Duke survives another nail-biter to advance to Elite Eight

Zion Williamson soared for a two-handed, rim-rattling, crowd-thrilling alley-oop slam that gave Duke its biggest lead during a tight tussle against Virginia Tech in the East Region semifinals.

Williamson scored 23 points, Canadian RJ Barrett had 18 and a career-high 11 assists, and Tre Jones added 22 points and eight assists, helping No. 1 overall seed Duke avoid an NCAA Tournament upset and edge No. 4-seeded Virginia Tech 75-73 on Friday night.

The Hokies had their chances in the closing seconds, the final one coming on an inbounds play with 1.1 seconds left. The ball went to Ahmed Hill as he jumped to the basket, but his attempt to tie it failed to fall. It was similar to the way two last-gasp shots went off the rim for Duke's second-round opponent, UCF.

Before that final miss, both Hill and Ty Outlaw airballed three-point attempts that would have put Virginia Tech ahead.

But Duke got through, even though it trailed much of the evening, including 38-34 at halftime.

Canadian Nickeil Alexander-Walker had nine points and five assists for Virginia Tech. 

In the Elite Eight on Sunday, Duke will take on No. 2 seed Michigan State.

North Carolina 1st No. 1 seed bounced from tournament

The first No. 1 seed has fallen in the NCAA tournament — and it's North Carolina.

Chuma Okeke had 20 points and 11 rebounds before going down with an apparent knee injury midway through the second half. He was moving to the basket when his left leg bent awkwardly to the inside. Teammates and North Carolina players alike gathered around Okeke before he walked to the locker room with assistance.

Auburn led just 41-39 at halftime before taking over. The Tigers hit 12 of 18 three-pointers after halftime and 17 of 37 for the game, scoring 56 points after halftime to take control by building a big lead.

Coby White and Cameron Johnson each had 15 points for the Tar Heels, who shot just 43 per cent and made 7 of 28 three-pointers.

Freshmen lead Michigan State past LSU

For all of Michigan State's veteran experience, its freshmen led the way into the Elite Eight.

Aaron Henry scored a career-best 20 and fellow frosh Gabe Brown had 15 as the second-seeded Spartans beat third-seeded LSU 80-63 on Friday to move on to the East Region final.

Coach Tom Izzo's upperclassman-heavy team is one victory away from its first Final Four appearance since 2015.

Tremont Waters scored 10 points during a 13-0 LSU run spanning the first half into the second to cut the deficit to four. Then Michigan State blew the game wide open with three-pointers. The Spartans hit four of their first five 3-point attempts out of halftime.

Henry did his best Draymond Green impression as the do-it-all 6-foot-6 forward was all over the offensive end. He had eight rebounds and six assists and was 9 of 14 from the floor.

Brown came in averaging two points a game and scored more than he had in his past 11 games combined. Brown had just five points in the Spartans' past 12 games, but became a central figure against LSU.

Standout point guard Cassius Winston went toe-to-toe with Waters and finished with 17 points as one of four Michigan State players in double figures.

Kentucky holds off Houston

Tyler Herro hit a three-pointer with 25.8 seconds left to give Kentucky the lead after Houston had erased a double-digit lead, and the Wildcats escaped their NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal with a 62-58 win over Houston.

Herro's huge basket gave the Wildcats a 60-58 lead and came after Houston's Corey Davis Jr. had his driving shot swatted away by PJ Washington, who was making his return after missing the first two tournament games with a left foot injury.

Davis missed what would have been a tying layup before Herro hit two more free throws to secure the win and send the second-seeded Wildcats to the Elite Eight for the seventh time in 10 years, Kentucky will face Southeastern Conference rival Auburn for a trip to the Final Four.

Herro led the Wildcats with 19 points and Washington added 16.

Houston, in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1984, used a 17-6 surge to finish a comeback from 13 points down early in the second half. Armoni Brooks, who finished with 20 points, made three of his six three-pointers during the run, the last a fade-away from the corner to tie it at 49. Davis then muscled a shot over Reid Travis in the lane with 3:39 left for the Cougars' first lead since 13 minutes left in the first half.

After Washington made two free throws to tie it, Brooks struck again, this time from the right side, to make it 54-51.

The Cougars couldn't quite finish the job. Davis' floater made it 58-55 before Washington scored over Fabian White Jr. to make it a one-point game. He missed the tying free throw, and then raced to the other end to block Davis' shot and turn the momentum back to Kentucky.