Duke nearly gave away its 2011 NCAA Tournament game against Michigan after leading by as many as 12 with only six minutes left, but escaped Charlotte with a win. Michigan cut the lead to one with a minute left, and then back to one with 10 seconds left. Nolan Smith missed one of his two free throws with 8.7 seconds left to give Michigan a chance to win at the buzzer, but Darius Morris missed a runner in the lane.
Smith ended up with 24 points, followed by Morris' 16. Many complained about the first-half officiating in Charlotte, North Carolina, which saw Duke take far more free throws than Michigan -- the Wolverines were able to finish within 14 charity stripe attempts of the Blue Devils, so I guess things shaped up in the second half.
Duke will move on to play either Arizona or Texas on Thursday in Anaheim.
For more on this game, Duke fans should head to Duke Basketball Report, and Michigan fans should join Maize N Brew and SB Nation Detroit.
The updated West region bracket can be found below or check out our full 2011 NCAATournament printable bracket. No. 1 Duke Blue Devils defeats No. 8 Michigan Wolverines, 73-71
No. 4 Texas Longhorns vs. No. 5 Arizona Wildcats
No. 3 Connecticut Huskies def. No. 6 Cincinnati Bearcats, 69-58
No. 2 San Diego State def. No. 7 Temple Owls, 71-64
Other March Madness resources: Our updated printable 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket... the full March Madness schedule.