The Sweet 16 continued on Saturday on the women's side and two teams punched the first tickets to the Final Four on the men's side.
Caitlin Clark and Iowa delivered an emphatic statement in a blowout of No. 5 seed Colorado to set up a rematch of last year's national championship against LSU. In other action, JuJu Watkins lifted the Trojans to the Elite Eight despite a tough day shooting from the field and Paige Bueckers carried UConn to a win over Duke. On the men's side, top-seeded UConn blasted No. 3 Illinois and Alabama outlasted Clemson for its first Final Four in program history.
Alabama was lethal from 3-point distance, finishing 16 of 36 (44.4%) after a 1-of-9 start. Mark Sears led the way with 23 points on a 7-of-14 effort from beyond the arc.
Jason Owens
Up next for Alabama: Juggernaut UConn, which rode a 30-0 run to a 77-52 win over Illinois in the East regional final.
Jason Owens
Final: Alabama 89, Clemson 82
And that's the game. Alabama has blitzed ACC teams in back-to-back games to win the West region and advance to the program's first Final Four. The Tide beat No. 1 seed North Carolina, 89-87 in the Sweet 16. Now Clemson, 89-82 in the Elite Eight.
Jason Owens
Alabama senses it. At the line up 7, 16.9 seconds from the program's first Final Four.
Jason Owens
Clemson needs a miracle. Alabama's up, 84-79 with the ball and 30.8 seconds remaining. Timeout.
Jason Owens
Ouch. Jack Clark misses two free throws with a chance to cut Alabama's lead to 82-79. Instead, Alabama's at the line now with an 82-77 lead with 35.2 seconds remaining. Clemson's 8 of 16 at the free throw line.
Jason Owens
Mark Sears has been unbelievable. His seventh 3 of the game puts Alabama up, 82-75. He's 7 for 14 from beyond the arc. Has 23 points.
This one's not over. Back-to-back Clemson 3s have cut Alabama's lead to 76-73.
Jason Owens
PJ Hall has fouled out with 3:25 remaining. Clemson's finishing the game without its best player. Alabama leads, 75-67.
Jason Owens
Alabama's 15 made 3s are the most Clemson's allowed all season. Mark Sears just made it six consecutive made Alabama 3s to extend Alabama's lead to 71-64.
Alabama's breaking this open from long distance. 3-pointers on three-straight possessions have the Crimson Tide up, 68-59. They started 1 for 9 from beyond the arc as Clemson took a 26-13 lead. They're 13 of 24 since.
Jason Owens
PJ Hall's staying in the game with four fouls. It's the smart play. Coach Brad Brownell's choosing to not effectively foul out his best player with the season on the line. He's giving him a chance to play and make a difference instead of watching from the bench.
Jason Owens
PJ Hall just picked up his fourth foul with 7:59 remaining. Clemson's All-ACC big man has been battling foul trouble all tournament. Alabama leads, 58-53.
Jason Owens
Jarin Stevenson's fourth 3-pointer of the game gives him twice as many as Clemson. Alabama's now 10 of 26 from 3 after a 1-for-9 start. Clemson's 2 for 14. Alabama leads, 55-51 at the second TV timeout of the half.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Final: UConn 53, Duke 45
The Huskies close it out after a testy finish. They advance to face No. 1 USC on Monday night. Paige Bueckers leads the way with 24 points and 5 boards.
Jason Owens
Clemson, meanwhile continues to work down low. Forwards Ian Schieffelin, PJ Hall and RJ Godfrey have 32 of Clemson's 47 points.
The Tigers are struggling from outside (2 for 12). Alabama leads, 52-47.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Paige Bueckers adds 2 free throws to make it a 7-point game. Just 19.6 left in this one now.
Jason Owens
Alabama is 7 of 14 from 3 following a 1-for-9 start.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Aaliyah Edwards drills a jumper, but the Blue Devils get it right back with a layup from Kennedy Brown. It's 50-45 with 52.4 seconds left.
Jason Owens
Alabama leads, 46-43 at the first TV timeout of the half.
Jason Owens
Fireworks early in the second half of Alabama-Clemson. PJ Hall and Grant Nelson just traded power dunks. Here's Hall's contribution to the highlight reel:
Jarin Stevenson leads Alabama off the bench with 10 points. The Tide had zero turnovers in the last nine minutes of the half after posting four in the first 11.
Clemson's doing the bulk of its damage on the front line. Forward Ian Schieffelin leads the way with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Yahoo Sports Staff
UConn's lead is now up to 20 after a 13-2 run. Considering that's more than Duke has scored in the game so far, this thing might be over.
Jason Owens
Clemson punched first, jumping out to a 26-13 lead. Alabama punched back harder. The Tide close the half on a 22-6 run to take a 35-32 lead into halftime. After a 1-of-9 start from long distance, Alabama's 6 of 21 at the half from beyond the arc.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Meanwhile, Paige Bueckers is in a groove now and is up to 17 points.
Now Alabama's in front. Rylan Griffen is back in the game and hit a transition 3 to put Alabama up 29-28.
Jason Owens
Bama's offense is waking up. An 11-0 run cut the Clemson lead to 26-24. Clemson now leads, 28-26 with 3:51 remaining in the half. The Crimson Tide scored 89 points in Thursday's win over North Carolina and rank fourth in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency. Clemson's not keeping Alabama under wraps for 40 minutes.
Yahoo Sports Staff
We are back for the third quarter of UConn-Duke. It wasn't the cleanest first two quarters of action; we'll see if play picks up here late.
Jason Owens
Alabama's Rylan Griffen took a hard while defending a transition layup, remained on the ground for several moments before walking to the sideline. He's probable to return:
Rylan Griffen is probable to return after a "lower extremity injury," per UA spokesperson
Clemson's in control. Alabama's ice cold from long distance (1 for 9), and Clemson's capitalizing on the other end off the long rebounds. An 8-0 has Clemson up 23-13.
Duke being only down 10 after shooting 5-of-24 with 13 turnovers is honestly an accomplishment.
Ashlon Jackson makes the first 3-pointer of the entire game to cut the lead to 10 at halftime. UConn is up 23-13 in an absolute rock fight so far. Aaliyah Edwards has 10 points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
UConn just made its first substitution of the game, pulling Aaliyah Edwards for Ice Brady. Tough to fault going with what's working (relatively) with them up 21-10.
Jason Owens
Fan favorite Ian Schieffelin is leading the Clemson effort early with eight points and two rebounds. Clemson leads, 14-11 at the second TV timeout. Alabama's struggling to contain Clemson's front line of Schieffelin and PJ Hall, who has four points and two rebounds.
The winner between Clemson and Alabama will earn its program's first Final Four berth
Duke scored, breaking a seven-plus minute scoring drought. Now 17-8 UConn. The only thing keeping the Blue Devils in this game is seven offensive rebounds on 15 misses.
Jason Owens
Sweet 16 hero Grant Nelson is sitting on the Alabama bench with two fouls before the first TV timeout. Nelson posted 24 points and 12 rebounds in Alabama's upset of No. 1 seed north Carolina.
Duke is up to 11 turnovers in 14 minutes of play after a shot clock violation.
Jason Owens
Clemson got off to a hot start against Alabama. Opened a 6-0 lead behind Ian Schieffelin and PJ Hall. Bama answered with six points on two possessions to tie the game.
And Bueckers immediately follows with an and-1 off a good pass from Nika Muhl. UConn's now up 15-6 in a glacier-slow game.
Paige Bueckers misses a pair of free throws then picks up a dumb foul, her second. She'll keep playing.
Pep Guardiola’s contract is up next summer, and the Spaniard remains coy as to whether he will extend his stay with Manchester City, which could find itself in the lower divisions if it loses its case against the English Premier League.
She quickly shot to Olympic super-stardom in Paris, looking like a cyborg with astounding air pistol aim. We’re of course talking about South Korean Olympic silver medalist Kim Yeji. Well, she’s now back in the spotlight, with a role in an upcoming action movie, and already preparing for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. CNN’s Mike Valerio takes us to Kim’s home turf, where she gets in the zone, and shares with us what it’s been like to become a global sensation.
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