SAN JOSE, California — Xavier guard Trevon Bluiett scored 25 points and fed center Sean O’Mara for the winning layup with 54 seconds remaining as the 11th-seeded Musketeers upset second-seeded Arizona 73-71 in the NCAA West Regional semifinals at SAP Center on Thursday.
Xavier scored the final nine points, five by Malcolm Bernard and two by Bluiett, to earn an Elite Eight matchup with top-seeded Gonzaga on Saturday.
Arizona guard Allonzo Trier scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and the Wildcats took a 71-64 lead on Kadeem Allen’s driving layup with 2:52 remaining.
But Arizona missed its last six field-goal attempts, Bernard made a 3-pointer and two free throws to creep close and Bluiett tied the game on two free throws with 1:54 left.
Bernard scored 15 points and J.P Macura added 14 for Musketeers, the lowest remaining seed in the tournament. When Xavier (24-13) meets Gonzaga (35-1) in the West final, the winner will earn its first trip to the Final Four.
Center Dusan Ristic scored 17 points for Arizona, which had won six in a row and 11 of 12.
Xavier shot 52.8 percent. Blueitt made 9 of 17 shots and Bernard 5 of 6.
Arizona shot 43.5 percent and had a 35-27 rebounding edge.
Wildcats freshman forward Lauri Markkanen, averaging 15.8 points a game, scored nine points on 3-of-9 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.
Kansas 98, Purdue 66
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Kansas got 26 points apiece from Frank Mason and Devonte’ Graham to defeat Purdue 98-66 in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region semifinals Thursday at Sprint Center before 18,475 fans, mostly clad in Kansas’ crimson and blue.
It was listed as a neutral-site game, but Sprint Center is less than an hour from Allen Fieldhouse, the home of the Jayhawks.
Kansas faces Oregon on Saturday with a spot in the Final Four at stake. The Ducks defeated Michigan 69-68 earlier Thursday.
Kansas finished the first half on a 22-7 run and ran away from the Boilermakers. Purdue’s vaunted inside game never materialized as the Jayhawks owned a 36-29 rebounding advantage.
Kansas didn’t do too much at the start of the second half, leading 58-54 at the 14:43 mark. But a steal and breakaway dunk by Lagerald Vick gave Kansas its biggest lead at that point 63-54 with 12:09 left. When Jackson and Mason hit back-to-back 3-pointers conclude a 16-3 run, the lead was 15 and the roar was deafening.
From there, Kansas pulled away. The Jayhawks won their three NCAA tournament games by 90 points.
Kansas (31-4) also got 15 points from Josh Jackson, 12 from Vick and 10 from Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.
Purdue (27-8) was led by Caleb Swanigan with 18 points. P.J. Thompson had 12 points and Isaac Haas 11.
Kansas held a surprising 17-15 advantage on the boards in the first half. The Jayhawks held Swanigan and Haas to two rebounds apiece.
The first half was a game of spurts with Purdue leading for most of the period, owning an eight-point lead at 33-25 with 6:46 left in the half. Kansas led 47-40 at intermission.
Kansas was led by Mason with 15 points. Graham had 10 while Haas had 11.
Oregon 69, Michigan 68
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Oregon held Michigan scoreless in the final 2:02 to edge the Wolverines 69-68 in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region semifinals on Thursday at Sprint Center.
The third-seeded Ducks will face fourth-seeded Purdue or top-seeded Kansas on Saturday in the regional final. Oregon is attempting to reach its first Final Four since the initial NCAA tournament in 1939, won by the Ducks.
Michigan’s Derrick Walton Jr. missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have won it.
The game went back and forth, with neither team grabbing more than a six-point lead. Oregon led 60-55 before the Wolverines hit back-to-back 3-pointers to retake the lead.
Oregon (32-5) was led by Tyler Dorsey with 20 points. Jordan Bell had 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Dillon Brooks had 12 points and Dylan Ennis had 10.
Walton led No. 7 seed Michigan (26-12) with 20 points. He was joined in double-figures by Zak Irvin with 19 points and D.J. Wilson with 12.
Gonzaga 61, West Virginia 58
SAN JOSE, California — Gonzaga guard Jordan Mathews scored 13 points and made three 3-pointers, the last with 57.3 seconds remaining to help the Bulldogs secure a victory over West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament West Region semifinals at the SAP Center on Thursday.
Mathews’ 3-pointer made it 60-58, and Silas Melson sank a free throw with 37.9 seconds remaining before Gonzaga survived a frantic finish. West Virginia missed two 3-point field goal attempts in the final 20 seconds and could not get off another as the buzzer sounded.
Mountaineers guard Jevon Carter had a game-high 21 points, but missed the two 3-pointers in the final seconds while being harassed by Nigel Williams-Goss.
Center Przemek Karnowski and forward Johnathan Williams also had 13 points for top-seed Gonzaga (35-1), which faces Arizona or Xavier in Saturday’s Region final.
Williams-Goss had 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Bulldogs, who limited No. 4 West Virginia (28-9) to 26.7 percent shooting, tying a season worst.
Carter hit a 3-pointer with 1:47 remaining to give West Virginia a 58-55 lead before Williams-Goss made two free throws with 1:31 left to make it 58-57.
After Daxter Miles Jr. missed two three throws and Josh Perkins blocked Nathan Adrian’s follow shot, Mathews hit his 3-pointer from the left wing.
Carter, who was 6 for 17 from the field, had 24 points in an 83-71 victory over Notre Dame to lead West Virginia into the Sweet 16.
Gonzaga shot 40.9 percent, made 21 of 32 free throw attempts and was outrebounded 41-34. West Virginia stayed in the game by making 21 of 29 free throws and forcing 16 turnovers.
There were 51 fouls called and 61 free throws attempted in a game that had little continuity.