OMAHA, Nebraska -- The game wasn't always pretty, but Kansas' 85-81 overtime win that will send Bill Self to his third Final Four may have been this NCAA Tournament's most dramatic, hard-fought game.

It had unlikely heroes: Malik Newman, Kansas' redshirt sophomore guard, who scored a career-high 32 points, including all 13 of Kansas' points in overtime. And Duke's erratic freshman point guard, Trevon Duval, who had 20 points and six assists while Duke's more accomplished scorers struggled.

It had close calls: Grayson Allen's shot at the end of regulation that seemed to hang on the rim for about six minutes before falling off it as the buzzer sounded. And the this-close out-of-bounds play near the end of overtime that could have gone either way, but went Kansas' way. Next, the Jayhawks will play East Regional champion Villanova on Saturday in San Antonio.

The game played out in an utterly unpredictable fashion. Duke's big men, who were the team's presumed biggest advantage against Kansas, struggled mightily. Marvin Bagley scored 16 points and nabbed 10 rebounds, but he seemed to hardly touch the ball in the first half. Wendell Carter Jr. got in foul trouble early, going only 3-for-9 for 10 points and two rebounds, missing easy shots and then ending the game on the bench in tears after he fouled out late in regulation. Kansas' Svi Mykhailiuk was a force all game, handling Duke's bigger, stronger players on defense and playing a great all-around game: 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal.

It was a wild, back-and-forth affair between two of the winningest programs in college basketball history. There were 18 lead changes. No team led by more than seven points at any point in the game. While Duke's perceived strength, its dominant big men, struggled for much of the game, so did Kansas' perceived strength: Its three-point shooting. The Jayhawks got hot late from three but only shot 36.1 percent (13 of 36).

The outcome was in doubt until the final few seconds of overtime. But what was never in doubt was this: That we just watched an absolute classic of an NCAA tournament game.