ARLINGTON, Texas — Trey Burke made up for one of his worst starts with the best shot of his life.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Trey Burke made up for one of his worst starts with the best shot of his life.
Burke bounced back from a scoreless first half to score 23 points, including a long 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation, and Michigan rallied to beat Kansas 87-85 in the South Regional semifinals Friday night.
The fourth-seeded Wolverines wiped out a 10-point Kansas lead in the last 3 minutes of regulation, and Burke gave them their first lead since early in the game with another long 3 to open Michigan’s scoring in overtime.
The Wolverines (29-7) reached the regional finals for the first time since the Fab Five era 19 years ago, the last time they were in the round of 16.
Ben McLemore had 20 points for the Jayhawks (31-6), who looked to be on their way to a third straight regional final before Michigan’s improbable rally. Instead, they became the third No. 1 seed to fall in this tournament, joining Gonzaga and Indiana.
The Wolverines will play Florida in the regional final Sunday.
FLORIDA 62,
FLORIDA GULF COAST 50
ARLINGTON, Texas — Mike Rosario had 15 points to help Florida to an NCAA regional final for the third year in a row and stop the run for Florida Gulf Coast, the No. 15 seed whose improbable tournament journey ended just before midnight Friday.
Florida Gulf Coast, the high-flying team from “Dunk City” few people knew before this NCAA tourney, jumped out to an early 11-point lead against the SEC regular-season champs.
But the No. 3 seed Gators (29-7), with a roster filled with NCAA tourney experience, were just too strong and too good.
Michael Frazier made a pair of 3-pointer to start a 16-0 run late in the first half. That came in a 4 1/2-minute span when the Eagles (26-11) had four turnovers and missed their only shot. They trailed the rest of the game.
The Gators are trying to get to their first Final Four since consecutive national championships in 2006 and 2007.
Sherwood Brown led FGCU with 14 points, and Chase Fieler had 12.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
DUKE 71, MICHIGAN STATE 61
INDIANAPOLIS — Seth Curry shot Duke right into the regional finals — and put Mike Krzyzewski on the verge of another milestone.
Curry scored 29 points and the Blue Devils beat Michigan State to advance to the regional final in the NCAA tournament.
If No. 2 seed Duke (30-5) beats top-seeded Louisville (32-5) in Sunday’s regional final, Krzyzewski would tie John Wooden’s record with 12 Final Four trips.
Third-seeded Michigan State (27-9) just couldn’t keep up with Curry and Duke’s shooters. Keith Appling had 16 points for the Spartans, and Adreian Payne finished with 14.
Curry’s sixth 3-pointer of the game broke a 38-38 tie early in the second half, sending Duke on a 9-0 run. It also matched the school record for most 3s in an NCAA tourney game, most recently accomplished by Jason Williams on March 22, 2001, against UCLA.
The Blue Devils never trailed again. Rasheed Sulaimon had 16 points and Mason Plumlee finished with 14 for Duke.
LOUISVILLE 77,
OREGON 69
INDIANAPOLIS — Louisville survived its first test.
Russ Smith matched his career high with 31 points to lead three Cardinals in double figures, and top-seeded Louisville showed it can win close games, too, posting a relatively narrow victory over Oregon.
Kevin Ware added 11 and Gorgui Dieng had 10 points and nine rebounds for Louisville (32-5), which has won 13 straight. Coach Rick Pitino improved to 11-0 in the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
The 12th-seeded Ducks (28-9) at least made a game of it late. After Louisville went up 66-48 with 9:01 left, Oregon made six straight field goals to close to 70-64 — the closest anyone’s been to the Cardinals in a couple of weeks.
But Kevin Ware scored on a layup, and Chane Behanan threw down a monstrous dunk to put the game out of reach. Still, Oregon is only the second team to be within single digits at the buzzer during Louisville’s run.
E.J. Singler’s 15 points led five Ducks in double figures, and the Ducks had only 12 turnovers — one fewer than the Cardinals.