The Houston Cougars opened Sunday’s Elite Eight action with a decisive win over Tennessee, then the Auburn Tigers followed suit with a victory over Michigan State. Each will join Duke and Florida in the first men’s Final Four composed of all No. 1 seeds Saturday.
Below is how each of Sunday’s Elite Eight games were won, followed by an archive of real-time updates.
Go to: Results and analysis | Relive the action
(2) Michigan State vs.
(1) Auburn
Final: Auburn defeated Michigan State 70-64
How Auburn won: With 10:37 to play, Johni Broome sat alone underneath the basket and grabbed his right elbow. On an attempt to block a shot, he appeared to simultaneously land on his left knee and right elbow as he tried to protect himself when he fell. He then walked off the court and into the locker room with Auburn’s training staff, appearing to look at a teammate and say, “I’m done.” The atmosphere in a State Farm Arena full of Auburn fans had changed in an instant. Then, with 5:29 to go, Broome checked back in to the game. And with 4:38 to play, he hit a 3-pointer to give Auburn another double-digit lead to comfortably send the Tigers to their second Final Four in program history. Michigan State threw counterpunches throughout and had a chance to cut Auburn’s lead to five points with one minute to play after forcing a turnover, but ultimately lost to the No. 1 overall seed, led by Broome’s game-high 25 points. — Myron Medcalf
(2) Tennessee vs.
(1) Houston
Final: Houston defeated Tennessee 69-50
How Houston won: The defining theme of this college basketball season has been the dominance of the SEC, which became the first conference to have four teams in each regional final after setting a record with 14 NCAA tournament bids. But on Sunday, Houston showed Tennessee and the SEC that the Big 12 can still play the role of bully. The Cougars threw a defensive haymaker in the first half and rendered the Vols’ offense overwhelmed. Any embers of life they showed in the second half were extinguished by Emanuel Sharp, who hit a trio of key 3-pointers in the final minutes to prevent Tennessee from cutting the lead to single digits. Houston is headed to its seventh Final Four — its six appearances without a national title are the most of any program in college basketball. — Pete Thamel
Relive Sunday’s action
