Alabama has chipped into Duke's lead over the first four minutes of the second half. Grant Nelson blocked a Cooper Flagg dunk and Mark Sears hit a 3-pointer. Duke leads 52-45 at the under-16 timeout with Alabama's Chris Youngblood looking to cap an and-one after the TV timeout.

After a season at Kansas, Rylan Griffen, a starter on Alabama's Final Four team, is heading back into the transfer portal.

Cinderella will not be found at the Final Four. Instead, the favorites are headed to the last weekend of the 2025 men's NCAA tournament.

Former Alabama forward Sam Walters has reentered the NCAA transfer portal. Walters played at Alabama in 2023-24 before transferring to Michigan.

Mark Sears shot a free throw late in the second half that could have cut Alabama's deficit to 10 — a last-gasp effort at a comeback still within reach — and watched the ball clang off the back rim. Even the supposed gimmes weren’t automatic for Sears on this night.

That's why it's one of the best sporting events in the world to watch. To an extent, the norm has been broken this season with a historic Final Four field on tap. If you love underdogs, this might be a forgettable weekend for you.

Who is playing in Final Four? See the national semifinal teams in the March Madness NCAA Tournament and schedule, which runs on Saturday, April 5.

Alabama basketball and Duke faced off in the Elite Eight of March Madness on Saturday. Here are three takeaways from the game that ended the Crimson Tide's season and sent the Blue Devils to the Final Four.