OMAHA — By the time Malik Newman, the Kansas sophomore, received the ball in the corner, open and already beginning his shooting motion, with the Midwest Regional final versus Duke tied and fewer than two minutes left in overtime, the outcome of the play felt predetermined.

If you drop a hammer, does it not fall to the ground? If you give Newman an open corner 3, does it not find its way through the rim?

It does, and it did — it was Newman’s fifth 3-pointer of the game, all after halftime. He finished with 32 points, none more crucial than that 3 that put Kansas up by 81-78, a lead the Jayhawks would not relinquish. They had spent months working out how to get Newman those corner-3s, and when they succeeded on Sunday, the result was a massive celebration in front of thousands of their fans.

Kansas, a No. 1 seed, beat second-seeded Duke, 85-81, and will head to the Final Four next weekend in San Antonio, where they will play another top seed, Villanova. The winner of that game will play the winner of Loyola-Michigan for the national championship on Monday, April 2.