Two teams have punched their tickets to the Elite 8 and stand just one step away from the Final Four in Houston, and both of them are familiar with recent trips to the last weekend of the college basketball season.
In the West Regional semifinal between Connecticut and San Diego State the Huskies ended the Aztecs’ dream season with a 74-67 win behind 36 points from Kemba Walker and 24 from Jeremy Lamb. Walker increased his candidacy for National Player of the Year honors with a 12 for 25 night from the field and he has now scored at least 33 points in three of Connecticut’s past five games. Connecticut will now await the winner between Duke and Arizona.
In the Southeast Region semifinals Florida survived the Jimmer Fredette show, but they needed overtime to do so. Fredette scored 32 for the Cougars, but Florida dominated the extra session to win 83-74. Florida put four players in double figures, led by Alex Tyus with 19 points. Kenny Boynton had 17 for the Gators, while Erving Walker and Chandler Parsons each had 16. Florida outscored BYU 15-6 in the overtime. The Gators will now wait for Wisconsin and Butler to decide their regional final opponent.