Thomas Robinson had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Jeff Withey blocked 10 shots to finish one shy of the NCAA tournament record, and No. 2 seed Kansas held on to beat North Carolina State 60-57 Friday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals.

The Jayhawks (30-6) advanced to play top-seeded North Carolina for a spot in the Final Four when Richard Howell’s off-balanced heave at the buzzer came up well short.

Elijah Johnson added 11 points for the Jayhawks, including a layup off an inbound pass from Tyshawn Taylor with 13.5 seconds remaining that gave them a calming cushion.

N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried called a timeout to set up a play, but Scott Wood stepped out of bounds while fielding a cross-court pass with 5 seconds left that kept one of the nation’s best 3-point shooters from getting off a shot.

C.J. Leslie had 18 points for the Wolfpack (24-13), despite sitting much of the second half with four fouls. Wood finished with 12 points on 2-for-10 shooting.

— Associated Press —