OMAHA, Neb. — Kansas is going back to the Final Four.

It’s hard to argue that Duke shouldn’t be headed there as well after the most riveting show of the NCAA tournament.

Malik Newman and the top-seeded Jayhawks got past their Elite Eight road block Sunday, knocking off second-seeded Duke 85-81 in overtime to clinch the program’s first trip to the Final Four since 2012.

Newman scored all 13 of the Jayhawks’ points in OT and finished with a career-high 32 to lead Kansas (31-7).

The Jayhawks will face fellow top seed Villanova on Saturday in San Antonio — the site of KU’s last title over Memphis in 2008 — after snapping a two-game losing skid in the regional finals.

“Everything we’ve been through…we do it for moments like this,” Kansas star Devonte’ Graham said. “Especially after the last two years, getting over the hump. It just feels (perfect).”

This was college basketball at its best, two blue bloods trading blows for 45 minutes in what was arguably the best game of March so far, one that featured 18 lead changes and 11 ties.

Had Grayson Allen’s bank shot to end regulation gone half an inch in a different direction, it might be Duke heading to South Texas.

But it didn’t, and instead the Jayhawks are moving on.

“It was an honor to play in this game,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who remained tied with UCLA legend John Wooden with 12 Final Four performances. “I think both teams were deserving of winning.”

Newman, a redshirt sophomore who came on late this season, drilled his fifth and final 3 from the corner to make it 81-78 with 1:49 left. Newman followed with four straight free throws, and the Jayhawks’ defense stiffened enough to knock the favored Blue Devils out of the tournament.

Trevon Duval scored 20 points, two shy of a career high, for Duke. Freshman star and future lottery pick Marvin Bagley added 16 points and 10 rebounds in what could have been his final game for the Blue Devils (29-8), who fell shy of their first Final Four trip since winning the national title in 2015.

Allen had 12 points for the Blue Devils, but the senior’s try at the regulation buzzer went in and then out and then off the rim before spinning away to force overtime.

“I was trying to drive right, he cut me off. Went back left. Their big stepped into help. I had to get a shot up over him. I tried to bank it in and it about went in,” said Allen, who finished his brilliant career with 1,996 points.

THE BIG PICTURE

Kansas: This might be the unlikeliest of coach Bill Self’s three Final Four squads. They are not stacked with obvious future NBA starters and they lost three times at home this season. But the Jayhawks banded together to win the Big 12’s regular season and conference titles and now the Midwest Region. By doing so, they proved to their coach that they were hardly soft — a claim that Self had made often earlier in the season. And with the final buzzer about to sound and the outcome suddenly in focus, Self clenched both of his fists and lifted his arms in the air for a celebration years in the making.

Duke: The Blue Devils might see four of their freshman stars bolt for the NBA Draft, an expected exodus led by Bagley, a likely top-five pick. Duke will also lose Allen, one of the best players in school history. Don’t cry for Coach K, who has four five-star recruits committed to join the program next year. But this season will likely be remembered as a lost opportunity — and for that Allen shot that went agonizingly out of the rim.

PIVOTAL MOMENT

Duval was a revelation in the opening half, scoring 13 points to give the Blue Devils a 36-33 lead that at times felt like it could’ve been bigger. But the Jayhawks opened the second with a 13-3 run, forcing Duke to answer quickly. The Blue Devils did just that, time and time again, until it had the lead in the final minute. But Kansas senior Svi Mykhailiuk drilled a 3 with 25.7 seconds left in the second half to knot the game at 72-all.

THE NUMBERS

Kansas outrebounded Duke 47-32, a staggering stat given that the Jayhawks barely outrebounded their opponents heading into the game. …Lagerald Vick had 14 points, Devonte’ Graham had 11 with six boards and six assists and Mykhailiuk had 11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while helping defend Bagley. “Even though Malik scored a lot of points, I don’t think that anybody had a better game than Svi did,” Self said. … The Blue Devils were 7 of 29 on 3s.

HE SAID IT

“We didn’t even talk about going to the Final Four. All we talked about is Duke. I do think playing Duke in that game helped us. It was fun. I would be proud to have coached in that game even if the outcome is different,” Self said.

UP NEXT

Duke: Welcoming the next batch of one-and-done stars.

Kansas: The Jayhawks are in the Final Four for the 15th time.

— Associated Press —

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — For the third year in a row, Kansas made it through the Sweet 16 — although not before Clemson tried its hardest to add another wild chapter to an already unbelievable tournament.

The top-seeded Jayhawks brought at least a temporary halt to the insanity of this March, withstanding a ferocious rally by fifth-seeded Clemson on Friday for a too-close-for-comfort, 80-76 victory.

Malik Newman led the Jayhawks (30-7) with 17 points in a one-time runaway that got much closer and, quite frankly, won’t mean much to KU fans if their team can’t finish the job in the Midwest Region final Sunday.

As a top seed the last two seasons, Kansas made it through the regional semifinals, only to flop a game shy of the Final Four both times. In fact, this marks the sixth time Bill Self’s team has been seeded first since KU won it all in 2008; the Jayhawks haven’t made the Final Four one of those times.

“I think about it all the time. I just told the guys in the locker room…this year, we’ve got to get over the hump,” said senior Devonte’ Graham, who had 16 points.

Still, it could’ve ended on Friday — in horrifying fashion — after Clemson stormed back from a 20-point deficit that stunned a crowd filled mostly with fans from Lawrence and surrounding areas, which are only a few hours from Omaha.

“We just kind of played not to lose down the stretch,” Self said.

Clemson trailed 62-42, but climbed to within six with 2:27 left. Graham’s offensive rebound after a Svi Mykhailiuk miss at the 1:57 mark allowed the Jayhawks to run almost a minute off the clock.

Kansas didn’t score after Graham’s rebound, and the Tigers got the next board for a chance to cut it to a one-possession game. But Shelton Mitchell and Gabe DeVoe each missed from beyond the arc. From there, Kansas overcame a dogged Clemson press just long enough to ensure that the Tigers couldn’t pull any closer until the tail end.

DeVoe had a career-high 31 for Clemson (25-10), which couldn’t replicate the magic it showed in beating Auburn by 31 to reach its first Sweet 16 in 21 years.

“We didn’t have our best game. Sometimes that’s not easy to keep fighting like that,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said.

PIVOTAL MOMENT

Clemson had scored five straight points to cut KU’s lead to 35-27 late in the first half when Elijah Thomas, after a review, was called for a flagrant foul. Silvio De Sousa knocked down the free throws, Lagerald Vick buried a 3 and Kansas cruised into halftime ahead 40-27. Vick, Newman and Graham then opened the second half with 3s to extend the lead to 20.

BIG PICTURE

One of the most encouraging signs for Kansas was that it jumped ahead by 13 at halftime despite a 1-for-7 start by Graham, the Big 12 player of the year. Big man Udoka Azubuike looked strong in his first start of the tournament with 14 points and 11 rebounds in a tournament-high 25 minutes.

FOR REAL?

What a wild 12 months it’s been for Brownell, the Clemson coach. He entered the season on the hot seat after six straight seasons without even making the NCAA Tournament. But the Tigers reached the regional semifinals for the first time since 1997 even after losing Donte Grantham, arguably their best player. The big question next is whether 2017-18 will prove a one shot wonder or the start of something big in the Upstate. Clemson has spent money on facilities to become a basketball school — but will it ever get out of the shadow cast by Dabo Swinney’s football team?

TIGERS CLAW BACK

For the final 12 minutes, Clemson played like the team that throttled Auburn to earn a crack at the Jayhawks. The Tigers didn’t turn it over once down the stretch, and they finished 14 of 19 at the free throw line — which was a strong point all year. But while Kansas hardly looked like a No. 1 seed down the stretch, it did improve to 25-1 this season when leading at the break.

DOKE LOOKED DOPE

Azubuike finished with his sixth double-double of the season. His presence forced Clemson to give more space to KU’s shooters, who went 10 of 22 on 3s.

HE SAID IT

“This is the team everyone would have thought … would not be in this game. We’ve got a legitimate shot to go to San Antonio. I think we’ll play with no `what ifs.’ I think we’ll be loose,” Self said.

VEGAS KNOWS

Kansas came in as a 4 1/2-point favorite — a number that didn’t look to be in play … until it was.

— Associated Press —