Arkansas out-muscles top-ranked Gonzaga
JD Notae scored 21 points despite missing 20 shots and fourth-seeded Arkansas made Gonzaga miserable on both ends of the floor, bouncing the top overall seed from the NCAA Tournament with a 74-68 win on Thursday night.
Notae finished with six rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocked shots for coach Eric Musselman’s scrappy, hustling Razorbacks (28-8), who reached the Elite Eight for the second straight year and will face either Duke or Texas Tech in the West Region final on Saturday.
Drew Timme scored 25 points but couldn’t rally the Bulldogs (28-4), who for the second straight season were favored to win that elusive national title but were eliminated by a more physical
foe. Coach Mark Few’s yearbeforefallingtoBaylor squad was undefeated last in the national title game.
Arkansas continually challenged 7-foot Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren in the paint, and the skinny NBA prospect fouled out with 3:29 remaining after some questionable calls went against him. Holmgren finished with 11 points, all in the second half, and 14 rebounds in what may be his final college game.
VILLANOVA 63, MICHIGAN 55 » Jermaine Samuels scored 22 points and carried Villanova’s offense as the Wildcats finished off Michigan.
Samuels shot 8 of 13 from the field with much of his scoring coming on tough drives through Michigan defenders and around big man Hunter Dickinson. The Wildcats had long stretches of misfiring on 3-pointers but did enough to move on and face either Arizona or Houston in the Elite Eight.
DUKE 78, TEXAS TECH 73 » Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski moved within one win of his record-setting 13th trip to the Final Four in his farewell season thanks to two late baskets by Jeremy Roach that helped seal the Blue Devils’ win over Texas Tech.
Roach’s two shots were part of a 7-0 run as the steady sophomore came through in the clutch for a second straight game to send secondseeded Duke (31-6) into an Elite Eight matchup against fourth-seeded Arkansas. HOUSTON 72, ARIZONA 60 » Jamal Shead scored a career-high 21 points and Houston led throughout in a victory over top-seeded Arizona, moving the Cougars within one win of a second straight Final Four.
With Taze Moore getting into early foul trouble after his 3-pointer for a 5-0 lead in the first two minutes, Shead and Kyler Edwards were both on the court nearly the entire game for the Cougars.