SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s (shuh-SHEHF’-skeez) farewell tour is headed to his record-setting 13th Final Four after Duke overwhelmed Arkansas, 78-69. A.J. Griffin scored 18 points, Paolo Banchero (bahn-KEHR’-oh) added 16 for the second-seeded Blue Devils. Duke frustrated fourth-seeded Arkansas on the offensive end to get back to the national semifinals for the first time since Krzyzewski won his fifth championship in 2015.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Villanova advanced to the Final Four for the third time in six seasons by churning out a 50-44 win over Houston. Villanova came through despite shooting a hideous 29% from the field, missing 37 of 52 shots. Jermaine Samuels had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, who are trying to win their third men’s basketball championship under Jay Wright.
CHICAGO (AP) — Miami coach Jim Larrañaga has another double-digit seed on the brink of the Final Four. Standing in his way is Kansas and Bill Self, another highly successful coach looking to make his own history. Larrañaga and Self have never faced off as head coaches, but that changes Sunday when the 10th-seeded Hurricanes and top-seeded Jayhawks meet in the Elite Eight. Larrañaga directed 11th-seeded George Mason to a memorable Final Four run in 2006. Self is looking for his first Final Four since 2018 and No. 4 overall in 19 seasons at Kansas.
CHICAGO (AP) — Miami guard Charlie Moore will play against familiar faces in a very familiar city when the 10th-seeded Hurricanes face top-seeded Kansas in Midwest Region final in Chicago. He'll be facing one of his former teams in his hometown with a trip to the Final Four at stake. The sixth-year senior previously played for California, Kansas and DePaul, Moore says it's “been a unique experience." Moore was a two-time state champion at Morgan Park and is a former Mr. Basketball in Illinois. The 24-year-old helped Miami reach the Elite Eight for the first time.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have signed Ronald Jones to a one-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Saturday, adding some depth behind Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the running back room. The person spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical. Jones was a second-round pick of the Buccaneers in the 2018 draft who started 25 of the 55 games he appeared in over his first four seasons in the league. Jones’ best came in 2020, when he carried 192 times for 978 yards and seven touchdowns in the regular season, then helped Tampa Bay defeat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
SATURDAY SCORES
NCAA Elite Eight
SOUTH
Final Villanova 50 Houston 44
WEST
Final Duke 78 Arkansas 69
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final San Antonio 107 New Orleans 103
Final OT Sacramento 114 Orlando 110
Final Brooklyn 110 Miami 95
Final Memphis 127 Milwaukee 102
Final Toronto 131 Indiana 91
Final Chicago 98 Cleveland 94
Final Denver 113 Oklahoma City 107
Final Houston 115 Portland 98
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Boston 6 N-Y Islanders 3
Final OT Tampa Bay 2 Detroit 1
Final OT Vegas 5 Chicago 4
Final Montreal 4 Toronto 2
Final Washington 4 New Jersey 3
Final Vancouver 4 Dallas 1
Final SO Florida 4 Ottawa 3
Final Carolina 7 St. Louis 2
Final OT Minnesota 3 Columbus 2
Final Calgary 9 Edmonton 5
Final San Jose 4 Anaheim 1
Final Los Angeles 4 Seattle 2