North Carolina and Syracuse punched their tickets to the Final Four Sunday, joining Villanova and Oklahoma in Houston.
North Carolina Tar Heels 88, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 74
PHILADELPHIA — Brice Johnson had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead North Carolina to an 88-74 victory over Notre Dame on Sunday night, leaving the Tar Heels as the only No. 1 seed in the Final Four.
The Tar Heels reached the Final Four for a record 19th time and the first since 2009, when they won the last of their five national championships.
North Carolina (32-6) will face Syracuse, the 10th seed from the Midwest Regional, in another all-Atlantic Coast Conference matchup in the Final Four on Saturday in Houston. The Orange beat top-seeded Virginia 68-62.
The game was two different halves. In the first, the teams went shot for shot with both teams shooting over 58 percent and neither leading by more than six points.
The second half was run for run and the Tar Heels took control over the final 10 minutes.
Syracuse Orange 68, Virginia Cavaliers 62
CHICAGO — Malachi Richardson smiled as he ran up the court while making circles around his eyes with his hands. Houston was right there in front of him.
From the bubble all the way to the Final Four.
Richardson scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, and Syracuse extended its improbable run with a 68-62 victory over top-seeded Virginia on Sunday.
The Orange were among the last teams to get into the NCAA Tournament after a rough closing stretch, but slipped in as a 10 seed before storming to its first Final Four since 2013 and No. 6 overall. It comes at the end of a challenging season for coach Jim Boeheim, who was suspended for nine games as the result of an NCAA investigation.
Villanova Wildcats 64, Kansas Jayhawks 59
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Villanova players danced and celebrated after pulling off what many thought would be the NCAA Tournament’s most difficult task.
Beating Kansas, the No. 1 overall seed, required taking the Jayhawks out of their comfort zone while seizing the opportunities that resulted. The Wildcats did both effectively even though it wasn’t always pretty, and their reward is a berth in the Final Four.
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 the top-seeded Jayhawks 64-59 on Saturday night in the South Region final. The Wildcats will play Oklahoma next weekend in Houston.
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.
Oklahoma Sooners 80, Oregon Ducks 68
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Buddy Hield was brilliant from start to finish for Oklahoma, scoring 37 points with a fluid jumper and an answer for everything Oregon tried against him defensively.
In fact, there was only one remaining question after Hield climbed a stepladder to cut down the net that he had just set on fire in the West Region final of the NCAA Tournament.
Can Buddyball take the Sooners all the way to their first national title?
Hield hit eight 3-pointers in another utterly dominant performance, and Oklahoma advanced to its first Final Four since 2002 with an 80-68 victory over Oregon on Saturday.