Basketball talent Ivan Kharchenkov has reached the Final Four of March Madness. The former Bayern Munich pro defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 79:64 with the title favorites Arizona Wildcats in the quarterfinals in San José.
The showdown between the best four college teams in the USA in Indianapolis (April 4-6) could therefore see a German win the championship for the first time since 2014.
Kharchenkov, who is playing his first year at university, scored a strong 18 points (7/11) and grabbed eight rebounds against 2 seed Purdue. In the semi-finals, Arizona will face either the Michigan Wolverines led by German Malick Kordel or the Tennessee Volunteers. Their quarter-final clash is scheduled for Sunday (8:15 p.m.).
The Wildcats trailed by eight points at half-time (30:38), before the team completely dominated after the break. In the end, Kharchenkov’s team won the second half by a clear 48:26. The best scorer in the game was Koa Peat with 20 points (9/18).
In the second game last night, potential lottery pick Keaton Wagler led the Illinois Fighting Illini into the top four. The 19-year-old scored a strong 25 points on 8/17 shooting.
The last German NCAA victory was twelve years ago
The last time world champion Niels Giffey won the championship title was twelve years ago alongside his German teammate Leon Tolksdorf with the Uconn Huskies, which Giffey had previously won together with Enosch Wolf in 2011. Other German college champions include 1993 European champion and later national coach Henrik Rödl (North Carolina Tar Heels/1993), Christian Ast (Duke Blue Devils/1991 and 1992) and Magnus Pelkowski (Indiana Hoosiers/1987).
Meanwhile, national player Clara Bielefeld advanced to the quarterfinals in the women’s competition. The TCU Horned Frogs defeated the Virginia Cavaliers 79-69 in the round of 16, but the 18-year-old did not make an appearance. The playmaker was already part of the German European Championship squad last year and has a good chance of playing in the upcoming home World Championships in Berlin (September 4-13).