Texas Tech, Virginia advance to NCAA Tournament’s Final Four

March Madness is building towards a frantic finish and based on the NCAA Tournament games in the past few days, it’s looking like it could be an entertaining Final Four. As of Saturday (Mar. 30), two of the teams had officially punched their tickets to that exclusive round of the Big Dance.

In the earlier of the two games on Saturday, the No. 3 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders took on the No. 1 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs. It was close throughout the first half, with the top seed of the West region holding a 37-35 lead at the break. However, Texas Tech would outscore them 40-32 in the second half to pull away with the win. Jarrett Culver, who is amongst the top potential NBA prospects, led the way with 19 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists, and a block, per ESPN’s report. The Red Raiders are going to the Final Four round for the first time in their school’s history.

In the nightcap game, it was the No. 1 seed Virginia Cavaliers against the No. 3 seed Purdue Boilermakers. The South region game certainly didn’t disappoint as the two teams needed an extra session to decide the outcome. The Cavaliers had to withstand a three-point shooting frenzy from the Boilermakers’ Carsen Edwards. The Washington Post reported that Edwards finished with a whopping 10 three-pointers and 42 points in the losing effort. Edwards also earned Most Outstanding Player for the region, joining Davidson’s Stephen Curry as the first player on a losing team since 2008 to win the distinction.

The Cavaliers needed Mamadi Diakite’s buzzer beater shot in regulation to tie things up and send the contest to overtime. In that extra session, they finally contained Edwards. Four points from De’Andre Hunter along with key free throws from Kyle Guy and Kihei Clark were the difference makers as the Cavaliers pulled away. Ty Jerome finished with 24 points, while Guy finished with 25. The two players also were a combined 9-for-21 from three-point range in the game. When all was said and done, Virginia escaped with an 80-75 victory to advance to the Final Four.

On Sunday (Mar. 31), the two other teams for the Final Four will officially be decided. In one matchup, No. 5 seed Auburn Tigers will play the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time. A battle between No. 2 seed Michigan State and No. 1 seed Duke follows at 5:05 p.m. ET. Both games will be televised by CBS with plenty of sports fans glued to their seats to see the outcomes.