The Final Four is set. And after an opening weekend that went to plan based on the seeds, things look different heading into Minneapolis.
Virginia is the only No. 1 seed to make it through to the final weekend of the season, with No. 1 overall seed Duke in the East and Gonzaga in the West losing in the regional finals. Midwest Region top seed North Carolina lost in the Sweet 16.
That leaves a No. 2 seed in Michigan State, a No. 3 seed in Texas Tech and a No. 5 seed in Auburn. The Cavaliers and surging Tigers meet in Saturday's first national semifinal, followed by the Spartans and the defensive-minded Red Raiders.
That’s one team each from the Atlantic Coast, the Big Ten, the Big 12 and the Southeastern conferences.
As for the coaches, Michigan State's Tom Izzo is in the Final Four for the eighth time and first since 2015. He's joined by a trio of first-timers in Virginia's Tony Bennett, Texas Tech's Chris Beard and Auburn's Bruce Pearl.
Credit: Patrick Smith
Credit: Patrick Smith
No. 1 Duke goes down
Michigan State upset Zion Williamson and No. 1 overall seed Duke 68-67 in the East Region final.
The victory sends the No. 2 seed Spartans coach Tom Izzo to his eighth Final Four. Michigan State’s most recent trip was in 2015, when it lost to Duke in the national semifinals.
Cassius Winston, the Big Ten Player of the Year, had 20 points and 10 assists.
Duke had escaped its previous two games, winning them by a total of three points, but couldn’t pull out this one.
Williamson, the superb freshman expected to be the top pick in this year’s NBA draft, had 24 points and 14 rebounds. RJ Barrett, Duke’s other star freshman, scored 21 points but also had seven turnovers and missed one of two free throws with 5.2 seconds left with a chance to tie it.
Michigan State will face West Region champ Texas Tech for a berth in the national title game.
Credit: Jamie Squire
Credit: Jamie Squire
Tigers take down another blue blood
Pearl and his Auburn Tigers are heading to the Final Four.
Two days after losing starting forward Chuma Okeke to a major knee injury, the fifth-seeded Tigers beat second-seeded Kentucky 77-71 in overtime in the NCAA Midwest Region final.
Auburn (30-9) overcame PJ Washington's 28 points and 13 rebounds, foul trouble and a slow start to punch its ticket to Minneapolis for its first appearance in the Final Four. The Tigers play No. 1 seed Virginia in a national semifinal Saturday.
Jared Harper had 12 of his 26 points in overtime, and Bryce Brown scored 17 of his 24 points after halftime to lead the Tigers' comeback.
Auburn had opened the game missing 8 of its first 9 3-pointers and trailed by 11 at the midway point of the half. Kentucky finished the season 30-7.
Auburn forward Chuma Okeke's left knee was in so much pain that he planned to watch the regional final against Kentucky from his hotel and await the return flight to Alabama. It was late in the first half that Okeke realized he needed to be at Sprint Center. The sophomore told a member of the Auburn staff that he’d changed his mind, and Okeke was soon being wheeled into the building in downtown Kansas City. He finally made it to the floor at the under-16 media timeout, and watched the rest of the Tigers’ victory from behind the Auburn bench.
“I just think he had to be there,” Pearl said.
Okeke is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday on his torn ACL, which he hurt in the team’s Sweet 16 win. It’s unclear whether he plans to accompany the Tigers to Minneapolis for the Final Four next weekend.
Auburn posted NCAA Tournament wins over three basketball blue bloods: Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky.
Final Four schedule
Saturday, April 6
6:09 p.m., CBS: No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 1 Virginia
8:49 p.m., CBS: No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 Michigan State
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