WASHINGTON (AP) — Caleb Foster returned from a broken foot and rescued Duke’s national title hopes, helping the top-seeded Blue Devils rally from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat St. John’s 80-75 on Friday night and advance to the Elite Eight.
Playing less than three weeks after surgery on his left foot, Foster scored all of his 11 points in the second half. Isaiah Evans scored 25 points and Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (35-2), who extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 14, but not before the tenacious Red Storm (30-7) pushed Duke to the wire.
Duke will face either second-seeded UConn in Sunday’s East Region final.
EAST REGION
NO. 2 UCONN 67, NO. 3 MICHIGAN STATE 63
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tarris Reed Jr. scored 20 points, Alex Karaban added 17, and both made pressure-packed free throws in the final minute that helped UConn hold off Michigan State.
The Huskies (32-5) led 63-62 when Karaban was fouled with 22.5 seconds remaining. He made both ends of a one-and-one to give UConn a three-point lead, and after Michigan State was unable to find a quick shot, Kur Teng’s 3-pointer missed.
A foul was called on the Huskies on the rebound with 4.6 seconds remaining. Carson Cooper made the first for Michigan State. He missed the second — it did not appear to be intentional — and Reed rebounded. His two free throws effectively sealed the win.
Michigan State (27-8) overcame an early 19-point deficit but bowed out on a night the Spartans shot just 4 of 16 from 3-point range.
MIDWEST REGION
NO. 1 MICHIGAN 90, NO. 4 ALABAMA 77
CHICAGO (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a dazzling all-around performance, and Michigan beat Alabama to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years.
Trey McKenney and Elliot Cadeau each scored 17 points as top-seeded Michigan set a school record with its 34th win of the season. Roddy Gayle Jr. finished with 16 points.
Led by McKenney and Gayle, the Wolverines (34-3) enjoyed a 33-6 advantage in bench points. But the versatile Lendeborg was the star of the show as his team grabbed control in the second half.
Next up for the Wolverines is Sunday’s Midwest Region final against the winner of Tennessee-Iowa State.
Labaron Philon Jr. scored 35 points for fourth-seeded Alabama, which reached the Elite Eight each of the previous two years. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had 15 points.
No. 6 TENNESSEE 76, NO. 2 IOWA STATE 62
CHICAGO (AP) — Nate Ament scored 18 points, Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished with 16 and Tennessee beat Iowa State to advance to the Elite Eight for the third straight year.
Coach Rick Barnes’ team used a dominant effort on the glass and a strong second half to put away Iowa State (29-8) and move within one win of its first Final Four.
The sixth-seeded Volunteers (25-11) will meet top-seeded Michigan in the Midwest Region final on Sunday. The Wolverines beat Alabama 90-77 behind a dominant all-around performance by Yaxel Lendeborg.
Ament made three 3-pointers. Felix Okpara chipped in with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jaylen Carey added 11 points and 10 boards, and the Volunteers outrebounded the Cyclones 43-22.
Nate Heise and Tamin Lipsey each scored 18 points for Iowa State, but the Cyclones clearly struggled without injured star Joshua Jefferson.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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