Here’s what to know from Saturday’s action in the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments:
Men’s tournament:
Florida 84, Texas Tech 79
Florida, the No. 1 seed, overcame a 10-point deficit late in the game to avoid an upset scare by Texas Tech and advance to the Final Four.
The Gators were ice cold from the field for most of the game but an 18-4 run to end the game helped propel them to their first Final Four since 2014.
Florida star Walter Clayton Jr. finished with a game-high 30 points and Thomas Haugh added 20 points and 11 rebounds.
The sophomore forward, who came off the bench, was the catalyst for the impressive game-ending run.
There were a lot of things that went awry for the Red Raiders down the stretch but the big thing people will point to is the free throw discrepancy.
The Gators attempted 27 free throws to Tech’s 13. Oh, and they went cold shooting.
Duke 85, Alabama 65
For the first time since the legendary Mike Krzyzewski stepped away from the program, the Blue Devils are advancing into the Final Four.
Top-seeded Duke seized control from the opening tip and never looked back, smothering Alabama’s record-breaking shooters to secure a commanding 85-65 victory and earn their first Final Four berth under head coach Jon Scheyer.
Kon Knueppel led Duke with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Cooper Flagg added 16 points and nine rebounds in the wire-to-wire victory.
The Blue Devils rendered All-SEC First Team star Mark Sears a complete non-factor. Sears, who drained 10 3-pointers in the Sweet 16 to ignite Alabama’s historic long-range onslaught, was held in check on Saturday.
The senior guard was held scoreless for most of the first half and finished with a dismal 2-for-12 shooting performance and coughed up the ball five times.
Women’s tournament:
UConn 82, Oklahoma 59
Paige Bueckers dropped a career-high and UConn NCAA tournament record 40 points as the No. 2 Huskies pulled away in the second half to defeat the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners 82-59 in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
The WNBA-bound guard, silenced in the second quarter, caught fire after the break. She dropped 10 points in the third quarter’s opening five minutes, flipping a 4-point deficit into a 13-point Husky lead.
Bueckers’ third quarter blaze – matching Oklahoma’s entire output in the frame – fueled a 27-10 UConn onslaught that left the Sooners reeling.
But the 23-year-old wasn’t done. She went full supernova in the final quarter, torching Oklahoma for the Huskies’ first 19 points and slamming the door on any OU comeback dreams. Her 29 points in the second half also outpaced the Sooners’ 23 points by the entire team.
UConn will next play No. 1 Southern California in the Elite Eight on Monday.
Texas 67, Tennessee 59
It was a game that went right down to the wire, but the Texas Longhorns did enough to beat the Tennessee Volunteers 67-59 in the women’s Sweet 16.
The No. 1 seed Texas was the favorite coming into the game, but Tennessee did more than put up a fight until the final buzzer sounded.
The score was tied at 50 heading into the final quarter – where the No. 1 seed’s quality really came to the fore.
Texas outscored Tennessee 17-9 in the final 10 minutes to create separation between the two teams and to seal the victory.
Madison Booker’s all-around performance stood out for Texas as the sophomore led all scorers with 17 points. Booker also added six rebounds and three assists for the Longhorns.
Jordan Lee and Bryanna Preston also came in clutch off the bench for Texas. Lee scored 13 points with Preston adding 12 points as both freshmen impressed.
TCU 71, Notre Dame 62
The TCU Horned Frogs were the first team to book their spot in the women’s Elite Eight at this year’s NCAA Tournament.
TCU battled past a strong Notre Dame team to seal a 71-62 victory.
The Horned Frogs were led by Hailey Van Lith who topped all scorers with 26 points. The talented senior took off in the second half, scoring 18 of her points after halftime to guide TCU to the win.
Van Lith also added a team-high nine rebounds and a joint-team-high four assists in a brilliant all-round performance.
It also wasn’t just any win for TCU, but a historic one.
The Horned Frogs made history by reaching the program’s first-ever Elite Eight.
And the history lesson doesn’t end there.
Van Lith also became the first player in college basketball history to reach the Elite Eight with three different teams (LSU, Louisville), per ESPN.
USC 67, Kansas State 61
It was never going to be easy, especially without their star JuJu Watkins.
But No. 1 seed USC hung on to defeat No. 5 seed Kansas State 67-61 to advance to the Elite Eight for the second straight year.
Freshman duo Kennedy Smith and Avery Howell scored 19 and 18 points to lead the Trojans to the win.
USC looked a step slow until the third quarter when the Trojans went on a 12-0 run to take a 48-45 lead.
The Wildcats did not bow down and kept the game close in the fourth quarter but ultimately USC’s defense came up clutch down the stretch.
