Johni Broome had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and Auburn took command with 17 unanswered points in the first half to beat Michigan State 70-64 on Sunday and complete a sweep of No. 1 seeds advancing to the Final Four.

Auburn earned its second Final Four trip, while Michigan State fell short in its bid to send coach Tom Izzo to his ninth national semifinal. Auburn’s only previous Final Four appearance came in 2019, also under coach Bruce Pearl.

The South Region champion Tigers, the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, became the last of the No. 1 seeds to advance to the Final Four — joining Florida, Duke and Houston.

It’s the first time all top seeds have reached the Final Four since 2008, which was the only previous year of all No. 1-seeded semifinalists since seeding began in 1979. And higher-seeded teams went 12-0 in regional semifinals and finals for the first time since the tournament expanded in 1985.

Auburn will face Florida, which beat Texas Tech 84-79 in the West Region final, in an all-Southeastern Conference semifinal on Saturday in San Antonio.

Jaxon Kohler led the Spartans with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jaden Akins had 15 points.

Broome fell on his right arm while attempting to block a shot with 10:37 remaining and left the game. Broome, the Associated Press SEC player of the year and a first-team All-America selection, appeared to hurt his right elbow on the fall.

Broome returned with 5:29 remaining, drawing an immediate ovation from Auburn fans. He had the elbow wrapped and sank a 3-pointer less than a minute later.

Auburn was the only Elite Eight team to win each of its first three March Madness games by double digits, including its 78-65 Sweet 16 victory over Michigan. Michigan State rallied for a 73-70 win over Mississippi in the Sweet 16.

The Spartans led 8-6 before the Tigers took command with the 17-0 run. The Spartans were held scoreless for 5:46 while missing 10 consecutive shots during the Auburn run.

A 3-pointer by Broome, who did most of his scoring near the basket, capped the run for a 23-8 lead.

Auburn led 33-24 at halftime. The Spartans pulled within five points at 35-30 early in the second half but got no closer.

Houston 69, Tennessee 50

Houston’s relentless defense confused and harassed Tennessee and carried the Cougars into their seventh Final Four and first since 2021.

L.J. Cryer scorrf 17 points and Emanuel Sharp scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime for top-seeded Houston and was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player.

Houston extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 17 games. The Cougars had been eliminated as a No. 1 seed in the Sweet 16 in each of the past two years, but this time coach Kelvin Sampson’s team has a shot at the program’s first national title.

The Cougars will face Cooper Flagg and five-time national champ Duke on Saturday in San Antonio — just a 3 1/2-hour drive from campus.

The Cougars have reached the national title game twice, losing in 1983 to North Carolina State and in 1984 to Georgetown in the Phi Slama Jama era.

Sharp made four 3-pointers and Joseph Tugler, who made the assist on Friday’s decisive basket against Purdue, had nine rebounds.

Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey scored 17 points apiece for the second-seeded Volunteers (30-8), who again fell short of the program’s first Final Four appearance. Coach Rick Barnes’ team was also eliminated in a regional final last year.

Houston won this one with a familiar formula.

The nation’s stingiest defense held the Vols to 15 first-half points, the fewest in an Elite Eight game since 1979. It also was the lowest first-half scoring total by any No. 1 or No. 2 seed in a March Madness game since seeding began in 1979.

When the Vols had a chance to cut the deficit to single digits in the second half, the nation’s top 3-point shooting team made three straight from beyond the arc to extend the margin to 17.

How bad was it for the Vols?

They made only 6 of 28 shots in the first 20 minutes and missed their first 14 3s before Zakai Ziegler finally ended the drought with 38 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 34-15 — far too big a deficit to come back from. Tourney teams that trailed by 19 or more points at halftime are now 0-244 all-time..