Welcome to “The Daily Scoop”, an article to bring you up to date with the latest news from college basketball and a preview of the day ahead.

Daily Headlines

#6 Clemson upsets #2 Arizona in West Region semifinal

Clemson came into the Sweet 16 as one of just two teams outside the top five seed lines alongside NC State but continued their run with a win over Arizona. The Tigers jumped out to a 16-6 lead and led by as many as 13 points in the first half. Arizona took a lead early on in the second half, but the lead lasted just 33 seconds until Jack Clark hit a three-pointer. Late in the game, Jaden Bradley got Arizona within two points with a three-point shot with 52 seconds on the clock, but back-to-back and-ones from brothers Chase and Dillon Hunter sealed the 77-72 win for Clemson. Chase Hunter led the Tigers in scoring with 18 points, but it was more about what the Clemson defense did to Arizona’s offense, holding the Wildcats as a team to 5-28 from three-point range and Arizona’s leading scorer Caleb Love to 5-18 from the field and 0-9 from three. Clemson’s win puts them in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980, and they’ll meet Alabama on Saturday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

Grant Nelson’s big game leads #4 Alabama past #1 UNC

The second West Region semifinal in Los Angeles was even better than the first, as the shootout between Alabama and UNC went down to the buzzer. The game went back-and-forth throughout, as both teams held leads in each half. UNC led 75-70 in the second half before a 12-2 Alabama run that seemed to give the Crimson Tide all of the momentum. UNC would then go on an 8-0 run of their own to take an 85-82 lead before back-to-back layups from Mark Sears and Grant Nelson gave the Crimson Tide the lead for good. With less than a second to play, Nelson had a chance to seal the game at the free throw line while leading by two, but missed both shots, giving Harrison Ingram a chance to win it at the buzzer. Nelson would have none of that, blocking Ingram’s full-court heave directly off the rebound of Nelson’s own free throw miss. Nelson finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks, leading the Crimson Tide in all three categories. UNC’s RJ Davis struggled from the field all night, finishing 4-20 from the field with 17 points. Alabama will meet Clemson on Saturday night for a trip to the Final Four.

TSJ scores 29 as #3 Illinois takes down #2 Iowa State

The Sweet 16 delivered great matchups on Thursday night, and Illinois’ top ranked offense vs Iowa State’s top ranked defense was no exception. The Fighting Illini came out on top 72-69 and led the entire game after jumping out to an early 8-0 lead. Terrence Shannon Jr. battled foul trouble all night for Illinois, playing just 22 minutes, but finished with a stat line of 29 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals. One of the steals came with 17 seconds remaining, as Shannon Jr. intercepted a Milan Momcilovic pass and took it coast-to-coast to seal the game. Iowa State got a great game out of Curtis Jones off the bench, who led the team in scoring with 26 points, but after their slow start, the Cyclones were never able to fully get back into the game. The #1 overall seed and defending national champion UConn Huskies now await the Fighting Illini in the Elite Eight on Saturday.

Other Things to Note:

• #1 UConn dominates #5 San Diego State 82-52 in rematch of last year’s title game
• #11 NC State aims to continue Cinderella run in matchup vs #2 Marquette (7:09 ET, CBS)
• #5 Gonzaga looks to upset #1 Purdue in Midwest Region semifinal (7:39 ET, TBS)
• #1 Houston faces #4 Duke in South Region semifinal matchup (9:39 ET, CBS)
• #3 Creighton meets #2 Tennessee in highly anticipated Sweet 16 matchup (10:09 ET, TBS)
• Minnesota sophomore forward Pharrel Payne (10 ppg, 6 rpg, 1 apg) has entered the transfer portal
• Wake Forest sophomore guard Kevin “Boopie” Miller (16 ppg, 3 rpg, 4 apg) has entered the transfer portal
• Drake star transfer guard Tucker DeVries follows his father Darian DeVries and commits to West Virginia
• Pac 12 Rookie of the Year and Washington State freshman guard Myles Rice (15 ppg, 3 rpg, 4 apg) has entered the transfer portal
• Wisconsin star sophomore guard AJ Storr (17 ppg, 4 rpg) has entered the transfer portal
• Evansville forward Ben Humrichous (15 ppg, 5 rpg, 2 apg) has entered the transfer portal
• Virginia Tech transfer Lynn Kidd (13 ppg, 7 rpg) has committed to Miami FL