The top-seeded Duke advanced to the final eight of the NCAA collegiate basketball tournament but the dreams of Northern Iowa and Saint Mary's ended on Friday.
Duke, the No 1 seeds in the South Regional, beat Purdue, the fourth seeds, 70-57, thanks to some strong defensive play and Kyle Singler's 24 points, to make it past the regional semi-finals for the first time in six years.
"Our execution in the second half was terrific," said Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke coach.
"All three of my perimeter guys came up with big, big baskets and free throws."
Jon Scheyer added 18 points and Nolan Smith had 15 for Duke, who led by a point at the interval but out-scored Purdue 46-34 in the second half.
Duke will play Baylor, the third seeds, tonight for a place in the national semi-finals on April 3 in Indianapolis.
It would be Duke's first visit to the national semi-finals, also known as the Final Four, since 2004. They won national championships in 1991, 1992 and 2001. "You know, I hate when somebody compares those teams of the last couple years with our national championship teams, and they say they underachieved," Krzyzewski said.
"Are you kidding me? They won 30, 29 games. But they were limited teams, and they couldn't play the defence that this team can play because we have big guys."
Elsewhere, Baylor ended Saint Mary's dream season with a 72-49 victory.
Saint Mary's, the 10th-seeds, had been one of the success stories of the tournament after they eliminated Villanova, the region's second seeds, last weekend. LaceDarius Dunn led Baylor with 23 points with Ben Allen, one of five Australians on their roster, leading Saint Mary's with 16.
"That's the reason why we came here. To be a part of something special," said Tweety Carter, the Baylor guard. "It really means a lot to me, this team, this programme, for us to come through all the adversity."
Northern Iowa, who stunned the top seeds Kansas in the second round, came agonisingly close to pulling off another upset before going down 59-52 to Michigan State.
The Michigan sophomore Korie Lucious effectively ended their dreams of further glory. Lucious played 39 steady minutes, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and one big shot that put his team within one game of their sixth Final Four in 12 years. Lucious hit a fallaway jumper with 91 seconds left, lifting Michigan State into the regional finals. "He stepping up for us and that's exactly what we need," said Draymond Green, the Michigan State forward.
The Spartans play tonight against Tennessee, the sixth seeds, who beat the second-seeded Ohio State 76-73 earlier on Friday night.
* With agencies
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Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
