Coach K continues his farewell tour as he and the Duke Blue Devils reached the Sweet 16 too.
The eight regional semifinal matchups for the final round will be held by Sunday night. This caps a wild opening weekend which has already seen seven double-digit seed winners in the first round, and two more advance.
For the second consecutive year, a No. The 15 seed has captured basketball fans’ imagination.
Oral Roberts was the winner last year. He missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Arkansas and get to the Elite Eight. It’s the lovable Saint Peter’s Peacocks who defeated Kentucky as well as Murray State. They don’t have a single player on the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s first team.
EAST REGION
Philadelphia, Wells Fargo Center
Friday-Sunday
No. 3 seed Purdue, or No. 6 Texas. These tough New Jerseyans won’t be intimidated.
Coach Shaheen Holloway stated, “Everybody keeps saying that we can’t, we can do that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that.” “We have heart. It’s that which matters.
The No. 8 North Carolina (26-9), and No. 4 UCLA (27-7), will meet in the other semifinal.
Hubert Davis’ Tar Heels, a first-year coach, are the hot team in the tournament. They have won eight of nine games after beating Marquette and overtime wins over Baylor.
WEST
Chase Center, San Francisco
Thursday-Saturday
No. 1 Gonzaga (28-3) plays No. After overcoming slow starts against Memphis and Georgia State, Arkansas (28-3) plays No. To defeat ninth-seeded Memphis, the Zags had 12 point deficit in the second half. They were able to overcome it and move on to the Sweet 16 for the seventh consecutive time.
Coach Mark Few stated, “From now on, they’re all difficult.”
Arkansas was challenged by New Mexico State and Vermont, both double-digit seeded. The Razorbacks were unable to score offensively in both of these games, but their defense was flawless.
The West game pits Duke (30-6) against Texas Tech-Notre Dame. Mike Krzyzewski, a hard-earned 85-76 victory over Tom Izzo of Michigan State, sends him west to his 26th Sweet 16.
SOUTH
AT&T Center San Antonio
Thursday-Saturday
No. No. The Wolverines, like Saint Peter’s, are also a good story.
They did not perform well in the regular season. Coach Juwan Harwood was suspended for five games after a postgame dispute with Ohio State. A nervous Selection Sunday resulted from the Big Ten Tournament.
They are here in the fifth consecutive Sweet 16 after beating Colorado State, then revving up in second half to knock off third-seeded Tennessee.
No. No. 5. Houston (31-5), despite being bitten by the injury bug this year, just keeps rolling under Kelvin Sampson. He will play either No. 1 Arizona or No. 9 TCU. 9 TCU. This is the Cougars’ 16th Sweet 16 and their third since 2019.
Sampson’s teams have what it takes for victory. They are ranked in the top 10 nationally for scoring. They will be tough to beat.
MIDWEST
United Center, Chicago
Friday-Sunday
No. No. 1 seed Kansas (30-6), will be facing a physical challenge from No. 4 Providence (27-5) will face a physical challenge against No. Kansas beat Creighton, the ninth-seeded team in the second round. It is now in the Sweet 16 for its first appearance since 2018.
This game features a fascinating matchup between big men, the Jayhawks’ David McCormack (Fiars’ Nate Watson)
The Midwest semifinals will feature the winner of Auburn-Miami against the Iowa State Wisconsin winner.
