Category: NCAA Basketball

Jeremy Fears Jr. led Michigan State to a 30-win season. The other three Tom Izzo point guards who did went to a Final Four; Fears is one win away.

Free Press sports writer Chris Solari breaks down Sunday's Elite Eight matchup in Atlanta between No. 2-seed Michigan State and 1-seed Auburn.

The Final Four may be dominated by SEC teams when the field are filled, but Duke could be the best of the quartet heading to San Antonio, Texas.

Tennessee Volunteers (30-7, 15-7 SEC) vs. Houston Cougars (33-4, 22-1 Big 12) Indianapolis; Sunday, 2:20 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cougars -2.5; over/under is 124.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. Houston and No.

Butler has a 9-8 record in games decided by at least 10 points. Utah is sixth in college basketball with 17.5 assists per game led by Miro Little averaging 3.0. Butler scores 73.8 points per game, 1.6 more points than the 72.2 Utah allows.

Arizona State gives up 76.5 points to opponents and has been outscored by 2.6 points per game. Nebraska is fifth in the Big Ten with 24.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Berke Buyuktuncel averaging 4.3. Arizona State is shooting 43.8% from the field this season, 0.8 percentage points higher than the 43.0% Nebraska allows to opponents.

Georgetown is ninth in the Big East scoring 71.7 points per game and is shooting 44.5%. Washington State makes 49.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 6.4 percentage points higher than Georgetown has allowed to its opponents (42.7%). Georgetown has shot at a 44.5% clip from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points fewer than the 44.8% shooting opponents of Washington State have averaged.

UConn Huskies (34-3, 21-0 Big East) vs. USC Trojans (31-3, 18-2 Big Ten) Spokane, Washington; Monday, 9 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Huskies -13.5; over/under is 140.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. USC takes on No.

Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (18-15, 9-11 CUSA) at Illinois State Redbirds (23-12, 15-7 MVC) Bloomington, Illinois; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Illinois State and Louisiana Tech meet in the National Invitation Tournament. The Redbirds' record in MVC play is 15-7, and their record is 8-5 in non-conference play.

Belmont scores 71.5 points while outscoring opponents by 8.1 points per game. Villanova is fifth in the Big East scoring 64.0 points per game and is shooting 41.7%. Belmont is shooting 42.5% from the field this season, 0.1 percentage points lower than the 42.6% Villanova allows to opponents.

South Carolina and No. Duke square off in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. The Gamecocks have gone 18-1 against SEC teams, with a 15-2 record in non-conference play.

Duke is in the Final Four in Jon Scheyer's third season in charge, and his team has shown it's much more than Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devils have a collection of NBA prospects, and Scheyer has them peaking at the right time.

There is defense, there is strong defense, and then there is what Duke did to Alabama star Mark Sears Saturday night in the East Regional final. Sears had no space all night. Wherever the star guard went, at least one or two Duke players followed in hot pursuit.

The last two spots in the men's Final Four will be clinched Sunday. Here's how to watch the Elite Eight games.

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 over Alabama.