The Final Four is all set for next weekend at San Antonio – both Villanova and Kansas advanced to join Loyola-Chicago and Michigan. Villanova did not have their normal sterling performance on offense, but they did help to solidify their win with 29-for-35 shooting from the foul line. While Jalen Brunson led Nova with 15 points, Eric Paschall also had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Wildcats.
They will play Kansas in the second semifinal on Saturday; they exchanged leads with Duke on numerous occasions throughout regulation and Grayson Allen narrowly missed a shot at the end of regulation for Duke. When overtime ensued for Kansas, they got an opening when Wendell Carter Jr. fouled out on a questionable block call that could have gone the other way. Nonetheless, Kansas took the lead for good with a 3-pointer from Malik Newman Jr. and he also hit four more free throws to ice the game for Kansas and send them to their first Final Four since losing to Kentucky in the national title game in 2012. The Jayhawks can also avenge a loss to Villanova in the 2016 Midwest Regional final.
NORTH TEXAS AT SAN FRANCISCO (10:00 PM, ESPNU). The Dons of San Francisco have played all 3 rounds of the CBI Tournament so far at home – they’ve advanced to this point with wins against Eastern Washington, Utah Valley and Campbell thus far. North Texas actually came into the CBI with an overall losing record (15-17) but got things started with an upset victory at South Dakota to start the tournament. They coasted to a pair of victories at home against Mercer and Jacksonville State, but must start the best-of-3 championship series on the road. San Francisco has a pair of notable wins against Nevada and Saint Mary’s on their docket during the regular season. Until the CBI, the best wins North Texas could claim were at San Diego and at UAB.