, as at the half the Ducks were facing a deficit 8 as well. In the second half though, Tyler Dorsey caught fire. Dorsey hit the game winner with 40 seconds to go, while only missing 1 shot the whole game. Oregon would hope to get a similar game from Dorsey against a scrappy Wolverine defense.
The two teams started cold from the field, but ramped up the scoring. It was all Oregon to start, but DJ Wilson would hit back to back 3’s to put Michigan up early. Michigan fell in love with the 3 point shot early as 9 of their first 11 points were from deep. As good as the first half started, both teams would end up struggling to score as Michigan would only shoot 39% from the field, and Oregon would only shoot 41%. Though the two teams would go back and fourth draining threes as the half wound down. It started with Michigan’s Derrick Walton, and ended with Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey. Michigan’s glaring low for the half would be the play of their center Moritz Wagner. Wagner ended up with only 4 points on 2-8 shooting while only grabbing 3 rebounds. The Wolverines would love for him to step up in the second half. A low for the Ducks in the first half would be the play of their star forward Dilion Brooks. Brooks had only 4 points on 6 shots in the first half. Bright spots for the Wolverines would be guard Derrick Walton Jr. and forward DJ Wilson. Walton Jr. led the Wolverines in points and assists in the first half. Gathering 11 points and 7 assists. DJ Wilson ended with 6 points in only 7 minutes. Michigan would end up with 10 assists on 11 baskets as well. Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey would end the first half making his last 4 shots in which 2 of them were three pointers. The final score of the first half would end up with Oregon on top 35-33.
The second half would start with both teams clicking on offense. It would start with Michigan forward DJ Wilson draining a corner three, but Oregon’s Dilion Brooks would make his first triple of the half not long after. After a three-point play from the Wolverine’s Moritz Wagner, Tyler Dorsey would drain another three. The pace would sure pick up as the second half went on Walton Jr. would lay it up and in. After the first timeout of the 2nd half, the Ducks would still be on top 45-44. Oregon’s Dilion Brooks would continue to show he had the hot hand, as he would hit his next 2 out of his 3 shots. Like Brooks, Michigan’s Zak Irvin would start to heat up in the 2nd half, as at the 10-minute mark if the half Irvin, would have 7 points in the half for his Wolverines. The Oregon ducks would go cold for a span of 4 minutes before guard Casey Benson would knock down a 3 to put Oregon back ahead. After playing from behind most of the game, Michigan was able to jump out ahead on back to back threes from Walton Jr. and DJ Wilson. After surviving a 6-0 from the Ducks, Michigan was able to pull one off as well to give them the lead. But that lead would not last for long as a clutch 3 from Tyler Dorsey would put the Ducks back on top. But that lead would be short lived, as Wolverines guard Zak Irvin would continue his hot shooting in the second half as he’d hit a 3 to put Michigan back on top. In the final 4 minutes, these teams played like they knew what was at stake and gave their respective fan bases something to see. Hitting clutch shot after clutch shot. The back court for Michigan in the second half played lights out. A big reason why Michigan was able to stay in the game, and eventually take the lead down the stretch. Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey would not let allow the Ducks to go down quietly. Dorsey put the team on his shoulder and made sure that his team moved on to the Elite Eight.
To wrap things up, both teams showed that either one of them would’ve been a great choice to move on, but Oregon was able to hit clutch shots in the final two minutes and pull it out with a 69-68 win as Michigan’s Walton missed a buzzer beater at the end of the game. Great game from the Wolverines back court as they combined for half of Michigan’s points. The Ducks were led by Tyler Dorsey and forward Jordan Bell who had a double double. Oregon will go on to face the winner of our next game here in Kansas City (Kansas or Purdue) in the Elite Eight with a chance to play for a title in the Final Four on the line.
The two teams started cold from the field, but ramped up the scoring. It was all Oregon to start, but DJ Wilson would hit back to back 3’s to put Michigan up early. Michigan fell in love with the 3 point shot early as 9 of their first 11 points were from deep. As good as the first half started, both teams would end up struggling to score as Michigan would only shoot 39% from the field, and Oregon would only shoot 41%. Though the two teams would go back and fourth draining threes as the half wound down. It started with Michigan’s Derrick Walton, and ended with Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey. Michigan’s glaring low for the half would be the play of their center Moritz Wagner. Wagner ended up with only 4 points on 2-8 shooting while only grabbing 3 rebounds. The Wolverines would love for him to step up in the second half. A low for the Ducks in the first half would be the play of their star forward Dilion Brooks. Brooks had only 4 points on 6 shots in the first half. Bright spots for the Wolverines would be guard Derrick Walton Jr. and forward DJ Wilson. Walton Jr. led the Wolverines in points and assists in the first half. Gathering 11 points and 7 assists. DJ Wilson ended with 6 points in only 7 minutes. Michigan would end up with 10 assists on 11 baskets as well. Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey would end the first half making his last 4 shots in which 2 of them were three pointers. The final score of the first half would end up with Oregon on top 35-33.
The second half would start with both teams clicking on offense. It would start with Michigan forward DJ Wilson draining a corner three, but Oregon’s Dilion Brooks would make his first triple of the half not long after. After a three-point play from the Wolverine’s Moritz Wagner, Tyler Dorsey would drain another three. The pace would sure pick up as the second half went on Walton Jr. would lay it up and in. After the first timeout of the 2nd half, the Ducks would still be on top 45-44. Oregon’s Dilion Brooks would continue to show he had the hot hand, as he would hit his next 2 out of his 3 shots. Like Brooks, Michigan’s Zak Irvin would start to heat up in the 2nd half, as at the 10-minute mark if the half Irvin, would have 7 points in the half for his Wolverines. The Oregon ducks would go cold for a span of 4 minutes before guard Casey Benson would knock down a 3 to put Oregon back ahead. After playing from behind most of the game, Michigan was able to jump out ahead on back to back threes from Walton Jr. and DJ Wilson. After surviving a 6-0 from the Ducks, Michigan was able to pull one off as well to give them the lead. But that lead would not last for long as a clutch 3 from Tyler Dorsey would put the Ducks back on top. But that lead would be short lived, as Wolverines guard Zak Irvin would continue his hot shooting in the second half as he’d hit a 3 to put Michigan back on top. In the final 4 minutes, these teams played like they knew what was at stake and gave their respective fan bases something to see. Hitting clutch shot after clutch shot. The back court for Michigan in the second half played lights out. A big reason why Michigan was able to stay in the game, and eventually take the lead down the stretch. Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey would not let allow the Ducks to go down quietly. Dorsey put the team on his shoulder and made sure that his team moved on to the Elite Eight.
To wrap things up, both teams showed that either one of them would’ve been a great choice to move on, but Oregon was able to hit clutch shots in the final two minutes and pull it out with a 69-68 win as Michigan’s Walton missed a buzzer beater at the end of the game. Great game from the Wolverines back court as they combined for half of Michigan’s points. The Ducks were led by Tyler Dorsey and forward Jordan Bell who had a double double. Oregon will go on to face the winner of our next game here in Kansas City (Kansas or Purdue) in the Elite Eight with a chance to play for a title in the Final Four on the line.