Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo holds up the NCAA men's East Regional Championship trophy after defeating Duke in the region final Sunday.

WASHINGTON — Cassius Winston missed an open jump shot but was right there for the rebound. Without hesitating, he stepped back and swished a 3-pointer.

“Now is not the time to doubt yourself,” Winston said. “Now's not the time to shy away from those big moments.”

The biggest moment for Michigan State is still to come after Winston led the Spartans back to the Final Four for the first time since 2015.

Michigan State beat Duke 68-67 on Sunday to knock the overall top seed out of the NCAA Tournament in what likely was the end of Zion Williamson's college career. Winston took over the game when his team faced its biggest deficit, stealing the show from Williamson with 20 points and 10 assists in a do-it-all performance fittingly with Magic Johnson there to see it.

“I was locked in,” Winston said with smile and a piece of one of the nets tucked into his Final Four hat. “I wanted to do everything I could for my team to get us to that point. We've been working way too hard to stop now.”

Winston didn't know how many shots he took but never hesitated to put the ball up. He was 9 of 23 and never shied away from taking it at Duke and shooting at nearly every opportunity in the East Region final.

The Big Ten Player of the Year and East Region Most Outstanding Player made or assisted on 19 of Michigan State's 30 field goals.

“Winston was the difference maker,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He was either scoring or assisting. He's the best guard we've played against.”

Williamson, the presumptive top pick in the NBA Draft and biggest star of this NCAA Tournament, had a game-high 24 points and 14 rebounds. He said it was a “high possibility” this was his final game at Duke.

“We're very upset, obviously, but congrats to Michigan State,” Williamson said. “Just looking around the locker room and see your teammates, your brothers and you just think this group will probably never play together again.”

Michigan State's veteran-laden team will have another chance Saturday in one regional semifinal against Texas Tech in Minneapolis. Virginia faces Auburn in the other.

“We're not done yet, and it feels good,” senior guard Matt McQuaid said.

Winston carried the Spartans into the Final Four , but they received a huge boost from their oldest player. Kenny Goins, a fifth-year walk-on senior who missed his first four 3-point attempts, drained the go-ahead shot with 34.3 seconds left to put Michigan State up 68-66.

“I was out there, great pass, trusted it and let it go and it went down,” said Goins, the only player left from 2015 when Duke beat Michigan State in the Final Four during his redshirt season. “As soon as I let it go, I knew it was good. I was ready to celebrate, but I knew I had to get back on defense.”

Duke had the chance to tie but freshman star RJ Barrett missed the first of two free throws with 5.2 seconds left. Duke was helpless with only four fouls, and Winston was able to get the ball away from the Duke defenders and dribble out the clock.

Auburn 77, Kentucky 71

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The confetti was still swirling around Auburn coach Bruce Pearl when he gazed over a team headed to the first Final Four in school history and declared, “This one was for Chuma!”

“The next two,” Pearl added with a triumphant grin, “are for Auburn.”

Drawing inspiration from injured forward Chuma Okeke, the No. 5 seed Tigers finished off a joyful romp through college basketball royalty by bringing down the winningest program of all. Their 77-71 overtime win over second-seeded seed Kentucky in the finals of the Midwest Region on Sunday came after blowouts of Kansas and North Carolina that served notice: Auburn is more than a football school.

Jared Harper led the way with 26 points, including the tying basket in regulation and a crucial series of layups in overtime. Bryce Brown added 24 points and Anfernee McLemore came up big in the extra session, helping Auburn (30-9) set a school record for wins with its 12th straight overall.

“We wanted to make history,” Pearl said. “You have to understand, at Auburn in athletics, we're not Cinderellas in anything. We're really, really good in all those other sports. We win championships. Been a long time since men's basketball has been good.”

Okeke was there in more than just spirit, too. The sophomore forward, who tore his ACL in the final minutes against the Tar Heels, was rolled behind the bench in a wheelchair early in the second half.