The Elite 8 is set after Friday’s four-game slate that saw buzzer-beaters, cold-blooded jumpers, highlight reel plays and a National Player of the Year-worthy performance from Johni Broome.
Here’s everything you need to know before tickets to San Antonio get punched later today.
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No. 2 Michigan State defeated No. 6 Ole Miss
With five minutes to go in a one-point game, Coen Carr raised the State Farm Arena roof.
After Ole Miss grabbed a defensive rebound and tried to hustle down the court, Jeremy Fears Jr. stole Sean Pedulla’s outlet pass, likely saving a transition bucket on the other end of the court.
Fears leapt in the air, intercepted the pass, and quickly threw it to Carr. Carr took two dribbles and a step inside the free-throw line before taking flight, cocking back a vicious left-handed tomahawk slam that sent the arena into a frenzy.
The Spartans rode the momentum from Carr’s dunk to close out a tightly contested 73-70 game over the Rebels, punching their ticket to the Elite 8.
Freshman phenom Jase Richardson led the Spartans with 20 points on an efficient 6-8 shooting night. In Carr’s first start of the season, he finished with 15 points. Jaden Akins, the team’s leading scorer, finished with 13 points.
Pedulla led the Rebels with 24 points. Matthew Murrell added 13 points and Malik Dia finished with 11 points.
The Rebels, despite being two-possession underdogs, hung close with the Spartans for the majority of the game. They built a 10-point lead with four minutes remaining in the first half, but squandered the opportunity to ride the momentum into the half after the Spartans rattled off a 12-4 run to enter halftime down two.
In the second half, both teams battled, forcing eight ties throughout the final frame. After Carr’s electric dunk, the Spartans took the lead after Akins drained tough running jumper.
Michigan State later sealed the game after converting six consecutive free throws after the Rebels started intentionally fouling, maintaining a slim two-possession lead.
With the win, Tom Izzo added an 11th Elite 8 trip to his legendary resume, and will look to reach his ninth Final Four when the Spartans face the top-seeded Auburn Tigers.
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No. 2 Tennessee defeated No. 3 Kentucky
Tennessee routed Kentucky 78-65 to reach their second-consecutive Elite 8.
SLAM cover star Zakai Zeigler led the Vols with a double-double, finishing with 18 points and 10 assists. Fellow cover star Chaz Lanier followed suit with 17 points and Jordan Gainey added 16 points off the bench.
Lamont Butler led the Wildcats with 18 points on an efficient 7-10 shooting night. Amari Williams added 14 points and Otega Oweh finished with 13 points.
The Vols dominated early, outscoring Kentucky 43-28 in the first half and holding the lead for nearly the entire game. Felix Okpara’s layup at the 17:22 mark in the first half gave Tennessee a 4-3 lead that they never looked back on. Kentucky was only out in front for 32 seconds in the game.
Tennessee posted an efficient scoring night, shooting 50.9% from the floor, but struggling from deep. They only cashed in five of their 19 attempts from beyond the arc. However, physical play in the paint drew fouls, creating 20 free throw attempts—which they converted 15 of.
Kentucky shot 49% from the field and 40% from deep but were unable to dig themselves out of the first-half hole.
The Vols will now face the top-seeded Houston Cougars to try and reach their first Final Four in program history.
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No. 1 Auburn defeated No. 5 Michigan
With Michigan holding a nine-point lead in the second half, Auburn went to their spark plug off the bench for instant offense.
SLAM cover star Tahaad Pettiford delivered.
Pettiford immediately cashed a deep triple to cut the deficit to six. He then drove hard into the paint and threw a bullet pass to Denver Jones as he was falling out of bounds. Jones buried the corner three to cut the lead to three.
After Johni Broome made a tough post shot off glass, Auburn had a chance to take the lead. Broome went up for a layup and missed, fighting for the offensive board amidst a sea of players.
The ball found its way into Pettiford’s hands, where he blew past Rubin Jones and swished a go-ahead stepback jumper.
The freshman continued his second-half tear, blowing past Vladislav Goldin for an easy layup and hitting an and-one fadeaway to cap off a 28-6 Auburn run.
Pettiford’s 20 points off the bench helped spark a comeback 78-65 Auburn victory over Michigan, earning the Tigers their third-ever trip to the Elite 8.
Broome posted a double-double, leading the Tigers with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Jones added 20 points and four triples. The Tigers dominated despite Miles Kelly and Chad Baker-Mazara combining for only 11 points.
Danny Wolf led Michigan with 20 points, while Goldin finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Nimari Burnett scored 10 points and grabbed seven boards. Tre Donaldson struggled against his former team, finishing with five points and four turnovers.
Both teams were inefficient from the field, shooting under 40% and under 30% from beyond the arc.
Both teams kept the game close in the first half, with Auburn gaining a one-point advantage at the half after Broome tipped-in his own miss.
After Michigan opened the second half on a 19-9 run, Auburn quickly responded with their own scoring run to pull away late.
Auburn will now face Michigan State with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
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No. 1 Houston defeated No. 4 Purdue
With three seconds remaining in a tied game, Kelvin Sampson drew up the perfect play.
For the entire game, Purdue had left a free defender to help guard the open man on inbound plays, leaving the inbounder open.
So when Braden Smith left Milos Uzan to help defend L.J. Cryer, Uzan quickly inbounded the ball to Joseph Tugler just inside the free-throw line.
Tugler threw a pass right back to a cutting Uzan, where he finished a layup at the rim to give Houston a 62-60 in the final second.
Ballgame.
Uzan’s game-winner helped lead the Cougars to a 62-60 victory, reaching their third Elite 8 under Sampson.
Uzan led the Cougars with 22 points and drained a season-high six triples. Emanuel Sharp followed suit with 17 points. Cryer, Houston’s leading scorer, finished with five points on an inefficient 2-13 shooting night.
Fletcher Loyer led Purdue with 16 points. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 14 points and Smith dished out 15 assists.
Both teams battled in the first half, with Purdue entering halftime with a two-point advantage after Smith made two free throws with zeroes on the clock.
Houston quickly opened the final frame with an 11-1 run, opening up an eight-point lead early. However, Purdue battled, keeping the lead within single digits for the remainder of the half.
Down three with under a minute remaining, Smith missed a triple with the shot. Kaufman-Renn secured the offensive board to extend the possession, which later turned into a game-tying triple from Camden Heide in the corner.
On the ensuing possession, Uzan missed a turnaround jumper. However, with a sea of players fighting for the rebound, the ball fell out of bounds off of Purdue, later setting up the game-winning play.
Houston will now play Tennessee for a chance to advance to their second Final Four under Sampson.
