TRIVIA: How well do you know the mascots for these teams in the NCAA tournament
RANKER:Pick your "Final Four" best names in college basketball
MARCH 26: Villanova upsets top-seeded Kansas 64-59 in South final
Kris Jenkins made two free throws with 13.3 seconds remaining, Jalen Brunson added two more with 3.5 seconds left and second-seeded Villanova upset top-seeded Kansas 64-59 on Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament South Region final to reach the Final Four.
Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart each made big steals in the final minute to help the Wildcats (33-5) pull off the upset and end the Jayhawks' 17-game winning streak. The Wildcats are back in the Final Four for the first time since 2009, and they can credit balanced scoring and ferocious defense.
Jenkins, Hart and Ryan Arcidiacono each scored 13 points for the Wildcats. They used a 10-0 run to take a 50-45 lead and get key baskets and plays down the stretch in beating the Jayhawks (33-5).
Devonte' Graham had 17 points, and Frank Mason III and Wayne Selden Jr. added 16 each for Kansas.
Villanova got 10 points from Daniel Ochefu, including a big jumper with 6:14 left, just one of many big plays the Wildcats made to preserve the lead after finally wresting it from Kansas.
It wasn't easy. Mason scored five points and the Jayhawks cut it to 60-59 with 15 seconds left. But Arcidiacono preceded that with four free throws before Jenkins and Brunson followed with two more as the Wildcats made 18 of 19 at the line and all eight in the final 33 seconds.
Darryl Reynolds had two free throws and Bridges had a key tip-in for the Wildcats as well.
Villanova gets to pursue its second national title in its fifth Final Four berth, though the NCAA vacated its 1971 appearance because star Howard Porter had signed with an agent. The Wildcats will face Oklahoma next Saturday in Houston.
More importantly, the Wildcats did what no team had been able to over two months and really wasn't expected to in knocking out the tournament favorite.
Both teams had been ranked No. 1 this season and have been winning even bigger in the tournament.
Villanova winning by an average margin of 24 points. Kansas has been just as strong, beating opponents by 18 points per game while grabbing 13 more rebounds per game.
This Elite Eight matchup seemed inevitable as a result, with Villanova coach Jay Wright comparing it to a heavyweight bout.
The underdog Wildcats succeeded with defense that kept the ball away from Kansas and especially leading scorer Perry Ellis, who managed just four points.
This strategy worked all night and helped the Wildcats lead 32-25 at halftime.
Villanova trailed 7-4 as Kansas got baskets inside before the Wildcats regrouped to score six straight points and briefly lead 10-7. Kansas then answered with a 9-2 run for a 16-12 edge that marked its last lead of the half.
Villanova's zone defense had a lot to do with that, keeping Kansas from taking control in the paint and holding Ellis scoreless in the first half. Kansas eventually went scoreless for nearly seven minutes and Villanova took advantage with a 13-0 run for a 25-16 lead that had the Jayhawks out of sorts.
Graham's two 3-pointers helped bring Kansas to 29-25, but Jenkins' 3-pointer right before halftime reclaimed the momentum for the Wildcats.
Kansas seemed to have control at 45-40 before Villanova mounted the comeback that has the Wildcats in the Final Four despite shooting 40 percent and being outrebounded 32-28. They just made the plays when they needed them.
Congrats to Nova. Final four bound pic.twitter.com/fzzaw80FcK
— Josh Helmuth (@Jhelmuth) March 27, 2016
MARCH 24: Top-seeded Kansas defeats No. 5 Maryland 79-63
Perry Ellis scored 27 points to match a season high, Wayne Selden Jr. added 19 and top-seeded Kansas topped No. 5 Maryland for a 79-63 NCAA Tournament South Region semifinal victory Thursday night. The win put the Jayhawks back into the Elite 8 for the first time since 2012.
It took time for the Jayhawks (33-4) to get going, but once they finally seized the lead late in the first half everything else fell into place for their 17th straight victory. They emerged from the break to make their first six shots and steadily take control behind senior forward Ellis, who made 10 of 17 from the field.
Selden was right there with 7-of-16 shooting to help Kansas earn a berth in Saturday's regional final against Villanova.
The Terrapins (27-9) dictated the early tempo and briefly engaged in a back-and-forth game with the Jayhawks before eventually falling behind the tournament favorite. Rasheed Sulaimon led Maryland with 18 points.
Landen Lucas added 14 points and 11 rebounds while Frank Mason III had 11 points for Kansas, which outworked Maryland 43-28 on the glass and outscored the taller Terps 40-28 in the paint.
Better shooting also helped the Jayhawks, who made 14 of 25 in the second half and finished 29 of 62 from the field (47 percent).
Kansas just had to take its time to slow down Maryland, which entered the game with every starter averaging at least 11 points per contest. Its main focus was keeping Maryland guard Melo Trimble (17 points) from getting hot, a strategy that worked as the sophomore made just 5 of 16 from the field with just one 3-pointer.
The Jayhawks defense kept other Maryland players from becoming factors on both ends as well and ended up holding the Terps to just 40 percent shooting including 35 percent after halftime.
Maryland dictated the early tempo before Kansas regrouped late in the first half to eventually grab a 36-34 lead at the break.
Sulaimon got the Terps started with the first of two 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes to provide an 18-12 lead, significant considering they made just 1 of 18 from long range in their second-round win over Hawaii.
Kansas went 5 1/2 minutes without a field goal but didn't flinch and eventually fought back to take its first lead at 27-26 on two Devonte' Graham free throws with 5:33 remaining in the half. The teams then traded 6-2 runs with the Jayhawks making the last one for a slim edge, better than they could have expected after shooting 41 percent.
Ellis provided the steadying force with 12 points and added a couple more baskets during a 14-9 run for a 50-43 lead, a stretch in which the Jayhawks made their first six shots to start the second half.
Kansas was playing the way it wanted by that point and kept up the tempo in building a 16-point lead with four minutes left.
Time to go to work #kubball pic.twitter.com/TTrhjfyALF
— Kansas Basketball (@KUHoops) March 26, 2016
MARCH 19: Selden, Ellis send Kansas past UConn to Sweet 16, 73-61 win
Devonte' Graham dribbled into the UConn end and lobbed a pass that Wayne Selden Jr. stretched to catch with one hand. He slammed the ball through the basket in the same motion for a 15-point lead in the closing minutes, sending the Kansas bench and crowd into a frenzy.
The Jayhawks finally had some fun with a second-round NCAA Tournament game.
Selden and Perry Ellis carried Kansas on a sweet romp to the round of 16, combining for 43 points in a 73-61 victory by the Jayhawks over Connecticut on Saturday to hand Kevin Ollie his first NCAA Tournament loss as head coach of the Huskies.
"It was hunger. We just really wanted it," Selden said. "I just looked down the roster, and everybody's eyes before the game were focused."
Selden had 22 points and seven rebounds, Ellis scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds and the No. 1 overall seed Jayhawks (32-4) advanced to the South Region semifinals on Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky, to play the winner of the Hawaii-Maryland game on Sunday.
Sterling Gibbs had 20 points for the No. 9 seed Huskies (25-11), who fell into an irreparable deficit that reached 24 points in the first half.
After winning the 2014 national championship in Ollie's second season as a No. 7 seed, the Huskies returned two years later with the hope of repeating that run. The Jayhawks did everything better on this night, well enough to endure an ugly second-half stretch of their own.
"They're going to be a very, very tough out in this tournament," Ollie said.
Selden and Ellis combined to shoot 17 for 27 from the floor, shooing away the disappointment of second-round defeats in each of the last two years. Graham pitched in 13 points for Kansas, which had scoring surges of 16-0 early and 19-0 late to cruise into the intermission in full control.
"We just want to continue to play the way we are," said Ellis, the smooth senior power forward who hit 20-plus points for the sixth time in seven games.
Selden, after averaging 2.5 points on 4-for-21 shooting over his first four NCAA Tournament games, has begun a junior-year breakout. He had 14 points in 19 minutes against Austin Peay in the first round.
"He's as big a key as anybody," coach Bill Self said.
Thousands of Jayhawks fans made the easy drive up Interstate 35 from Kansas, packing Wells Fargo Arena with their blue jerseys, T-shirts and jackets for the chance to cheer the team chasing its first national championship since 2008. The Huskies fell behind by as many as 11 points in the first round against Colorado, but the Jayhawks are just a different caliber team.
Jamari Traylor had a couple commanding blocks in the paint to fire up the Kansas bench and crowd during the 19-0 spurt. The Huskies missed 12 straight shots during that stretch that pushed the lead to 40-16.
The Jayhawks made six of their first nine tries from 3-point range. When the jumpers didn't fall, the long arms of Landen Lucas, Traylor and Ellis were there to snag them. The final rebounds tally was 44-24, Jayhawks.
UConn came within nine points around the midpoint of the second half, but Ellis and Selden got going again. With 1:38 left, the time for tricks arrived, in the form of that Graham-Selden alley-oop.
"That's his swagger, man. He's feeling it. After a dunk like that, how could you not feel it?" Traylor said.
The Huskies were out of sorts in their half-court offense. Daniel Hamilton was hounded anytime he was inside the arc, forcing multiple off-kilter shots and finishing 4 for 14 for 11 points with eight rebounds and six assists. Rodney Purvis had 17 points but went just 2 for 7 from 3-point range.
"We tried to play one-on-one in the first half. We can't win like that," Hamilton said.
Gibbs, the fifth-year senior transfer who played at Texas and Seton Hall before coming to UConn, couldn't get his answer out when asked at the postgame news conference to reflect on his season with the Huskies. He tearfully bowed his head, and Ollie reassuringly reached over to pat his neck.
FIRST TIME
UConn and Kansas had never met before in an NCAA Tournament, despite 89 appearances and seven titles between them.
TIP-INS
Connecticut: The Huskies are the nation's best free-throw shooters at 79.3 percent, but they hardly had the chance to make that an advantage, going 9 for 11.
Kansas: Ellis moved into the top 10 on the program's all-time scoring list, passing Kirk Hinrich with 1,767 points.
UP NEXT
Connecticut returns home to start the offseason.
Kansas plays Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky, against the Hawaii-Maryland winner in the regional semifinals.
SQUAD. #Elite8 pic.twitter.com/w4Oqav0iaz
— Kansas Basketball (@KUHoops) March 25, 2016
MARCH 19: Miami knocks off Wichita State to advance to Sweet 16
Angel Rodriguez took over after Miami blew a 21-point lead midway through the second half, hitting a big 3-pointer with 72 seconds remaining and scoring 28 points to lead the third-seeded Hurricanes over Wichita State 65-57 on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Miami (27-7) made it that far three years ago under Jim Larranaga, in his fifth season as head coach. Sheldon McClellan finished with 18 points and Davon Reed had 10 for the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes will play either Iowa or Villanova next weekend in Louisville in the South Region semifinals.
Fred VanVleet and Shaquille Morris each had 12 points and Ron Baker 11 for the 11th-seeded Wichita State (26-9), which put on a furious rally in the second half of a bruising game, taking a 43-42 lead with 10:24 to go.
After Baker's 3-pointer gave Wichita State its first lead, Ja'Quan Newton had a slam dunk to put Maimi back on top and McClellan scored eight straight points for some separation.
McClellan nearly gave it away, though, when he failed to convert a lob from Rodriguez with 2:59 left and Miami clinging to a 55-51 lead.
Rodriguez came back with a stunning hook off the glass for a 57-53 lead with 2:05 left and followed with his clutch 3 from the wing.
With their fans cheering "We shock! We shock!" the Shockers erased the daunting deficit with another gutsy performance in the second.
Zach Brown hit a 3 and VanVleet followed with a steal and another 3, both baskets in a span of 11 seconds, and Morris's hook in the lane off a steal by Baker closed the gap to nine with nearly 16 minutes left, plenty of time for a comeback for the team that won a play-in game then upset sixth-seeded Arizona.
Baker then set up Markis McDuffie for a 3 and Morris set a perfect screen on Rodriguez at the top of the key to free VanVleet for a driving layup through the paint.
Larranaga was whistled for a technical after protesting a call as the Hurricanes struggled to hold their edge. That margin finally disappeared when Baker drained a 3 for a shocking 43-42 lead.
Much of the focus figured to center on the performance of the backcourts featuring four seniors— VanVleet and Baker against Rodriguez and McClellan. The Miami duo is a tad older, but the Shockers had more tournament experience.
Age took over at the start and came through at the end.
Rodriguez was 7 for 7 for 16 points in the opening half, scoring 11 points in the first eight minutes as Wichita State struggled to find any room to shoot, missing its first five 3-pointers and hitting only 1 of 12 shots.
It got much worse as the Hurricanes gave the Shockers a big taste of their own medicine. The top defensive team in the nation was torched for 12-of-15 shooting in the first 12 minutes as Miami outscored the Shockers 18-0 in the paint and forced seven turnovers, gaining a 21-point lead on a scoop by McClellan at 8:27.
VanVleet set up Baker for a 3 from the wing to start an 11-0 Wichita State run and the Shockers clamped down defensively, forcing five turnovers while holding the Hurricanes scoreless for more than five minutes.
Tremendous comeback--but Shox fall 65-57. So proud of these guys and this team. #watchus #goshockers #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UUHdwYLVCS
— Wichita State (@WichitaState) March 19, 2016
MARCH 17: Kansas cruises, gets UConn next in NCAA tourney
Kansas is cruising into the second round of the South Region after little resistance from No. 16 seed Austin Peay. The next game for the No. 1 overall seed Jayhawks promises to be a lot tougher, with UConn waiting on Saturday.
These fellow college basketball blue bloods, interestingly, have never before met in an NCAA Tournament game despite a combined 89 appearances and seven championships, most recently by the Huskies in 2014. Kansas and UConn have played only twice before, nonconference games in 1995 and 1997.
MORE: Kansas defeats Austin Peay 105-79 in Des Moines
MARCH 17: Wichita State swarms Arizona, beats Wildcats 65-55
Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker combined for 29 points and Wichita State's swarming defense did the rest as the Shockers beat Arizona 65-55 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Wichita State (26-8) will play Miami (26-7), the third seed in the South Region, on Saturday.
Arizona coach Sean Miller called a timeout 53 seconds into the game after VanVleet and Baker pounced on a loose ball in the Wildcats end. It was evident from the outset that Wichita State's in-your-face defense was going to be the decisive factor against Arizona (25-9).
The Shockers forced 19 turnovers they converted into 22 points and snared nine steals.
Wichita State's senior backcourt of Baker and VanVleet, who were part of the Shockers' 2013 Final Four team, led the way in that one, combining for a triple double (28 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists).
It was more of the same against the Wildcats.
The Wildcats staged a late rally, Gordon's 3 and a slam by Anderson moving them within 53-40 with 7:56 on the clock.
Five points from Kadeem Allen, a pair of blocks by Tarczewski, and two free throws by York moved the Wildcats within 60-51 with 96 seconds left. When the ball glanced out of bounds off York in the final minute, Baker yelled `Yeah!' with the victory secure.
MARCH 15: Wichita State's guards lead 70-50 NCAA win over Vanderbilt Shockers
Wichita State's guards used their Final Four experience to pull out a defense-dominated First Four game on Tuesday night, leading the way to a 70-50 victory over Vanderbilt.
Fred VanVleeet — the two-time Missouri Valley player of the year — scored 14 points, and Ron Baker also had 14 as Wichita State (25-8) took control at the start of the second half and held on. The seniors were part of Wichita State's 2013 Final Four team.
The Shockers play Arizona on Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island.
Previous coverage:
No. 1 Kansas prepping for the NCAA
Here's the schedule for this year's tournament:
First and Second Rounds: March 17, 19 at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa; PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C.; Pepsi Center, Denver; Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, R.I.; March 18, 20 at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Scottrade Center, St. Louis; Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City; Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Wash.
West Regional: March 24, 26 Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.
South Regional: March 24, 26 KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky.
Midwest Regional: March 25, 27 United Center, Chicago, Ill.
East Regional: March 25, 27 Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
Final Four: April 2, 4 NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
