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The stage is set for four epic showdowns this weekend with berths in the Final Four on the line.

Barnes, who once shouldered the burden of March underachievement, is headed to a third straight Elite Eight with a team defying expectation.

"His ability to regurgitate all that, like cramming for a test, is unbelievable," his assistant coach said.

Previewing the Elite Eight matchups in the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Jose and Houston.

Social-evaluative threat has always been part of sports. What's changed is the dosage.

"He said, 'I'm gonna be back,'" Duke's head athletic trainer Jose Fonseca remembered. "Who am I to tell him no?"

Each program has several other rivalries, but Illini and Hawkeyes newcomers learn quickly that this one is different.

Saturday's Elite Eight games punch the first set of tickets to the Final Four. Here's how to watch these high-stakes showdowns.

Half of the Elite Eight has never won a national title. Then there's Duke and UConn.

It felt like St. John's was 15 minutes away from a spot in Sunday's East Region final. But Duke's Caleb Foster took the game by the throat.