For the second time in NCAA tournament, all four No. 1 seeds will compete in the Final Four for a shot at the men’s national championship.
On Sunday, Houston and Auburn took the final two spots in the men’s Final Four that will be played next weekend in San Antonio, Texas.
In the women’s tournament, UCLA and South Carolina booked their tickets to Tampa, Florida, for the women’s Final Four.
Here’s all you need to know from Sunday’s NCAA tournament action:
Houston 69, Tennessee 50
No. 1 Houston booked its place in the Final Four with a 69-50 win against Tennessee.
The game was over before it had really begun when the Cougars raced to a huge lead early in the first half.
Houston ended up going in at the halftime break with a 19-point lead after holding Tennessee to just 15 first half points.
While Tennessee improved following the break, the suffocating defense of Houston in the opening 20 minutes had all but condemned the Volunteers to an Elite Eight exit.
L.J. Cryer impressed again for the Cougars and led his team in scoring with 17 points. Cryer also added four assists and seven rebounds in a well-rounded performance.
A tough test against Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils now awaits the Cougars in the Final Four, but Houston will be full of confidence after this latest victory.
Auburn 70, Michigan State 64
Top-seeded Auburn fended off a late Michigan State charge, hanging on for a 70-64 victory and punch their ticket to the Final Four for a second time in program history.
SEC Player of the Year Johni Broome fueled the Tigers’ charge, erupting for 22 points and 16 rebounds, proving unstoppable even as the Spartans clawed back from a 15-point deficit.
Broome left the game in the second half but returned, one arm and all, to lift the Tigers past the Spartans.
Up next: Auburn will square off against Florida for an all-SEC showdown in San Antonio next week.
Women’s
South Carolina 54, Duke 50
South Carolina made it to its fifth straight Final Four after a tough win against Duke.
The Blue Devils were in the contest right till the bitter end with South Carolina struggling to create separation between the two teams.
But the reigning champions did what champions do.
Dawn Staley’s team proved why they are many people’s favorites to retain their title and ground out the four-point win.
Chloe Kitts scored 14 points with Sania Feagin adding another 12 for the Gamecocks as the two forwards came up clutch to lead their team to the Final Four.
Toby Fournier impressed again off the bench for Duke but the freshman’s 18 points weren’t enough to cause an upset.
South Carolina will play the winner of Monday’s game between TCU and Texas.
UCLA 72, LSU 65
The Bruins defeated No. 3 seed LSU 72-65 to advance to the program’s first-ever Final Four.
UCLA led by as many as 14 but the Tigers made it a single possession game late before the Bruins pulled away by making timely shots.
Guard Gabriela Jaquez led the way with 18 points while star center Lauren Betts added 17 points and seven rebounds.
LSU was led by Flau’Jae Johnson’s 28 points and Aneesah Morrow’s 15 points but the UCLA attack was too much to handle for the Kim Mulkey-led squad.
The Bruins will face the winner of Monday’s Elite Eight showdown between Paige Bueckers and the No. 2 seeded UConn Huskies and the Juju Watkin-less No. 1 seeded USC Trojans at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, next weekend for a chance to win their maiden national championship.
