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Latest news from the Elite Eight Tournament of the NCAA Tournament (every hour in the East):
7:35 p.m.
The Final Four is set. And after an opening weekend that went as planned depending on the seeds, things look different in Minneapolis.
Virginia is the only seeded No. 1 to qualify for the last weekend of the season. Duke, No. 1 overall in the East, and Gonzaga in the West lost in the regional final. North Carolina, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, lost to Sweet 16.
This leaves a No. 2 seed in the state of Michigan, a No. 3 seed in Texas Tech and a No. 5 seed in Auburn. Riders and rising Tigers meet in Saturday's first national semifinal, followed by Spartans and defensive Red Raiders.
It's a team from the Atlantic coast, Big Ten, Big 12 and Southeastern conferences.
As for the coaches, Michigan State's Tom Izzo is in the Final Four for the eighth time and for the first time since 2015. He is joined by three new players, Tony Bennett (Virginia), Chris Beard (Texas Tech) and Bruce Pearl (Auburn).
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7:10 p.m.
Michigan State beat Zion Williamson and No. 1 of the group, Duke, 68-67 in the Eastern Region final.
The win sends coach Spartans # 2 seed Tom Izzo to his eighth final. Michigan State's most recent trip took place in 2015, when he lost to Duke in the national semifinal.
Cassius Winston, the best player of the year, has 20 points and 10 assists.
Duke had escaped his previous two games by winning them with a total of three points, but could not get this one out.
Williamson, the superb first-year player to be the NBA's first choice this year, had 24 points and 14 rebounds. RJ Barrett, the other Duke star, scored 21 points, but also had seven turnovers and missed one of two free throws with a time remaining of 5.2 seconds.
Michigan State will face West Region champion Texas Tech for a spot in the national title game.
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6:55 p.m.
Michigan State and Duke are heading for a tight finish, like all other regional finals.
The Spartans lead 63-61 with 3:32 to play in the overall standings of the tournament. Duke won two consecutive games in the final and could be led again.
Cassius Winston has 20 points for Michigan State, while Zion Williamson has 22 points and 13 rebounds for Duke.
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6:20 p.m.
The left knee of Auburn striker Chuma Okeke was so painful that he intended to watch the regional final against Kentucky from his hotel and wait for the return flight to Alabama.
It was late in the first half that Okeke realized he must be at Sprint Center.
The sophomore told a Auburn staff member that he had changed his mind, and Okeke was soon to be taken to the downtown Kansas City building. He finally spoke on the arrival of the media under 16 and followed the rest of the Tigers' win behind the Auburn bench.
"I just think it should be there," said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl.
Okeke must undergo surgery on his torn ACL, which he injured during the team's victory in the Sweet 16 on Tuesday. It is unclear if he plans to accompany the Tigers to Minneapolis for the Final Four next weekend.
– Dave Skretta from Kansas City, Missouri.
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6:10 p.m.
Kentucky sophomore PJ Washington said he had not yet decided to qualify for the NBA draft after the second-seeded Wildcats lost to Auburn in the semi-finals. -final regional to end their season.
Same for freshmen Keldon Johnson, Ashton Hagans and Tyler Herro, who said, "Do things one step at a time. Not sure what I'm doing, of course. Just not sure. "
All should be part of the first round if they decide to leave earlier.
This is not new for coach John Calipari, of course. He regularly sends a handful of players into the repechage. And he already has a strong recruiting class ready to step in, featuring five-star prospects Khalil Whitney, Tyrese Maxey and Keion Brooks.
– Dave Skretta from Kansas City, Missouri.
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5:55 p.m.
Michigan State ended the first half with 13 points to take a 34-30 lead over Duke at the break in the Eastern Division final.
Cassius Winston, the player of the ten best of the year, scored eight of his 12 points, a top in the team, in this push. This followed a 12-0 run by the Blue Devils that led them 30-21.
Duke, seeded number 1, has not scored a goal in the last 5 minutes, 20 seconds of the half, returning the ball several times.
R.J. Barrett leads Duke with 12 points. Zion Williamson has seven points and six rebounds to date.
The winner will win last place in the final four of next weekend and will face West Region champion Texas Tech in the semifinal.
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5:10 p.m.
Cam Reddish played in the Duke game about two minutes from the Eastern Region final.
Reddish missed the Sweet 16 win over Virginia Tech with an injured left knee. It was the first game of the season that the freshman had not started yet.
He did not start Sunday against Michigan State either, but quickly took the floor.
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4:55 p.m.
Bruce Pearl and his Auburn Tigers head for the Final Four.
Two days after losing striker Chuma Okeke after a serious knee injury, the fifth-seeded Tigers beat second-seeded Kentucky 77-71 in overtime in the gold medal final. NCAA Midwest Region.
Auburn (30-9) defeated PJ Washington's 28 points and 13 rebounds, as well as trouble and a slow start to win his ticket to Minneapolis for his first Final Four appearance. The Tigers will face Virginia, seeded first, in the semifinal on Saturday.
Jared Harper scored 12 of his 26 points in overtime and Bryce Brown scored 17 of his 24 points after half-time to lead the Tigers back.
Auburn had opened the game, missing 8 of his first 9 3-pointers and trailing 11 points midway through. Kentucky finished season 30-7.
– Eric Olson from Kansas City, Missouri.
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16.30.
Kentucky and Auburn tied at age 60 in their Midwest final.
One night after Virginia and Purdue had played an extra session for the South Region champion, the Wildcats and Tigers were tied after 40 minutes. Kentucky had its chances, getting two shots blocked in the final seconds, and Horace Spencer of the Tigers missed a 3 (open) at the ring.
The Wildcats led by 10 early in the game. Tigers led by up to six people.
The winner wins the Cavaliers in the semi-finals.
– Dave Skretta from Kansas City, Missouri.
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4:15 p.m.
Kentucky and Auburn head for a tight end of the match for a spot in the Final Four.
Bryce Brown had 24 points and Jared Harper added 12 points for the Tigers, who bounced back from a 10-point first-half lead to take a 58-56 lead over the Wildcats (2) with 2 minutes and 28 seconds behind. to play.
PJ Washington responded to every salvo for Kentucky. The star striker has 20 points and nine boards in just 28 minutes. He enters the match but rarely leaves.
Auburn has already sent Kansas and North Carolina to reach the Midwest Finals and is now trying to defeat the most successful program of all.
– Dave Skretta from Kansas City, Missouri.
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4:10 p.m.
Cam Reddish does not appear in the starting lineup distributed by Duke before his Eastern Region final against Michigan State.
Reddish missed his victory in Duke's Virginia Tech regional semifinal on Friday night with a left knee injury.
This is the first time this season that the freshman has not started with the Blue Devils, who are at the top of the NCAA tournament leaderboard.
Reddish is averaging 13.6 points this season, third on Duke behind fellow freshman, RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson.
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3:45 p.m.
This is Bryce Brown and the Tigers who shoot very hard.
Auburn was trailing Kentucky 37-32 in the first minutes of the second half when Brown, who was so cold at first, equalized a 3 pointer. The Tigers forced a quick turnaround and Brown was the victim of a foul, making the first two free throws out of three. On the attack, Wildcats PJ Washington attempted to save the ball and he went straight to Brown, who buried another 3-pointer from the corner.
The descent of five points on the ground gave the Tigers their first lead at 40-37 with 17:51 to go.
Then, at the arrival of the media under 16, injured striker Chuma Okeke was brought on a bench in a wheelchair, which caused an even louder roar of Auburn supporters.
– Dave Skretta from Kansas City, Missouri.
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3:15 p.m.
Kentucky is 20 minutes from its 18th trip to the Final Four.
PJ Washington just scored 15 points in just 14 minutes and the second-seeded Wildcats contain Auburn's wide 3-point threat range on a 35-30 lead at half-time.
The Tigers are lucky to be so close.
They were relegated to scoring by a maximum of 10 in the first half, and trouble on their worn-out front line gave Kentucky an opportunity to put the game aside earlier. But diminutive guard Jared Harper scored his eight points in the first half in the 3:33 final to keep the SEC tournament champions in the game.
The winner will have an appointment with Virginia in the semifinal at Minneapolis.
– Dave Skretta from Kansas City, Missouri.
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15h
Kentucky is hammering Auburn under the paint and the fouls accumulate quickly.
The three strikers Malik Dunbar, Horace Spencer and Austin Wiley made two fouls each in the 10th minute of the first half, forcing Tigers coach Bruce Pearl to start scrambling.
Dunbar returned to the match and earned his third goal in 4:44.
This serious problem is particularly troublesome without Chuma Okeke, their 6-foot-8 striker, who tore ACL's left knee against North Carolina on Friday night.
PJ Washington left the bench for Kentucky and already has 11 points, taking advantage of his size for the job. Keldon Johnson has removed six boards for the Wildcats.
– Dave Skretta from Kansas City, Missouri.
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2:40 p.m.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said his team should shoot lightning to defeat Kentucky. In the middle of the first half, the Tigers were still looking for change.
The team that toppled 17 3 points in a regional semifinal win over North Carolina was 3 out of 13 among the players and 1 out of 6 over the arc. High-level shooter Bryce Brown missed two break-ins in the first minute and the Tigers are suddenly facing a big hole against a much larger team.
Tyler Herro is back for the Wildcats, with five points, which helps them to lead 17-7.
– Dave Skretta from Kansas City, Missouri.
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14h
Auburn striker Chuma Okeke will rely on his teammates to face Kentucky for a spot in the Final Four.
The second-year Atlanta player tore his left knee following the Tigers' regional victory in the North Carolina semifinal. He is scheduled for surgery in Alabama on Tuesday. In the meantime, Okeke stays with the team and serves as a source of inspiration.
The hashtag "DoItForChuma" has exploded on social media in the past 24 hours.
The Tigers' five starting liners will be Jared Harper, Bryce Brown and Malik Dunbar in the backcourt and Horace Spencer and Anfernee McLemoree down. Junior striker Danjel Purifoy should also have more minutes with Okeke outside of the rotation.
– Dave Skretta from Kansas City, Missouri.
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1:45 p.m.
Kentucky star P.J. Washington should be eliminated when the second-ranked Wildcats face Auburn in fifth place in the Midwest Regional Final with a place in the final.
Washington was in a cast last week to protect his left-footed foot, missing the first two games of the NCAA tournament. But he came back to play well in a semi-final win against Houston, scoring 16 points and scoring a key block that led Tyler Herro's three-point scorer at the last minute.
Washington said Saturday that he was well out of the game and that Kentucky coach John Calipari would decide whether he would do it or not. EJ Montgomery is now proven alongside forward Reid Travis, Herro and other guards Ashton Hagans and Keldon Johnson.
– Dave Skretta from Kansas City, Missouri.
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24:30
Two of the most famous university basketball coaches will face Sunday for a place in the Final Four.
Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Tom Izzo of the Michigan State face each other in the Eastern Regional Finals of the NCAA Tournament. Krzyzewski has 12 finals and 5 national titles. Izzo has played seven games in the finals and a national championship since joining Michigan State in 1995.
Izzo says that he hopes the game is as good as billing.
The Blue Devils have won nine out of 10 wins and seven straight in the series, including a win in the Final Four 2015. Krzyzewski understands this.
He says his team faces the state of Michigan, which is able to defeat Duke.
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noon
Auburn has already won NCAA tournaments against Kansas and North Carolina. Kentucky could be the next blue blood to fall.
The Tigers' last defeat was an 80-53 loss to Kentucky. Since then, the Tigers have won 11 consecutive wins in total, including the SEC tournament, by visiting the Elite Eight.
Bryce Brown, Auburn goalkeeper, said some of the losses in the middle of the season had awakened his team.
Auburn will not have Chuma Okeke, who tore his ACL left when winning against North Carolina on Friday night. He is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday.
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More college basketball AP: https://apnews.com/MarchMadness and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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