South Region
DUKE 66, GONZAGA 52
HOUSTON (AP) — Duke is headed to Final Four after a 66-52 victory over Gonzaga in the South Regional Sunday.
It will be the Blue Devils’ 16th appearance in the Final Four and 12th under coach Mike Krzyzewski, matching the all-time record of UCLA’s John Wooden.
Justise Winslow had 16 points, including a big 3-pointer in the closing minutes, Matt Jones had 16 points, Tyus Jones had 15, and Jahlil Okafor added nine points and eight rebounds.
Duke (33-4), the No. 1 seed, is going to Indianapolis to play seventh-seeded Michigan State in the Final Four.
Duke’s last Final Four and national title was in 2010, when the Blue Devils were also the No. 1 seed in the South Regional and had to go through Houston.
No. 2 seed Gonzaga (35-3) had taken a 38-34 lead less than 4 minutes into the second half, putting the Blue Devils in their largest deficit of this tournament.
The young Blue Devils responded with nine straight points and never trailed again.
Gonzaga, in its 17th consecutive NCAA Tournament, was trying to get to the Final Four for the first time.
Kyle Wiltjer had 16 points for Gonzaga.
East Region
MICHIGAN STATE 76, LOUISVILLE 70, OT
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Senior guard Travis Trice scored 17 points and the seventh-seeded Spartans clamped down on defense to advance to their ninth Final Four, seven under coach Tom Izzo.
The Spartans (28-11), who were nearly counted out of the tournament conversation in February, won for the 12th time in 15 games. It’s a run that included them knocking off second-seeded Virginia last weekend and third-seeded Oklahoma in the regional semifinal on Friday.
Wayne Blackshear had 28 points for the Cardinals (27-9).
The Spartans rallied from a 40-32 halftime deficit to eventually build a 61-59 lead with 3:57 left, when Trice hit two free throws.
The Cardinals rallied and had a chance to pull out the victory in regulation. Down 65-64, Mangok Mathiang hit one of two free throws with 4.9 seconds left. Michigan State took control in overtime, starting with Bryn Forbes hitting a 3-pointer 26 seconds in.
After hitting 17 of 32 attempts in the first half, Louisville managed to make six of its final 32.
Midwest Region
KENTUCKY 68, NOTRE DAME 66
CLEVELAND (AP) — Andrew Harrison made two free throws with 6 seconds remaining, and top-ranked Kentucky kept its unbeaten season and national title hopes intact with a 68-66 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday night in the Midwest Regional final.
The Wildcats (38-0) advanced to the Final Four in Indianapolis next week, where they will meet top-seeded Wisconsin, the West Regional champion.
The third-seeded Fighting Irish (32-6) came within seconds of shocking the tournament’s overwhelming favorite. Notre Dame wasn’t done until Jerian Grant’s double-clutch 3-pointer from the left corner was long.
West Region
WISCONSIN 85, ARIZONA 78
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Frank Kaminsky scored 29 points and Sam Dekker added a career-high 27 as the Badgers reached consecutive Final Fours for the first time in school history.
The top-seeded Badgers (35-3) denied the second-seeded Wildcats (34-4) a Final Four berth for the second straight year.
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