Virginia are heading to the Final Four for the first time since 1984. Kyle Guy had 25 points and 10 rebounds as the top-seeded Cavaliers withstood a brilliant performance from Purdue’s Carsen Edwards and beat the third-seeded Boilermakers 80-75 in overtime.
Virginia forced the overtime on a buzzer beater from Mamadi Diakite. With Purdue trailing by one in overtime, Edwards missed a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining and Virginia got the rebound. Virginia’s Kyle Guy made two free throws with five seconds remaining to put the Cavaliers up by three. The Boilermakers turned the ball over when they tried to bring the ball upcourt, and the Cavaliers made two more free throws to advance.
Virginia will play the winner of Sunday’s Kentucky-Auburn game in the Final Four on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Meanwhile, Texas Tech reached the Final Four for the first time in school history. The third seeded Red Raiders defeated No1 seed Gonzaga 75-69 in the West Regional final.
Jarrett Culver, the Big 12 Player of the Year, led the Red Raiders with 19 points. Matt Mooney scored 17 and Davide Moretti added 12 for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders will play the Duke-Michigan State winner next Saturday in Minneapolis.
Rui Hachimura scored 22 points, Brandon Clarke scored 18 and Josh Perkins added 16 for Gonzaga. The Zags led 37-35 at halftime after a first half that featured nine ties and nine lead changes. Moretti hit a three-pointer with just under four minutes remaining to put the Red Raiders up 63-58. He drained another three with 1:46 to play that gave the Red Raiders a six-point lead.
With about a minute to play and Tech ahead by six, Tech’s Tariq Owens blocked a three-pointer by Hachimura, then saved the ball to a teammate. Replays showed Owens was out of bounds before the save, but the play was not reviewable. Tech’s Brandone Francis made one of two free throws to make it a seven-point lead with 52 seconds to play.