Upsets send new teams to Final 4

MANILA, Philippines — The Final Four is set. And after an opening weekend that went to plan based on the seeds, things look different heading into Minneapolis.

Virginia is the only No. 1 seed to make it through to the final weekend of the season, with No. 1 overall seed Duke in the East and Gonzaga in the West losing in the regional finals. Midwest Region top seed North Carolina lost in the Sweet 16.

That leaves a No. 2 seed in Michigan State, a No. 3 seed in Texas Tech and a No. 5 seed in Auburn. The Cavaliers and surging Tigers meet in Saturday’s first national semifinal, followed by the Spartans and the defensive-minded Red Raiders.

Michigan State upset Zion Williamson and No. 1 overall seed Duke 68-67 in the East Region final.

Williamson, the superb freshman expected to be the top pick in this year’s NBA draft, had 24 points and 14 rebounds. RJ Barrett, Duke’s other star freshman, scored 21 points but also had seven turnovers and missed one of two free throws with 5.2 seconds left with a chance to tie it.

Michigan State will face West Region champ Texas Tech for a berth in the national title game.

In Kansas City,  the confetti was still swirling around Auburn coach Bruce Pearl when he gazed over a team headed to the first Final Four in school history and declared, “This one was for Chuma!”

“The next two,” Pearl added with a triumphant grin, “are for Auburn.”

Drawing inspiration from injured forward Chuma Okeke, the No. 5 seed Tigers finished off a joyful romp through college basketball royalty by bringing down the winningest program of all. Their 77-71 overtime win over second-seeded seed Kentucky in the finals of the Midwest Region on Sunday came after blowouts of Kansas and North Carolina that served notice: Auburn is more than a football school.