Auburn coach Bruce Pearl lost a vital piece of his team when sophomore forward Chuma Okeke tore his ACL against top-seeded North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen last weekend, but he’s hoping to use the rest of his team to collectively fill Okeke’s shoes.

The Final Four festivities have begun inside U.S. Bank Stadium, as all four teams went through their first practice on the court Thursday, and met with TV crews and reporters.

We’re now just two days away from the biggest game for the Virginia basketball program in 35 years, as the Cavaliers go up against SEC Tournament champion Auburn in the Final Four Saturday night.

If you’re one of those Virginia fans who gets emotional when you watch your Cavaliers play, shut yourself away in your home and hope the neighbors don’t hear you cheering, screaming, cursing, then don’t feel alone.Washington Nationals’ relief pitcher Sean Doolittle, a former UVA star, is among you.

MINNEAPOLIS – It went from being the shot heard round the world – at least the basketball world – to now being immortalized as one of the greatest shots in March Madness history.

If there’s one name that strikes fear in the heart of every Virginia basketball fan, it’s Michigan State. Yes, Sparty, the team that crushed the Wahoos’ dreams in the East Regional semifinals at Madison Square Garden in 2014 (61-59), and again the following year in the third round of the East Regionals in Charlotte (60-54).

Here’s a team-by-team breakdown of the Final Four participants:

Virginia’s Final Four opponent, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, said Monday that he has never coached a game against his counterpart Tony Bennett, but has been greatly influenced by Bennett’s father.

Virginia is the lone remaining 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the South Region champion Cavaliers will take on SEC Tournament and Midwest Region champ Auburn Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET in Minneapolis, the site of this year’s Final Four.

Chances are that if you are well-read or a movie buff, then you’re probably familiar with “The Horse Whisperer.”The novel by Nicholas Evans, and the film by Robert Redford, portrays a legendary horse trainer with a remarkable gift for understanding horses. His voice could calm wild horses and his touch could heal broken spirits.

When the clock struck zero and sent all of Virginia into a Final Fourgasm, Kyle Guy, in all the euphoria, flashed back to a darker time last March.

No. 1 Virginia survived an overtime thriller against No. 3 Purdue Saturday for the South Region championship, 80-75, at the KFC Yum! Center to advance to the Final Four.

It was inevitable that at some point this weekend the question would be raised about Tony Bennett having never taken a team to the Final Four.

Almost every time Tony Bennett is asked about his smallest player, the Virginia coach has this twinkle in his eyes.At 5-foot-9, Kihei Clark is not an imposing figure in a library, let alone on a basketball court where he is towered over by most everyone else. The smallest man on the floor produced some of the biggest numbers in the Cavaliers win over Oregon in their Sweet Sixteen matchup Thursday night.

Virginia will square off against No. 3 seed Purdue at approximately 8:49 p.m. Saturday night in the South Region final for a spot in next week’s Final Four in Minneapolis. The Cavaliers (32-3) will try to get over the hump and into the final weekend for the third time in school history and first time since 1984.

When Tony Bennett called time out with 4:42 remaining in Thursday night’s — or rather Friday morning’s — Sweet Sixteen matchup against Oregon, Virginia had the Ducks exactly where it wanted them.

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett described Thursday night’s Sweet Sixteen battle with 12th-seeded Oregon as a “knuckle buster.” His top-seeded Cavaliers survived a valiant effort from one of the nation’s hottest teams, 53-49, to move onto the South Region championship game against No. 3 seed Purdue on Saturday at 8:49 p.m.

Virginia will look to take one step closer to its ultimate goal Thursday night in Louisville, as the top-seeded Cavaliers go up against No. 12 Oregon — one of the hottest teams in the country — in the South Region semifinals (tipoff approximately 10 p.m., TBS).

Oregon hasn’t lost a basketball game since Feb. 23, the last of a three-game, road losing streak when the Ducks admittedly played “bad,” according to coach Dana Altman.

Virginia arrived in Derby Town energized and loose for the challenge of the Sweet Sixteen.