Texas Tech halts Purdue for last Elite 8 spot

MANILA, Philippines — Texas Tech is headed to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.

Keenan Evans had 16 points and the third-seeded Red Raiders overcame an early first half hole and dominated second-seeded Purdue down the stretch to earn a 78-65 victory in the Sweet 16 on Friday night.

Texas Tech will play top seed Villanova in the East regional final Sunday.

Zach Smith added 14 points and five rebounds.

 Duke is back in the Elite Eight for the first time since its 2015 team won it all after holding off a late charge from rival Syracuse 69-65 on Friday night in the Midwest Region semifinals.

Marvin Bagley scored 22 points and Wendell Carter Jr had 14 with 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils (29-7), who will face top-seeded Kansas a rare matchup of bluebloods in a tournament defined by chaos – on Sunday in Omaha.

But Duke couldn’t shake the Orange (23-14) until the final buzzer sounded.

Sharp-shooting Grayson Allen missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds left and Duke up 67-64. The Blue Devils fouled rather than let Syracuse go for a game-tying 3, and Tyus Battle only made one of two from the line.

Top-seeded Villanova beat the press of West Virginia and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.

Jalen Brunson scored 27 points to lead the Wildcats to a 90-78 victory over fifth-seeded West Virginia. Villanova will play the winner of the regional semifinal later Friday night between No. 2 seed Purdue and third-seeded Texas Tech for a spot in the Final Four.

Villanova trailed by 6 before scoring 11 straight points to take a 65-60 lead with 9:03 remaining. The 2016 national champions led 68-64 before scoring 10 of the next 14 points to pull away.