OMAHA, Neb. – For the third year in a row, Kansas made it through the Sweet 16 – although not before Clemson tried its hardest to add another wild chapter to an already unbelievable tournament.
The top-seeded Jayhawks brought at least a temporary halt to the insanity of this March, withstanding a ferocious rally by fifth-seeded Clemson on Friday for a too-close-for-comfort, 80-76 victory.
Malik Newman led the Jayhawks (30-7) with 17 points in a one-time runaway that got much closer and, quite frankly, won’t mean much to KU fans if their team can’t finish the job in the Midwest Region final Sunday.
As a top seed the last two seasons, Kansas made it through the regional semifinals, only to flop a game shy of the Final Four both times. In fact, this marks the sixth time Bill Self’s team has been seeded first since KU won it all in 2008; the Jayhawks haven’t made the Final Four one of those times.
“I think about it all the time. I just told the guys in the locker room...this year, we’ve got to get over the hump,” said senior Devonte’ Graham, who had 16 points.
Still, it could’ve ended on Friday – in horrifying fashion – after Clemson stormed back from a 20-point deficit that stunned a crowd filled mostly with fans from Lawrence and surrounding areas, which are only a few hours from Omaha.
“We just kind of played not to lose down the stretch,” Self said.
BOSTON – Villanova’s 3-point party rolled past the intense pressure of West Virginia to bring the Wildcats to the doorstep of another Final Four two seasons after winning a national championship.
The top-seeded Wildcats continued their outside feast in the NCAA Tournament, downing the fifth-seeded Mountaineers 90-78 on Friday night to earn their second trip to the regional finals in three seasons.
Jalen Brunson led Villanova with 27 points and Omari Spellman had 18 with eight rebounds as Villanova overcame the West Virginia press by hitting 13 of 24 shots from 3-point range.
Daxter Miles had 16 points to lead West Virginia. Jevon Carter and Sagaba Konate added 12 each.
Villanova (33-4) has now made 47 3-pointers for the tournament. The outside barrage helped the Wildcats overcome 16 turnovers and played into their Sweet 16 plan for their opponents nicknamed “Press Virginia”: Attack the stifling defense head-on.
“What a game, man. I hope that looked as good as it did from the bench, man,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “That was the most physically demanding, mentally draining 40 minutes we’ve played in a long time. They are so relentless.”
The Wildcats struggled at times, especially in the first half, but dug out of a six-point hole in the second half with an 11-0 run.
The Mountaineers (26-11) stayed close throughout, ramping up the pressure and making Villanova play faster than it wanted to early. But foul trouble throughout the second half was too much for West Virginia to overcome after it gave up the lead.
Carter was called for his third with 17:33 left in the game. That was followed by Miles being whistled for his third and fourth fouls over a two minute stretch that sent him to the bench with 15 minutes remaining.
Coach Bob Huggins said the fouls “absolutely” stifled the Mountaineers’ ability to keep pressure on Villanova.
“When the whistle keeps blowing it really takes away your aggression,” he said.
OMAHA, Neb. – Duke is back in the Elite Eight for the first time since its 2015 team won it all after holding off a late charge from rival Syracuse 69-65 on Friday night in the Midwest Region semifinals.
Marvin Bagley scored 22 points and Wendell Carter Jr. had 14 with 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils (29-7), who will face top-seeded Kansas – a rare matchup of bluebloods in a tournament defined by chaos – on Sunday in Omaha.
But Duke couldn’t shake the Orange (23-14) until the final buzzer sounded.
Sharp-shooting Grayson Allen missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds left and Duke up 67-64. The Blue Devils fouled rather than let Syracuse go for a game-tying 3, and Tyus Battle only made one of two from the line.
Gary Trent Jr. then made two free throws with 6.3 seconds to go to seal a closer-than-expected win that was similar to the Jayhawks’ 80-76 win over Clemson.
Battle had 19 points to lead the Orange. Allen had 15 for Duke, but he was just 3-of-14 on 3s.
BOSTON – Texas Tech is headed to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
Keenan Evans had 16 points and the third-seeded Red Raiders overcame an early first half hole and dominated second-seeded Purdue down the stretch to earn a 78-65 victory in the Sweet 16 on Friday night.
Texas Tech will play top seed Villanova in the East regional final Sunday.
Zach Smith added 14 points and five rebounds.
Texas Tech trailed by as many as 7 points in the first half. But it closed the period on a 10-0 run to take a 30-25 halftime advantage. Purdue got it down to 1 early in the second but the Red Raiders never surrendered the lead.
Carsen Edwards led Purdue with 30 points, including four 3-pointers.
The Boilermakers (30-7) were playing in their second straight regional semifinal. They were denied what would have been their first Elite Eight berth since 2000.
Purdue came in ranked second nationally in 3-point percentage and connected on 7-of-18 for the game. But the Boilermakers allowed the Red Raiders 17 second-chance points.
Texas Tech (27-9) also got 33 points from its bench, compared to just 6 for Purdue.
