UNDATED (AP) — After two weeks of upsets and outright stunners, the NCAA Final Four will look a lot like previous semifinals. Kansas and North Carolina advanced today to join Villanova and Duke in New Orleans next weekend.
The Jayhawks trailed by six before outscoring Miami 47-15 in the second half of a 76-50 rout of the Hurricanes. Kansas took over by outscoring Miami 25-7 over the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Ochai Agbaji (OH’-chy ahg-BAH’-jee) scored 18 points, David McCormack had 15 and Christian Braun (brown) finished with 12 for the Jayhawks, who wound up shooting 50% after a lackluster start.
The Hurricanes couldn’t shoot themselves back into the game. They missed 18 of their 21 3-point attempts and shot 35% overall for the game.
Eighth-seeded North Carolina snatched the glass slippers off the feet of Saint Peter’s by storming out to a 38-19 halftime lead in a 69-49 rout of the 15th-seeded Peacocks. Armando Bacot (BAY’-kaht) had a huge game, delivering game highs of 20 points and 22 rebounds. Brady Manek (MAN’-ehk) added 19 points and eight boards, while Caleb Love chipped in 14 points.
Saint Peter’s trailed 21-7 after missing its first six shots, and 16 of its first 19. Saint Peter’s had never trailed by more than six in its first three games of the tournament.
The outcome creates a Tobacco Road semifinal between the Tar Heels and Duke, who will be playing their final weekend with head coach Mike Krzyzewski (shuh-SHEHF’-skee). Kansas will battle Villanova in the other semifinal.
The Wildcats will be without junior guard Justin Moore, who suffered a tear in his right Achilles tendon in the final minutes of Saturday’s 50-44 victory over Houston. Moore averaged 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 36 games this season.