Greg Eklund

For NPR News, I'm Greg Eklund.

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From the outside, it appeared that everything was set up for the Houston Cougars to advance to the men's Final Four, a No.

1 seed, playing the second weekend of the tournament in their home city.

But Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson thought it boiled down to his team.

Illinois will play in its second regional final in the last three years, and its game against Iowa guarantees that at least one team for the Big Ten Conference will make the Final Four.

Lincoln, Nebraska native Braden Frager scored on a layup with two seconds left in the game for the 74-72 victory, but the vocal Huskers fans held their collective breath on a half-court shot by Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner.

The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, are in the midst of their most successful season and heading to Houston for the South Regional Semifinal.

The biggest upset of the day was the elimination of Gonzaga, a No.

3 seed, after a 74-68 loss to the Texas Longhorns.

For NPR News, I'm Greg Eklund.

Lincoln, Nebraska native Braden Frager scored on a layup with two seconds left in the game for the 74-72 victory, but the vocal Huskers fans held their collective breath on a half-court shot by Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner.

The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, are in the midst of their most successful season and heading to Houston for the South Regional Semifinal.

The biggest upset of the day was the elimination of Gonzaga, a No.

3 seed, after a 74-68 loss to the Texas Longhorns.

For NPR News, I'm Greg Eklund.

Michigan State is one of 12 teams from the Big Ten Conference in the women's tournament, the most of any conference.

But the Colorado State Rams from the Mountain West Conference pushed the Spartans to the brink of elimination as CSU coach Ryan Williams expected.

We put a plan together and our kids prepared.