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March 28 (UPI) -- Kansas and North Carolina clinched the last two spots in the Final Four of the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament with respective wins over Miami and Saint Peter's. "We didn't come this far to lie down, or give up," Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji told reporters. "It was about going out there and playing our style of basketball."
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Top-seeded Kansas beat No. 10 Miami 76-50 in the first of two Elite Eight games Sunday. No. 8 North Carolina followed with a 69-49 victory over No. 15 Saint Peter's.
North Carolina will face No. 2 Duke in the Final Four on Saturday in New Orleans. Kansas will battle No. 2 Villanova in the other Final Four matchup later at the same venue.
Duke and Villanova each advanced with Elite Eight wins Saturday over No. 4 Arkansas and No. 5 Houston, respectively.
Agbaji scored a team-high 18 points for Kansas in its dismantling of Miami at the United Center in Chicago.
The Jayhawks (32-6) outshot the Hurricanes (26-11) 50% to 34.5% and owned a 41-28 edge in rebounds. The Hurricanes made just 134.3% of their 3-point attempts. The Jayhawks led by as many as 26 points.
"We weren't very good in the first half," Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. "We played tight a little bit and couldn't guard. For whatever reason, we came on the second half."
The lead switched hands throughout the first half. The Hurricanes then went on a 9-2 run to take a 35-29 lead into the break.
The Jayhawks opened the second half on a 9-3 run to tie the score at 38-38. They then added a 16-2 run to earn a 54-42 edge with 10:17 remaining and never looked back.
Jayhawks senior forward David McCormack scored 15 points in the victory. Junior guard Christian Braun chipped in a dozen points. The Jayhawks also outscored the Hurricanes 21-5 off the bench.
Senior guard Kameron McGusty scored 18 for the Hurricanes. Sophomore guard Isaiah Wong chipped in 15 points in the loss.
No. 1 Kansas faces No. 2 Villanova in the first Final Four game at 6:09 p.m. EDT Saturday on TBS.
Later Sunday, North Carolina dominated their 15-seed foe from start to finish at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Junior forward Armando Bacot totaled 20 points and 22 rebounds in the 20-point victory. Senior forward Brady Manek added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Tar Heels (28-9).
The Tar Heels outshot the Peacocks (22-12) 41% to 30%. The Peacocks, the first No. 15 seed in history to reach the Elite Eight, never led and trailed by as many as 27 points.
They made just 25% of their 3-point attempts and were out-rebounded 49-33. Junior forward Fousseyni Drame scored 12 points in the loss. Senior forward K.C. Ndefo totaled 10 points for the Peacocks.
The Tar Heels scored nine unanswered points to open the game. They used another 15-3 run to push their advantage to 17 points with 5:33 left in the first half and led 38-19 at the break.
The Tar Heels pushed their lead to 27 points 4:27 into the second half. The Peacocks never got closer than within 19 points of the lead down the stretch.
The Tar Heels take on the rival Blue Devils in the Final Four at 8:49 p.m. Saturday on TBS.
