Kansas, UCLA, Ohio State and Memphis all won Thursday to reach their regional finals in the men's college basketball national championship tournament.
West region top seed Kansas overcame a tough Southern Illinois defense to slip past the Salukis 61-58 and reach the round of eight. Brandon Rush led the Jayhawks with 12 points.
Kansas next takes on the second seed UCLA Bruins in the West regional final Saturday. The Bruins beat Pittsburgh Thursday 64-55 to advance.
In the South region, second seed Memphis edged Texas A&M, 65-64. Antonio Anderson made two crucial free throws with three seconds remaining to lift the Tigers.
Memphis will face top seed Ohio State in the South region final Saturday.
Ohio State rallied from a 20-point deficit in the first half, then held on to edge Tennessee 85-84 Thursday. Center Greg Oden blocked Tennessee's shot at the buzzer as the Buckeye's won their 20th straight game.
Regional semifinal action continues Friday, with four more games to complete the so-called "Sweet 16" round.
Winners of the regional finals - the round of eight - will advance to the tournament's semifinals known as the "Final Four" that will determine the two teams that will play for the national championship on April 2.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.