Kansas, Villanova advance to Final Four
It will be Kansas taking on Villanova in the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball tournament at San Antonio this Saturday.
Malik Newman almost singlehandedly pushed the Jayhawks into the Final Four. He scored all 13 Kansas points in overtime and finished with a career-high 32 to lead an 85-81 overtime win against Duke in the Midwest Region finale at Omaha. Newman drilled his fifth and final 3 from the corner to make it 81-78 with 1:49 left and followed with four straight free throws to close out the Jayhawks' 31st win.
Trevon Duval scored 20 points for Duke, which finished 29-8. Freshman star and future lottery pick Marvin Bagley added 16 points and 10 rebounds in what could have been his final game for the Blue Devils.
Grayson Allen had 12 points for Duke but missed a 10-foot bank shot at the end of regulation.
The Wildcats have reached the semifinals for the second time in three seasons with a 71-59 win over Texas Tech in the East regional final in Boston. Villanova won despite shooting just 33 percent, including 4-for-24 from 3-point range after entering the game as one of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in NCAA history. Fortunately for the Wildcats, they also held the Red Raiders to 33 percent from the field and finished with a lopsided 51-33 rebounding advantage.
Eric Paschall (PAS'-kuhl) finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Brunson chipped in 15 points and Donte DeVincenzo scored 12 with eight boards for Villanova.
Keenan Evans had a team-high 12 points for the Red Raiders but shot just 3-for-15. Jarrett Culver had 11 points for Texas Tech, which ends the season 27-10 following its first berth in the regional finals.