Elite 8 starts; Miami, Kansas in a battle

The Final Four field is almost set, and the tournaments have been nothing shy of madness.

Mike Krzyzewski will take his team to the Final Four in his final season with Duke after a win over No. 4 Arkansas. No. 2 Villanova wants to join Duke after hanging on against No. 5 Houston on Saturday.

Sunday’s action brings day one of the women’s Elite Eight and the final two games of the men’s Elite Eight, beginning with No. 1 Kansas against No. 10Miami.

No. 15 Saint Peter’s – the lowest seed ever to advance this far – plays no. 8 North Carolina at 5:05 pm (CBS). In the women’s field, Dawn Staley and the no. 1 Gamecocks take on Cinderella and No.10-seed Creighton (7 pm, ESPN) and No. 1 Stanford, the reigning national champions, battle it out against No. 2 Texas (9pm, ESPN).

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Kameron McGusty helps ‘Canes open lead at the half

Don’t look now, but after spurts of shaky play throughout the tournament, no. 1 Kansas may be on upset alert. And that’s in large part because of Miami guard Kameron McGusty, who was the team’s lone player in double figures with 14 points.

The Hurricanes went into the locker room with a 35-29 lead at the half after ending it on a 9-2 run.

McGusty flashed confidence in his jump shot and knocked down five of 10 attempts in the half. Guard Isaiah Wong added eight points, and between the two of them, they combined for 62.9% of Miami’s offense.

One area where the Jayhawks could make up significant ground in the second half, however, is beyond the arc. Kansas tied for 74th in the country this season in 3-point shooting percentage, and that showed against the Hurricanes. The Jayhawks failed to convert any of their five attempts from a 3-point range.

Forward David McCormack led all Kansas scorers with seven points, while guards Ochai Agbaji and Remy Martin each chipped in six.

And we’re live…

The first game of the day is officially live as No. 10 Miami takes on the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks. The Hurricanes are the first of two double-digit seeds to play Sunday in the Elite Eight in the men’s bracket, with the No. 15 Saint Peter’s team being the other.

The good thing Miami has going is that its head coach already has underdog experience.

Jim Larrañaga became an instant celebrity when he piloted a lovable George Mason team to the Final Four and stayed for five seasons afterwards before leaving for his current job in 2011. But the last decade never fueled similar success at a more competitive level.

The 72-year-old coach took the Hurricanes to the Sweet 16 in 2013 and 2016 but he didn’t achieve the same type of breakthrough, as Miami suffered three consecutive losing seasons before reaching this NCAA Tournament as an at-large team that played its way off the bubble. It’s the deepest March Madness run in the history of the football-rich school.

“I think my guys realize, this is not something that happens every day,” Larrañaga said. “For Kansas it does, but not for Miami.”

— Scott Gleeson

Saint Peter’s embodies wackiness and uncertainty of this NCAA Tournament

The Peacocks will be the underdog once again come Sunday, when they’ll match against a deeper and more talented opponent with decades of history to more than overshadow the Peacocks’ three-game run.

But beating another college basketball giant will simply take what we already know the Peacocks can bring to the table: Saint Peter’s reached the Elite Eight with energy, aggressiveness and composure, following the model set by unflappable coach Shaheen Holloway, and that same combination will give the Peacocks a chance at etching themselves into an even more permanent place in NCAA Tournament history.

“We’re happy but don’t mistake, we’re not satisfied, we’re not satisfied at all,” said guard Doug Edert. “The job is not finished. We feel like we belong and the more games we win the more confidence we build.”

–Paul Myerberg

Viewer’s guide for today’s action

Before the men’s Final Four can be set, there are two more tickets to New Orleans that must be handed out in Sunday’s Elite Eight matchups.

No. 10 Miami against No. 1 Kansas … and … No. 15 Saint Peter’s against No. 8 UNC. Who ya got?

Here’s a breakdown of why you should watch both games today.

Duke looks like a national champion

The Blue Devils’ fans want a sixth national championship for legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski before his farewell tour ends.

“I’ll be shocked if Duke is not national champions,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said after watching the Blue Devils dismantle his team at the Chase Center in the Elite Eight at the West Regional.

— Josh Peter

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