AND then there are four teams remaining.
The Final Four doubleheader of the 2019 U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men’s basketball tournament will be held over the weekend at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The national semifinal matchups to be held on Saturday, April 7 (Manila time) , will feature the nationally second-ranked Virginia Cavaliers (33-3) vs. the upset-conscious Auburn Tigers (30-9) and the nationally fifth-rated Michigan State Spartans (32-6) vs. the Texas Tech Red Raiders (30-6).
Two days later (April 9 MT), also in the Twin Cities, the Final Four victors will then vie for the national championship that was vacated by Villanova, the 2016 and 2018 titlist which fell to Purdue, 87-61, in second-round play in the South Regional segment.
Only one regional top seed advanced to the Last Four – Virginia (South). The tournament’s overall No. 1 seed Duke (East) and nationally fourth-rated Gonzaga (West) fell during the Elite Eight (regional finals) and North Carolina (Midwest) was beaten by fifth-seeded Auburn, 97-80, in their Sweet 16 duel.
Auburn and Texas Tech are making their Final Four debut in the history of their respective programs.
Michigan State reached the Final Four for the first time since 2015 after upsetting the nationally top-ranked Duke Blue Devils, 68-67, to capture the East Regional crown in a thriller that was most likely the swan song for Duke freshman sensation Zion Williamson, who is expected to give up his final three years of collegiate eligibility to make himself available in the 2019 NBA draft on June 21 (PH time) where the 6-foot-7 forward is a cinch to be selected No. 1 overall.
Auburn secured its first-ever Final Four invite after registering a 77-71 overtime decision over second-seeded Kentucky to top the Midwest Regional. Before now, the Tigers had advanced to the Elite Eight (regional finals) only once, and that was 33 years ago.
Auburn had lost twice to Kentucky during the regular season but captured the Southeastern Conference (SEC) crown after beating Tennessee, 84-64, in the conference tournament finals following a fifth-place finish in regular play.
Sorry to all-time NBA great John Stockton, the GOAT in Gonzaga history, and Japan-born Rui Hachimura, the Bulldogs’ latest star who was voted Player of the Year in the West Coast Conference this season as a junior but is projected to be a first-round selection in the NBA grab-bag in June if he decides to leave college ball early.
Third-seeded Texas Tech upset regional top seed Gonzaga, 75-69, to win the West Regional finals and send the Red Raiders to their first-ever Final Four trip in program history.
Congrats to Hall of Famer and former NBA mastodon Ralph Sampson Jr., one of the greatest players in Virginia history.
Virginia avoided the upset ax with an 80-75 overtime decision over third-seeded Purdue to win the South Regional title and secure the Cavaliers’ first Final Four appearance since 1984 and the third overall in program history (the first was 1981 behind the services of 7-foot-4 Sampson).
Of the Final Four participants, only Michigan State has won an NCAA title in the past. And the Big Ten Conference titlist turned in the trick twice.
The Spartans, who are in their 10th Final Four appearance, first captured the national championship in 1979 behind Earvin (Magic) Johnson in an epic finals against Larry Bird and then-unblemished Indiana State and subsequently repeated in 2000 built around collegiate seniors and future NBAers Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson Jr. that rewarded Hall of Famer and current Spartans head coach Tom Izzo with his first NCAA title ring since assuming the helm in 1995.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.