UNDATED (AP) — Duke and Villanova will make another trip to the NCAA men’s Final Four.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s (shuh-SHEHF’-skeez) farewell tour is headed to his record-setting 13th Final Four after the Blue Devils overwhelmed Arkansas, 78-69. A.J. Griffin scored 18 points, Paolo Banchero (bahn-KEHR’-oh) added 16 for the second-seeded Blue Devils.
Duke frustrated fourth-seeded Arkansas on the offensive end to get back to the national semifinals for the first time since Krzyzewski won his fifth championship in 2015.
The Blue Devils were in control for most of the second half, using a 10-0 run after the Razorbacks had cut the deficit to five.
Jaylin Williams led Arkansas with 19 points and 10 rebounds. JD Notae (NOH’-tay) had 14 points before fouling out.
The Wildcats have advanced to the Final Four for the third time in six seasons by churning out a 50-44 win over Houston. Villanova came through despite shooting a hideous 29% from the field, missing 37 of 52 shots.
The Cougars couldn’t score either, firing at a 30% clip and hitting just one of their 20 3-point attempts.
Jermaine Samuels had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, who are trying to win their third men’s basketball championship under Jay Wright. Caleb Daniels was the only other Villanova player to score in double figures, finishing with 12 and six rebounds off the bench.
Taze (TAH’-zhay) Moore had team highs of 15 points and 10 boards for the Cougars.
