The Latest on the Final Four (all times local):
11:15 a.m.
Auburn star Jared Harper and some of his teammates are dealing with an illness that he hopes will be better by Saturday night.
Harper started feeling sick Thursday night and began taking some medicine, and team doctors gave him a shot Friday morning. He was still sniffling during his media rounds before taking the floor for the Tigers’ open practice ahead of their semifinal date with Virginia.
Fellow guard Bryce Brown felt the worst of it on Thursday, but was on the rebound Friday.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys that are sniffling and hacking and coughing, be we don’t play today,” coach Bruce Pearl said.
The flu bug swept through North Carolina last weekend in Kansas City, where the Tigers knocked off the Tar Heels in the regional semifinal. It’s unclear whether Harper may have gotten the same bug.
Harper is averaging 15.4 points and 5.4 assists.
— Dave Skretta reporting from Minneapolis
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Basketball fans have lined up early for the first entry into U.S. Bank Stadium, as the Final Four teams hold open-to-the-public workouts.
Auburn takes the court first, followed by Virginia, Texas Tech and Michigan State. There’s no charge to attend the practices. The games, of course, come at a cost. According to secondary market ticket seller StubHub, as of Friday morning, the lowest price for the semifinal games on Saturday evening is $385.
U.S. Bank Stadium opened in 2016, the home of the Minnesota Vikings and the host of the Super Bowl after the 2017 NFL season. The seating capacity has been expanded for the Final Four to 72,000.
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