WASHINGTON — The specter of Zion Williamson loomed large.
Duke’s all-world freshman alters shots with his mere presence, creeping into the back of opponents’ heads like an invisible sixth defender.
His 6-feet-7, 285-pound physique make other big men appear small. He becomes a wrecking ball as a scorer and offensive rebounder.
The college basketball world knows him by one name. So will the NBA very soon.
None of that bothered Xavier Tillman.
The Michigan State basketball forward held his ground defensively against Williamson, getting three steals and blocking two shots. Tillman also equaled a career high with 19 points on 8 of 12 shooting, including a 3-pointer, to help send the Spartans to the Final Four with a 68-67 victory.
And deliver a defeat to Duke that likely ends the brief but meteoric college career of Williamson, who very well could be the No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA draft.
“Obviously I don't focus on individual battles, but he played great, solid defense,” Williamson said of Tillman. “And I think what they did was, I think when I catch it on the post they would bring or two or three defenders, so I wouldn't be able to do spin. And it was great defense obviously. He played great defense.”
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Williamson still got plenty of work done, finishing with 24 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
He had 17 points and eight boards in the second half, scoring 10 in the first 4:48 to help Duke open with a 12-5 run in one of the 16 lead changes in the game. Much of that came from aggressive post moves and banging the offensive glass, where he had seven of his rebounds to help the Blue Devils to a 42-31 overall edge.
However, Tillman crashed just as hard. The 6-8, 245-pound sophomore finished with nine rebounds, including six offensive boards. He got help with nine Kenny Goins rebounds, four of them on offense, and five boards from Nick Ward off the bench. The Spartans managed to keep Duke’s second-chance points edge to 16-12.
“We did a decent job keeping Zion off the boards,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said. “When they put them in the post, that was tough sledding. We had to make a couple of adjustments on some switching we did. Players made good adjustments on the run, too, and that was big.”
Tillman’s pressure and help defense from the Spartans’ guards also forced Williamson into five of Duke’s 17 turnovers that led to 24 MSU points.
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Tillman said the mission for guarding Williamson was “just not to let him do his tendency.
“He's a heavy right-shoulder guy,” Tillman said. “So just try to limit him from going right shoulder as much as we could, to make his touches tough, and not to give up any lobs either.”
Williamson still finished at the rim a few times with dunks, but so did Tillman. He made the Duke star earn his 10 of 19 shooting.
Neither Williamson nor Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski would address what would come next for them.
"I'd rather not talk about the future right now," Krzyzewski said. "Let's just, like Zion said, let's deal with the moment, and also give respect to the moment, the moment of their victory and the moment of our season ending. And I'd rather just deal with that."
Still, Williamson’s next game all but certainly will be in the NBA. And Tillman’s next game will be in Minneapolis, with a national title the ultimate prize.
“It’s unreal,” Tillman said on the court after the win. “In the summer, I just had that in my head, working on my body, working on my game, working on my shot. I was just so possessed to want to come back to the tournament and make a mark. And as you can see, we did it.”
Contact Chris Solari at csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2019/04/01/michigan-state-basketball-xavier-tillman-duke-blue-devils-zion-williamson-ncaa-tournament/3329161002/
2019-04-01 10:00:00Z
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