The Latest on the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern): 9:15 p.m. Down by 20 points at one point in the second half, Clemson has used a 26-12 surge to pull within 74-68 in its Midwest Region semifinal against Kansas. Shelton Mitchell's thunderous dunk forced the Jayhawks to call timeout with 2:27 left. ___ 9:10 p.m. The lineups are out for the Purdue-Texas Tech game and Isaac Hass isn't in it. The Boilermakers center broke his elbow in their NCAA tournament opener and hasn't played since. That hasn't stopped him from trying, though. He's been out on the court practicing with his teammates, trying to prove to coach Matt Painter that he can contribute at least a few minutes. The Purdue engineering department was even on the job, working up a special brace that was approved by the NCAA. But Painter said Haas can't play unless he can rebound with two hands and shoot a free throw right-handed. Haas couldn't do that, as of Thursday. Redshirt freshman Matt Haarms was listed in the lineup instead. ___ 9:02 p.m. The players are getting a bit of a history lesson at this year's East regional in Boston. The banners honoring the Celtics and Bruins championships and retired numbers were allowed to remain in the rafters at the TD Garden this year — a change from previous events here. "Part of the allure of being in Boston is playing beneath our championship banners," TD Garden president Amy Latimer said. "We are proud to have them on display and part of the student-athlete experience." When NCAA tournament last came to town in 2012, the banners were replaced by ones noting past college basketball champions. The 17 Celtics championship banners and six for the Bruins were brought to a Salvation Army facility, where fans lined up to take pictures with them. The Celtics also have three banners to honor their 23 retired numbers. The Bruins have retired 10 numbers. ___ 9 p.m. Clemson is trying to get back into its Midwest Region semifinal game against Kansas after falling behind by 20 points. The lead was down to 13 with 5:57 left. Malik Newman led Kansas with 16 points. The Jayhawks were shooting 51 percent from the floor to 43 percent for Clemson. ___ 8:40 p.m. Kansas' perimeter shooting is starting to heat up, and the top-seeded Jayhawks have opened a 60-42 lead over fifth-seeded Clemson with about 13 minutes left in their Midwest Region semifinal. Lagerald Vick, Malik Newman and Devonte Graham hit 3-pointers in the first 1:07 of the second half as the Jayhawks went ahead by 20 points. Kansas is 4 for 5 from distance the first five minutes of the half after going 4 of 13 in the opening 20 minutes. Gabe Devoe has scored a game-high 20 points for the Tigers, who are shooting just 39.5 percent from the floor. — Eric Olson reporting from Omaha, Nebraska ___ 8:37 p.m. East Region top seed Villanova leads fifth-seeded West Virginia 44-42 following a fast-paced first half. Jalen Brunson leads all scorers with 16 points. West Virginia got 11 points from Daxter Miles. There were just four lead changes in the half. The Wildcats came out firing, connecting on their first seven field goals. They handled the Mountaineers' pressure early. But the Wildcats had three turnovers over a 1:05 stretch during an 8-0 Mountaineers run that briefly put them in front 33-30. Villanova finished with 10 turnovers for the half. But the Wildcats were able to take a lead into the locker room thanks in part to 6 of 13 shooting from the 3-point line. West Virginia holds an 18-14 rebounding edge. Both teams have key players with foul issues. Brunson and Mikal Bridges for Villanova and Jevon Carter for West Virginia have two apiece. — Kyle Hightower, reporting from Boston ____ 8:15 p.m. Press Virginia is causing all kinds of problems for Villanova. The Mountaineers have applied full-court pressure after every basket, and it helped them open a 35-33 lead with 3:30 left in the first half of the regional semifinal. The press caused three Villanova turnovers in a stretch of 65 seconds that helped West Virginia run off eight points in a row. In all, the Wildcats had nine turnovers and West Virginia had five steals late in the first half. Bob Huggins said on Thursday he thinks his team would benefit from a fast-paced game. This one's on its way. ___ 8:10 p.m. It's a tight game so far in the East Region semifinal between Villanova and West Virginia. The top-seeded Wildcats are being tested by the fifth-seeded Mountaineers' pressure defense. Each team had six turnovers with about 5 minutes left. The Mountaineers then went on an 8-0 run to take a 33-30 lead. ___ 8:05 p.m. Top-seeded Kansas is capitalizing on its mismatch in the post with Udoka Azubuike and Silvio De Sousa and leads fifth-seeded Clemson 40-27 at halftime of their Midwest Region semifinal. The two Jayhawks have combined for 16 points, with four dunks, on 7-of-9 shooting. They scored six points as the Jayhawks closed on a 15-5 run and held Clemson without a field goal for 6 minutes. Clemson's season scoring leader, Marcquise Reed, didn't make his first basket until a minute was left in the half. A flagrant-1 foul was called on the play on Clemson's Elijah Thomas, who pushed his left forearm into Silvio De Sousa's head under the basket as Reed was shooting. De Sousa made the free throws and Lagerald Vick followed with a 3-pointer to put the Jayhawks up 13 at the break. The Clemson-Kansas winner plays in the regional final Sunday against the winner of Friday night's other semifinal between second-seeded Duke and 11th-seeded Syracuse. — Eric Olson reporting from Omaha, Nebraska ___ 7:50 p.m. Clemson has gone cold in the Midwest Region semifinal against top-seeded Kansas. Kansas leads 33-22 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half after the Tigers have missed 8 of their last 9 shots. The Jayhawks have hit 6 of 8 after opening the game 8 for 20. The 7-foot, 280-pound Udoka Azubuike is controlling the inside against Clemson's 6-9, 237-pound Elijah Thomas and 6-9, 232-pound Mark Donnal. Azubuike and his backup, Silvio De Sousa, have combined for 14 points and four dunks on 7-of-9 shooting. Clemson is shooting 36 percent and has committed eight turnovers. — Eric Olson reporting from Omaha, Nebraska ___ 7:36 p.m. Svi Mykhailiuk's 3-pointer and Silvio De Sousa's dunk off a lob from Devonte Graham has helped Kansas create some separation after Clemson pulled within a point of the Jayhawks in the Midwest Region semifinal. Clemson erased most of an early 11-4 deficit to pull to 20-19. Mykhailiuk hit a 3 from the wing, and after Mark Donnal missed a jumper on the other end, Graham led De Sousa perfectly for the Jayhawks' third dunk of the game. There's about 7 minutes left in the first half. Malik Newman leads the Jayhawks with seven points, and Donnal has seven for the Tigers. ___ 7:35 p.m. Villanova is off to a fast start in the Sweet 16. The top-seeded Wildcats opened their regional semifinal matchup against fifth-seeded West Virginia by hitting their first six field-goal attempts for a 14-11 lead with about 15 minutes left in the first half. Purdue and Texas Tech face off in the other East Region semifinal in Boston. ___ 7:15 p.m. The CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, looks like Allen Fieldhouse North as top-seeded Kansas faces fifth-seeded Clemson in the Midwest Region semifinals. The upper and lower bowls of the 17,500-seat arena are mostly blue. One section of the lower bowl is filled with fans in the orange of Clemson. Omaha is a 3 1/2-hour drive from the Jayhawks' campus in Lawrence, Kansas. The Clemson-Kansas winner will go to the Elite Eight and face the winner of Friday night's second Midwest semifinal between No. 2 seed Duke and 11th-seeded Syracuse. Kansas had an 11-6 lead with 14:45 left in the first half. —Eric Olson reporting from Omaha, Nebraska. ___ 6:55 p.m. The NCAA has tweaked its interpretation of a rule that allows padding to cover braces worn on the elbow, wrist or forearm. The change could allow Purdue center Isaac Haas to play in Friday night's Sweet 16 matchup with Texas Tech, though it still remains a long shot. The star center has been sidelined since he fractured his right elbow in the Boilermakers' first-round NCAA Tournament win. An initial version of a protective brace for Haas was ruled ineligible for the NCAAs because of a rigid metal component that it felt was a safety hazard to other players. Graduate engineering students at Purdue constructed a softer version using carbon fiber and shipped it to Haas on Tuesday. But one of Purdue coach Matt Painter's markers for considering whether Haas would be able to play was if he could rebound using both hands and be able to shoot with it as well. Haas practiced Thursday, but displayed very limited mobility in the injured elbow, keeping it mostly at a 90-degree angle during the workout. He performed a right-handed layup, but never attempted a jump shot during the 15-minute portion open to the media. — Kyle Hightower, reporting from Boston ___ 6:30 p.m. Move over underdog darlings: It's time for some of college basketball's blue bloods to take the stage in the Sweet 16. Villanova, Kansas, Duke and Syracuse all tip off their regional semifinal games Friday night. All four schools have national titles. The action tips off with Clemson taking on Kansas in the Midwest. Four teams will join West finalists Florida State and Michigan, and East finalists Kansas State and Loyola-Chicago to round out the Elite Eight. Power names in action means Friday night might actually be good for some wins for your long-busted bracket (if you haven't given up on it just yet). Unlike the South region, where one-tenth of 1 percent of ESPN bracketeers correctly selected Loyola-Chicago and Kansas State to make it this far, teams like Purdue, Villanova and Kansas are highly popular picks to reach the regional final. ___ 6 p.m. The second half of the Sweet 16 is rife with compelling matchups. Villanova's Jalen Brunson vs. West Virginia's Jevon Carter. Duke's athletes trying to solve Syracuse's zone. The athleticism of Kansas and Clemson. Should make for some more drama in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night. The marquee matchup comes in the East Region Friday in Boston, where Villanova, one of two No. 1 seeds remaining, faces the team nicknamed Press Virginia. The Wildcats have been on a tear, making 31 combined 3-pointers in lopsided opening NCAA Tournament wins over Radford and Alabama. Villanova (32-4) has been even better on defense, holding its first two opponents to 37 percent shooting and less than 60 points per game. West Virginia (26-10) is known for its defense, but rode its hot-shooting offense into the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years. Syracuse (23-13) faces its toughest test yet against the Blue Devils (28-7) in Omaha. Duke has a superb inside-out game with super frosh Marvin Bagley III in the middle and is averaging 85 points per game in the tournament. Purdue's 7-foot-2 standout Isaac Haas is hoping to get in the game against Texas Tech, thanks to an arm brace quickly engineered by grad students in hopes of meeting NCAA safety standards. And Kansas (29-7), the top seed in the Midwest, faces fifth-seeded Clemson (25-9) on a roll after a 31-point rout of Auburn. ___ More AP college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org ; https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 and https://www.podcastone.com/ap -sports-special-events