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Jase Richardson scored 17 points and No. 7 Michigan State used a 15-point run in the second half to spark a 74-64 victory over No. 23 Oregon in the first Big Ten tournament quarterfinal Friday in Indianapolis.
Jaden Akins posted 12 points, Jeremy Fears Jr. contributed 11 points and five assists and Coen Carr notched 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the top-seeded Spartans (27-5), who extended their winning streak to eight games and advanced to Saturday's first semifinal against the winner of the game between UCLA and Wisconsin.
Nate Bittle paced eighth-seeded Oregon (24-9) with 22 points and 11 rebounds while TJ Bamba added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Ducks' eight-game winning streak came to a close as guard Jackson Shelstad (8 points) missed all five of his 3-point tries as part of the team's 4-of-19 showing on threes.
Buoyed by a partisan crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Michigan State broke to an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes. Senior-heavy Oregon settled in and took a 17-15 lead on Bamba's coast-to-coast layup at the 11:21 mark.
After multiple lead changes and two missed dunks by Carr, the Spartans reeled off an 11-2 run to close out the half and claim a 42-32 halftime lead.
Michigan State turned seven offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points while Oregon didn't grab any offensive rebounds.
Oregon got back into the game by forcing turnovers on four of Michigan State's first five second-half possessions. When Keeshawn Barthelemy swished a 3-pointer in transition with 15:36 to go, the Ducks pulled within 44-43 and inspired Tom Izzo to call a timeout.
Izzo's timeout had the desired effect as the Spartans scored the next six points, which forced Oregon's Dana Altman to use a timeout -- but it didn't help. Michigan State's Frankie Fidler cashed a 3-pointer and Carr hit a free throw to extend the lead to 54-43 with 12:02 to go.
Things got even worse for the Ducks after the media timeout. Richardson hit a 3-pointer while a teammate got fouled in the post. With the Spartans given another possession, the 6-foot-3 Richardson swished a rainbow stepback over 6-9 Kwame Evans to cap a 15-0 run that made it 59-43 at the 10:31 mark.
Oregon got as close as 71-64 on Bamba's ferocious dunk with 53 seconds left, but Bamba inadvertently kneed Richardson in the back of the head two seconds later while trying to execute a run-and-jump on the Ducks' full-court press.
The officials upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 1, which allowed Richardson to hit two free throws and the Spartans to retain the ball.
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Winners, losers from men's NCAA Selection Sunday
The most captivating hour of sports television is once again in the books as the NCAA men's basketball selection show announced the 68-team field for the 2025 edition of March Madness. Some conferences won big, while others came away as losers — a scary situation in the present day paranoia of conference realignment and constant jockeying for position. Here are three winners and three losers after the men's bracket was set. Winners SEC The conference was once an afterthought among the Power 5 when it came to basketball, but not anymore. The SEC has assembled a juggernaut with a record 14 of 16 teams making the tournament. That means big money for the conference. The committee showed respect for the conference by giving four teams one or two seeds, but also choosing multiple teams on the bubble to be in the field. Texas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt were all question marks of varying degrees, but are in. Texas and Oklahoma each went 6-12 in conference play. North Carolina Tar Heels The Tar Heels had to sweat it out since losing in the ACC Tournament semifinals to Duke Friday night. But despite a 1-12 record against Quad 1 opponents, North Carolina will head to Dayton for a First Four matchup against San Diego State. UNC has won eight of its last 10, but in a weak ACC none of the eight wins came against tournament teams, and one of the losses came to a Cooper Flagg-less Duke team. Bonus — Dayton tourism Nearby Xavier is headed to Dayton for the First Four as are mega fan bases in North Carolina and Texas. Bars and hotels, rejoice! Duke Blue Devils The Blue Devils weren't the overall number one seed, but they did receive a more favorable region than Auburn (more on that later). The Blue Devils navigated the ACC Tournament without Flagg — who is expected to be back for the NCAA Tournament. Winning without its best player and getting a more favorable draw than the other one seeds is a huge win for Jon Scheyer's bunch. Losers Auburn Tigers So, you say you want the number one overall seed? The perks of such a thing: the toughest region in the bracket. The Tigers are joined by 2-seed Michigan State (11 NET ranking), 3-seed Iowa State (9) and 4-seed Texas A M (18). A second round matchup against either Louisville (23) or Creighton (38) is hardly a walk in the park, and the bracket also contains Big Ten tournament champion Michigan. That's a difficult road to the Final Four. ACC The ACC struggled this season and received only four bids from its 18-team league. It's the fewest bids for the conference since 2013. In direct contrast to the SEC, the committee showed little respect to the ACC. Louisville finished runner-up in the regular season and conference tournament, but was handed an 8-seed with the potential of facing the overall number one seed, Auburn, in the second round. The ACC received the fewest bids of the Power 5 conferences. Big Ten It's hard to say a conference with eight bids is a loser, but the Big Ten had two teams, Indiana and Ohio State, in the first four out. The Hoosiers were 4-13 against Quad 1, giving them three more such wins than North Carolina, the last team into the field. Ohio State had six Quad 1 wins, but suffered from a 3-4 record against Quad 2. It's not the end of the world for the Big Ten, but with the rival SEC seeing multiple bubble teams get in the field, it's a tough pill to swallow.
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Steelers reportedly receive new price for Aaron Rodgers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are waiting to hear if Aaron Rodgers is going to chose them, the New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings or retirement. If he returns, the Vikings are his reported preferred landing spot, but the Steelers are No. 2 — and the NFL expects him to land with Pittsburgh. At one point, it was believed that Rodgers was looking for $90 million over two years to sign with the Steelers. Now, that price seems to be different. According to The Athletic, Rodgers is viewing the Vikings are his top option, and in a deal, he's hoping to land something similar to former Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold. "Rodgers, in the wake of his release by the New York Jets, is seeking an annual salary in the same general range as Darnold’s — though that’s not expected to be a major stumbling block," The Athletic writes. Darnold signed a three-year, $100M deal with the Seattle Seahawks at the beginning of free agency, choosing not to return to the Vikings. If Minnesota does want to bring Rodgers in, the Steelers may be removing another option from their list. If not, Pittsburgh does appear to be first, but it's unknown if they'll be willing to pay his asking salary. "The Steelers are more than willing to accommodate free agent that they feel helps the team, however, they don’t make it a practice as others do of doing deals that don’t protect the team," a team source told Steelers On SI early in the Rodgers hunt. "It has to be a mutually beneficial deal." The Steelers have other needs on their roster this offseason, including a swing tackle and a starting defensive tackle to replace Larry Ogunjobi. While signing Rodgers is priority one for them right now, the team likely isn't going to break the bank for a quarterback. Which, ultimately, might leave them on the outside looking in at the end of the Rodgers race.
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Former Oiler Warren Foegele has strong words for Edmonton in new interview
Former Oilers forward Warren Foegele appeared in a recent interview where he heavily leaned into the rivalry with his former team, going as far as to say he hates the Edmonton Oilers. Foegele is one of a few former Oilers having a career year this season, and a player that Edmonton may be missing now. With the Los Angeles Kings, Foegele has been a great fit. Former Oilers forward says he hates his former team in new interview While playing up to the rivalry in a new video, Foegele said he now fully hates the Edmonton Oilers. He's clearly keeping it light and joking about the rivalry, but usually players don't take it as far as hate. "I don't know, I'm part of it, like I hate them too. I hate the Oilers too, so it's just part of the game." - Warren Foegele Later on in the interview, Foegele did lighten up and show some love to his former teammates in Edmonton. In a hilarious moment, the Kings interviewer showed Foegele a picture of him scoring against the Oilers, and in the background, Evan Bouchard can be seen smiling for one of his best friends. "That's a great picture. That's me scoring against the Oilers. "That's probably one of my best friends, Evan Bouchard, and he is caught smiling at me scoring! That's a good friend, for sure." - Warren Foegele Warren Foegele thriving with more opportunity on the Los Angeles Kings The 28-year-old forward seems to be settling in nicely both on and off the ice on his new team. After a career season in Edmonton last year, Foegele signed with the Kings for $3.5M per year and immediately posted even better numbers — currently with 19 goals and 37 points in 65 games. It's fun to see Foegele joking around with the rivalry between the Oilers and Kings, two teams that could once again meet in the playoffs. Judging by his comments here, Foegele may be one player uniquely motivated to beat Edmonton.
Bengals Predicted to Sign Former Defensive Player of the Year
The 2024 Cincinnati Bengals' season was disappointing. They went 9-8, finished third in the AFC North and missed the playoffs for the second straight season. One of the biggest reasons for their failures was the defense, which by the end of the year ranked 25th in total yards per game allowed (348.3) and tied for 25th in points per game allowed (25.6). To help fix those numbers, in an article by "For The Win," Cory Woodruff predicts the Bengals will sign cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who has been named to five Pro Bowls and even won the 2019 AP Defensive Player of the Year award. The Bengals certainly had their ups and downs within the secondary in 2024, allowing 372 completions (13th most), 3,799 yards (12th most), 30 touchdowns (fourth-most) and a 91.9 passer rating (17th highest). Gilmore is coming off a solid season for the Minnesota Vikings, starting 15 games and accumulating 56 tackles, one tackle for loss, nine pass deflections and one interception. However, the 34-year-old did find himself struggling in pass coverage, allowing 52 completions, 596 yards, 7.1 yards per target, four touchdowns and a 94.1 passer rating. If Gilmore can return to the same player who was targeted 89 times in 2022, allowing 50 receptions, 577 yards, four touchdowns and a much more impressive 74 passer rating, he'd be a very valuable asset to the Bengals.
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