Duke’s D sends Blue Devils to Final Four over Alabama

NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT

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Duke forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts during Saturday’s Elite Eight matchup against Alabama in Newark, N.J. JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Newark, N.J. >> Duke’s stream of long, tall NBA-ready standouts smothered Alabama and papered over Cooper Flagg’s rough shooting night to lift the Blue Devils to the program’s 18th Final Four with an 85-65 victory Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region final.

Flagg made only 6 of 16 shots, but still finished with 16 points. Kon Knueppel, another potential lottery pick, led the Blue Devils with 21 points.

But the most important stat: Alabama’s nation-leading offense, one coming off a record-setting night from 3 in the Sweet 16, shot 8 for 32 from behind the arc, 35.4% overall and failed to crack 70 for only the second time this season.

At the Final Four in San Antonio, top-seeded Duke will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Houston and Tennessee.

Midwest Region

Houston 62, Purdue 60 >> Milos Uzan soared for an uncontested layup on a beautifully executed inbound play with 0.9 seconds left, and No. 1 seed Houston survived a late collapse to beat fourth-seeded Purdue on Friday night in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Houston led 56-46 with just under eight minutes remaining but made only one field goal from there until Uzan’s tiebreaking bucket. He inbounded the ball from the baseline to Joseph Tugler, who threw a bounce pass back to Uzan, and the 6-foot-4 junior took it to the rim.

Coach Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars (33-4) advanced to the Elite Eight for the third time in five years after falling in the Sweet 16 as a top seed in the previous two editions of March Madness. They’ll take the nation’s longest winning streak, 16 games, into Sunday’s Midwest Region final against No. 2 seed Tennessee.

South Region

Auburn 78, Michigan 65 >> Freshman Tahaad Pettiford and senior Denver Jones turned in dazzling performances when it mattered most, rallying top-seeded Auburn to a victory over Michigan in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

The Tigers (31-5) wiped out a nine-point deficit in the second half, outscoring No. 5 seed Michigan 39-17 over the final 12 1/2 minutes to advance to the Elite Eight for only the third time in school history.

Auburn will face Michigan State in the South Region final on Sunday.