Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx is currently the prosecutor is R. Kelly's sexual abuse case and was the prosecutor in Jussie Smollett's case until she recused herself. Foxx recently wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune where she explains her decision to drop the charges against Smollett, claiming that she never actually exonerated him or found him guilty. However, she did seem to say that the Mayor and Chicago's top cop's public statements played a role in not convicting Smollett.
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"For a variety of reasons, including public statements made about the evidence in this case, my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain," Foxx wrote in her op-ed, referencing mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago PD Superintendent Eddie Johnson's press conference.
She continued to downplay the alleged crimes in a way where she compared filing a false police report to pulling a fire alarm, claiming Smollett was hit with low-level charges. "The least serious category, which also covers things like falsely pulling a fire alarm in school and 'draft card mutilation," she wrote. "These felonies are routinely resolved, particularly in cases involving suspects with no prior criminal record, long before a case ever nears a courtroom and often without either jail time or monetary penalties."
She continued to take jabs at Emanuel and Johnson, saying, "Any law-enforcement leader or elected official not grandstanding or clouded by political expediency understands the purpose of sentencing guidelines."
Earlier this week, Trump ordered the FBI to review Smollett's case, a move that Foxx said that she's open to.
"Since it seems politically expedient right now to question my motives and actions, and those of my office, let me state publicly and clearly that I welcome an outside, nonpolitical review of how we handled this matter."
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March 30, 2019 at 11:16PM
Kim Kardashian just told the wildest story of why Kanye West once gave her $1 million for Mother's Day.
She also talked about their working relationship and shared that they have a mood board that they're "constantly" working on.
Kanye West has seemed very preoccupied by his whole Sunday service operation lately (find everything you've ever wanted to know about it right over here), but that doesn't mean that he can't find the time to consult with wife Kim Kardashian about the brands that she promotes on her Instagram. Cause the couple that 'grams together...stays together, I guess!
And not only do Kim and Kanye consult about such matters, but of course, Kanye also lets his opinions be known (and did you really think that he would have it any other way?). In a new interview with The New York Times, Kim talks about what she promotes on social media, saying that she turns down more offers than she accepts.
Kim also adds that one time a fast fashion line (that she doesn't name) offered her $1 million for a single post (!!!) and Kanye didn't want her to do it, saying, “These companies knock off my stuff." So Kim passed on the offer, and then for Mother's Day Kanye went ahead and wrote Kim a check for $1 million himself! Kim says, “He wrote me a check for that amount and said ‘Thank you so much for always being supportive and not posting,’” And you thought that the whole Kenny G thing was excessive!
Plus, just in case you wanted to know more about Kim and Kanye's working relationship, Kim also shares with the NYT that "in her living room, she said, there’s a 'mood board' that she and Kanye constantly work on: a collection of looks they like, or tweaks they want to make to Kim’s cosmetic, fragrance and accessory lines."
Duke's quest for a national championship came to an end on Sunday, as Michigan State outlasted the Blue Devils 68-67. The biggest story in college basketball since November, Duke fell short of the Final Four. What happened? And what's next?
Zion's college career is likely over
That's probably the last we'll see of Zion Williamson in college basketball. The heavy favorite to go No. 1 in the NBA draft, Williamson hasn't officially declared his intentions, but it would be the stunner of stunners if Williamson returned to Durham for his sophomore season. He came into college as a viral star, a top-three prospect and one of the candidates to go No. 1 in the draft. If he leaves, he leaves as one of the most unique players to come through college basketball in decades -- and the clear-cut best player in the country. We might not see another player like Williamson for some time.
Zion doesn't get one of the final three shots
If you had flashbacks to Duke's loss to Gonzaga at the Maui Invitational down the stretch, you weren't alone. In that game, RJ Barrett took charge down the stretch, and Williamson barely touched the ball late in the game. Duke lost. On Sunday, Barrett took the shot on Duke's final three possessions, despite Williamson's dominating at the rim throughout the game. Zion finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds, using his athleticism and physicality to power through the paint. Barrett hit three 3-pointers but struggled to finish in the paint for most of the game. He missed a leaner in the lane with 50 seconds left, then missed a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, then got fouled on a drive with about five seconds left. Williamson's last shot came with 1:41 remaining.
Is Michigan State point guard Cassius Winston the most athletic or the quickest player in the country? No. Is he the best shooter? Probably not. But there might not be a better leader or winner in college basketball than Winston. He has taken a team that lost Joshua Langford to injury earlier this season, a team that lost Kyle Ahrens to injury recently, a team that has had a hampered Nick Ward for most of the past month -- and carried them to the Final Four. He finished with 20 points and 10 assists against Duke on Sunday, and every time the Spartans needed a basket to stop a run or extend a lead, he was there to score. It's almost impossible to bet against him at this point.
Williamson, Barrett and Cam Reddish came into Duke billed as a trio. The three best high school prospects in the country and potentially the top three picks in June's NBA draft. It quickly became clear that it was a two-man show with Williamson and Barrett. Reddish gave Duke a different dimension because of his ability to make shots from the perimeter, but that wasn't an every-game occurrence. Against Michigan State, with the Spartans crowding Williamson and Barrett on drives to the rim, the Blue Devils really needed someone to step up and make 3-pointers.
Tre Jones hit five 3-pointers against Virginia Tech, but that was the first time he had hit multiple 3-pointers since November. This was a game for Reddish. He might have been hampered by whatever knee injury kept him out against the Hokies, but he didn't provide much on the offensive end. He shot 2-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with just eight points in 37 minutes. Throughout the season, Duke was always at its best when Reddish was giving Mike Krzyzewski a bona fide third option. That didn't happen on Sunday.
Another reload looms for Duke
Krzyzewski is used to this by now, but he's likely facing another massive rebuild in Durham. Last year, he lost Marvin Bagley, Grayson Allen, Wendell Carter, Gary Trent and Trevon Duval -- his entire starting five. He won't lose that many players this season, but he doesn't have the top three players in the 2019 class waiting in the wings. Williamson is likely gone, Barrett is likely gone, and Reddish is likely gone. Tre Jones could decide to come back and work on his jumper, and Marques Bolden and Javin DeLaurier should be back down low. Role players Alex O'Connell, Jack White and Joey Baker will all be back.
Of course, Duke has another elite recruiting class coming in, with top-five prospect Vernon Carey Jr. the centerpiece. Five-star small forward Wendell Moore and four-star combo guard Rejean Ellis round out the class. However, Coach K and his staff are in pursuit of several players, including top-10 prospect Matthew Hurt and Alabama transfer Kira Lewis. The roster is still in flux at this point.
Auburn forward Chuma Okeke's left knee was in so much pain that he planned to watch the Tigers' NCAA tournament regional final Sunday against Kentucky from his hotel and await the return flight to Alabama.
It was late in the first half that Okeke realized he needed to be at Sprint Center.
The sophomore told a member of the Auburn staff that he'd changed his mind, and Okeke was soon being wheeled into the building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. He finally made it to the floor at the under-16-minutes media timeout, and watched the rest of the Tigers' 77-71 overtime victory from behind the Auburn bench.
It was a surprise to his Tigers teammates. Horace Spencer told ESPN's Michele Steele that Okeke said in a text before the game that he was in pain and would watch the game offsite with his family.
"I just think he had to be there,'' Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said.
Anfernee McLemore said "it was just a big courage booster inspiration to see him out there and just supporting us."
"Our goal out there today was just do it for Chuma. That was our only focus. I feel like we did and made him proud," Bryce Brown said.
Okeke took part in the celebration as he placed a stamp with Auburn's name in the Final Four slot on a bracket on the court and was handed the Midwest Regional trophy.
Okeke is scheduled to have surgery on his torn ACL, which he hurt in the team's Sweet 16 victory over North Carolina, on Tuesday. It's unclear whether he plans to accompany the Tigers to Minneapolis for the Final Four next weekend.
Auburn lost twice to Kentucky during the regular season with Okeke, its top rebounder and third-leading scorer, in the lineup.
WASHINGTON -- No. 2 seed Michigan State did it. The Spartans slayed the giants of college basketball. In a thrilling 68-67 down-to-the-wire win, Michigan State ousted No. 1 overall seed Duke at Capital One Arena on Sunday evening, punching its ticket to the Final Four.
Duke, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, had flirted with fire too often in the NCAA Tournament. After single-possession victories over UCF and over Virginia Tech in the second round and Sweet 16, respectively, the Blue Devils finally got burned in a stunning defeat. RJ Barrett had a chance to tie it at 68 from the free-throw line with six seconds remaining, but he went 1 of 2, and Duke never scored again.
Credit to Tom Izzo and Michigan State. This was not a fluky outcome. Duke didn't choke a lead late. Michigan State didn't pull this off in Cinderella fashion. Izzo's Spartans were the better, more sound team for 40 minutes. They led for 22 minutes of game time, and came up big when it mattered.
Spartans star Cassius Winston came up the biggest, though. Michigan State's trusty guard scored 20 points and dished out 10 assists in the winning effort. It was an assist to Xavier Tillman to keep Sparty within striking distance late. A steal. A made jumper. Fittingly, it was Winston, the Big Ten Player of the Year, who dribbled out the final seconds of a game Sparty fans won't soon forget.
Duke's stars were tremendous in their own right. Zion Williamson scored 24 points and grabbed 14 boards while Barrett added 21 points and six boards. But boneheaded decision-making -- careless turnovers, poor shot selection and bad passing -- led to a 17-7 turnover battle won by the Spartans and lost in a landslide by Duke. The Spartans scored 24 points off those turnovers, compared to Duke's nine, and that about speaks for itself.
What's clear after 40 minutes of basketball in D.C. is that the most talented team doesn't always advance. Duke might have four first-round draft picks on its roster, and Michigan State might not have a player get drafted. But what's clear the most: the best team absolutely came away victorious.
The Spartans will appear in their 10th Final Four -- and eighth under Tom Izzo -- next week when they face No. 3 seed Texas Tech in Minneapolis.
CBS Sports was with you for complete coverage of Sunday's game from Washington with our live blog below. If you are having trouble viewing the blog, please click here.
WASHINGTON -- Cam Reddish was not in the starting lineup for Duke's Elite Eight showdown with Michigan State on Sunday, but he was the Blue Devils' first player off the bench at the 17:59 mark in the first half, entering to a massive ovation from the crowd.
Reddish was a late scratch for Friday's win over Virginia Tech because of a left knee injury, but he practiced with the team Saturday and looked comfortable going through warm-ups before Sunday's tip.
Mike Krzyzewski said Reddish has been dealing with knee soreness similar to tendinitis, but has no structural damage to the joint. He wore a protective sleeve Sunday, but didn't appear to be favoring the injured knee.
Reddish is Duke's leading long-range shooter (87 3-pointers) and third-leading scorer overall (13.8 points per game). He's one of three Duke freshmen expected to be lottery picks in the upcoming NBA draft.
Duke phenom Zion Williamson likely played his final college game Sunday, in a 68-67 loss to Michigan State in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. So what's next?
We've never seen a prospect quite like Williamson, whose combination of productivity, athleticism, competitiveness, skill and feel for the game makes him the runaway favorite for the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Combine that with his sheer star power and it's easy to see why no other prospect is currently under consideration at the top -- regardless of which team wins the Zion lottery May 14.
Williamson can sit tight until draft night after his freshman season, as he'll be under no obligation to prove anything before he hears his name called by NBA commissioner Adam Silver shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET on June 20. Picking an agent will be his camp's first line of business, though there's a chance someone close to the family gains certification and negotiates his sneaker deal.
It's highly unlikely Williamson will do more than a photo shoot at the facility of whatever team ends up with the No. 1 pick, as it's his call if he wants to submit to a medical examination for NBA teams. It's also up in the air if we'll see anything more than a token appearance from Williamson at the NBA combine in May, outside of perhaps some media obligations.
Basically, since Williamson is such a clear top pick, fans can forget about seeing him with a basketball in his hand until NBA summer league in Las Vegas in early July. -- Jonathan Givony
Longer answer: Plenty of teams can convince themselves they have some shot.
This is the first year with the new lottery rules, making it much less likely that a league-worst team such as the Knicks lands the No. 1 pick -- and much more likely that a team in the middle jumps up.
Here are the new odds for the 14 lottery slots compared to the old ones:
And with a little more than five games to go for each team, here are the projected lottery odds, via ESPN's Basketball Power Index.
The Chicago Bulls still have a small chance of jumping into that group of three sharing an equal 14 percent chance to land Williamson. But even if they don't, under the new system they'll hold a 12.5 percent chance to snag No. 1.
The Dallas Mavericks (top five) and Memphis Grizzlies (top eight) both owe protected picks, but if they jump up to No. 1, that won't be a concern. The protected picks will roll over to next season.
The Boston Celtics should enter the lottery with one of the worst odds to select Williamson, as they own the Sacramento Kings' pick unprotected. What once looked like one of the best trade assets in the league, the Sacramento pick will have a less than 2.0 percent chance of moving up to No. 1 after the Kings' surprising playoff push.
These new odds are a big reason why you don't see teams freaking out about every win down the stretch costing them a chance at such a talented prospect. This is going to be a massive toss-up.
Is this an unprecedented sneaker recruitment?
The first step for Williamson's emerging marketing profile will be landing a massive sneaker endorsement deal. His star power and explosive game are expected to place him among the highest annual earnings for rookies ever, right alongside the seven-year Nike deals that LeBron James signed for $87 million and Kevin Durant signed for $60 million.
As many as six brands will look to sign him, including Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, New Balance, Puma and Anta. The expectation is that Williamson will sign his deal before the May 14 draft lottery, when the draft order will be set.
"In my lifetime, I think it's going to be the biggest bidding war ever done," former sneaker executive Sonny Vaccaro said. "I would put them all on go."
Vaccaro signed Michael Jordan at Nike in 1984 and later looked to offer James a $100 million contract at Adidas. Sources at multiple brands across the industry expect Williamson's deal to potentially reach that astronomical tier. -- Nick DePaula
At that point, I speculated that Williamson might be able to pass Davis if he were able to play at the same level over all of Duke's remaining games. His knee injury prevented that possibility, and because Williamson's numbers were down a small amount -- most notably on defense, where he averaged just 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks after returning as compared to 2.2 and 1.8 before his injury -- his projection slipped a small amount.
Nonetheless, Williamson will still enter the draft as the best collegiate prospect since Davis by my projections. -- Kevin Pelton
Duke phenom Zion Williamson likely played his final college game Sunday, in a 68-67 loss to Michigan State in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. So what's next?
We've never seen a prospect quite like Williamson, whose combination of productivity, athleticism, competitiveness, skill and feel for the game makes him the runaway favorite for the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Combine that with his sheer star power and it's easy to see why no other prospect is currently under consideration at the top -- regardless of which team wins the Zion lottery May 14.
Williamson can sit tight until draft night after his freshman season, as he'll be under no obligation to prove anything before he hears his name called by NBA commissioner Adam Silver shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET on June 20. Picking an agent will be his camp's first line of business, though there's a chance someone close to the family gains certification and negotiates his sneaker deal.
It's highly unlikely Williamson will do more than a photo shoot at the facility of whatever team ends up with the No. 1 pick, as it's his call if he wants to submit to a medical examination for NBA teams. It's also up in the air if we'll see anything more than a token appearance from Williamson at the NBA combine in May, outside of perhaps some media obligations.
Basically, since Williamson is such a clear top pick, fans can forget about seeing him with a basketball in his hand until NBA summer league in Las Vegas in early July. -- Jonathan Givony
Longer answer: Plenty of teams can convince themselves they have some shot.
This is the first year with the new lottery rules, making it much less likely that a league-worst team such as the Knicks lands the No. 1 pick -- and much more likely that a team in the middle jumps up.
Here are the new odds for the 14 lottery slots compared to the old ones:
And with a little more than five games to go for each team, here are the projected lottery odds, via ESPN's Basketball Power Index.
The Chicago Bulls still have a small chance of jumping into that group of three sharing an equal 14 percent chance to land Williamson. But even if they don't, under the new system they'll hold a 12.5 percent chance to snag No. 1.
The Dallas Mavericks (top five) and Memphis Grizzlies (top eight) both owe protected picks, but if they jump up to No. 1, that won't be a concern. The protected picks will roll over to next season.
The Boston Celtics should enter the lottery with one of the worst odds to select Williamson, as they own the Sacramento Kings' pick unprotected. What once looked like one of the best trade assets in the league, the Sacramento pick will have a less than 2.0 percent chance of moving up to No. 1 after the Kings' surprising playoff push.
These new odds are a big reason why you don't see teams freaking out about every win down the stretch costing them a chance at such a talented prospect. This is going to be a massive toss-up.
Is this an unprecedented sneaker recruitment?
The first step for Williamson's emerging marketing profile will be landing a massive sneaker endorsement deal. His star power and explosive game are expected to place him among the highest annual earnings for rookies ever, right alongside the seven-year Nike deals that LeBron James signed for $87 million and Kevin Durant signed for $60 million.
As many as six brands will look to sign him, including Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, New Balance, Puma and Anta. The expectation is that Williamson will sign his deal before the May 14 draft lottery, when the draft order will be set.
"In my lifetime, I think it's going to be the biggest bidding war ever done," former sneaker executive Sonny Vaccaro said. "I would put them all on go."
Vaccaro signed Michael Jordan at Nike in 1984 and later looked to offer James a $100 million contract at Adidas. Sources at multiple brands across the industry expect Williamson's deal to potentially reach that astronomical tier. -- Nick DePaula
At that point, I speculated that Williamson might be able to pass Davis if he were able to play at the same level over all of Duke's remaining games. His knee injury prevented that possibility, and because Williamson's numbers were down a small amount -- most notably on defense, where he averaged just 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks after returning as compared to 2.2 and 1.8 before his injury -- his projection slipped a small amount.
Nonetheless, Williamson will still enter the draft as the best collegiate prospect since Davis by my projections. -- Kevin Pelton
Auburn's Anfernee McLemore celebrates after a score against Kentucky during the second half of the Midwest Regional final game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Sunday, March 31, 2019, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Auburn has slain another giant. And this time it punched the program’s first ticket to the Final Four.
Two days after stunning top-seed North Carolina in the Sweet 16, the Tigers toppled No. 2 seed Kentucky Sunday as their best player watched from the sideline in a wheelchair with a torn ACL.
Auburn came into the game at a significant disadvantage, down its best player in NBA prospect Okeke, who suffered a torn left ACL in the second half of Friday’s win over North Carolina.
Where many expected a blowout thanks to the Okeke injury, the Tigers had other ideas. Kentucky got off to a hot start, opening a 22-13 lead in what looked like the start of the lopsided result predicted.
But as they did against the Tar Heels, the Tigers got hot late in the first half to keep the game manageable with a 35-30 deficit. Also like they did against the Tar Heels, they stayed hot in the second half and went on a tear to take the lead.
Brown’s 3-pointer at the 17:47 mark of the second half capped a 10-0 Auburn run to take a 40-37 lead that ensured the Wildcats were in for a battle.
A battle it was as Brown and Kentucky star PJ Washington traded blows down the stretch before Auburn had a chance to win in regulation with a final shot. But Horace Spencer’s contested 3-pointer missed the mark sending the game into the extra session tied at 60-60.
Overtime belonged to Auburn. The Tigers opened up their biggest lead of the game at 68-62 and fended of the Wildcats from there to make program history.
Brown finished with 24 points while hitting 4-of-7 3-pointers while Harper tallied 26 points, 5 assists, four rebounds and 3 steals while hitting all 11 of his free throws.
A major force at the top of grid before the lights went out in Bahrain on Sunday, Sebastian Vettel felt defeated by the time the checkered flag concluded a disappointing race for the German in Sakhir.
Yet it all started on a positive note for the Ferrari charger whose perfectly timed get-way from the grid coupled with Charles Leclerc's lousy launch put him in command at the outset.
Unfortunately, that was about as good as it got for Vettel who was quickly overhauled by his team mate before later falling into the clutches of Lewis Hamilton.
The pair fought intensely with the reigning world champion getting the upper hand over his rival who then spun while trying to hang on to the back of Hamilton.
The costly blunder and a lost front wing forced Vettel to pit, with a meager fifth-place finish salvaged at the end of a day.
"I think it’s pretty clear that if you start at the front and don’t finish at the front you can’t be happy," said Vettel.
"I really struggled at the beginning of the race. Then on the medium tyre, maybe it was a bit better, but overall not the pace that I wanted to have today, so not sure why.
"And then obviously on top of that, I had the mistake with the spin, so not a good evening.
"I just lost the car very suddenly and once I spun then it was obviously too late. Unfortunate that we had so much damage with the tyres that it caused the front wing to fail so yeah, not great."
Regarding his team mate's commanding performance, at least until the gremlins crept in, Vettel bowed to Leclerc's superiority.
"It was his race to take today, so unhappy for him and for the team," he added.
"A disappointing day overall, starting from the front and not finishing there is not what we wanted."
Two college basketball blue-bloods collide Sunday when 1-seed Duke and 2-seed Michigan State meet in a highly-anticipated 2019 NCAA Tournament Elite 8 matchup. Tip-off from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., is set for 5:05 p.m. ET. This star-studded showdown features two Hall of Fame coaches, as Duke's Mike Krzyzewski holds a distinct advantage over Michigan State's Tom Izzo. In fact, Krzyzewski boasts a remarkable 11-1 record against Izzo, including a 3-1 mark in the NCAA Tournament. However, in those 12 meetings, each team covered six times. Now, the pair will meet with a trip to the 2019 Final Four on the line. Coach K's Blue Devils are favored by two in the latest Duke vs. Michigan State odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 150.5, down three from the opener. Before making any Duke vs. Michigan State picks of your own, see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned over $4,000 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It's also on fire in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, calling 14 of the Sweet 16 teams straight-up. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now the model has dialed in on Duke vs. Michigan State. We can tell you it is leaning under, and it also says one side of the spread cashes in more than 50 percent of simulations. That one is only available at SportsLine.
The model has taken into account that Duke has won its past two games by a combined three points. The Blue Devils survived a second-half surge from UCF in the second round and then came from behind to beat Virginia Tech by two in the Sweet 16.
The Blue Devils have had plenty of success against Michigan State in recent years, winning five consecutive games against the Spartans. The Blue Devils will need another clutch performance from their freshmen phenoms if they want to advance to the Final Four. Zion Williamson has scored 80 total points in three tournament games, while R.J. Barrett dropped 18 points and 11 assists against Virginia Tech. However, it was Tre Jones who led the charge for Duke against the Hokies. Jones went 5-of-7 from behind the arc for a career-high 22 points, and he'll need to be a main facilitator again on Sunday for the Blue Devils to have success.
But just because the Blue Devils have plenty of firepower does not guarantee they cover the Duke vs. Michigan State spread in the Elite Eight on Sunday.
Michigan State, making its 22nd straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 33rd overall, has reached nine Final Fours and won two national championships. Michigan State also has the edge over the Blue Devils in field goal and 3-point percentage. The Spartans are 14th nationally in field goal percentage (48.6) compared to Duke, which is 28th at 47.7.
Their biggest edge is in 3-point shooting, where the Spartans are 24th overall (38.1 percent), while Duke is 331st at 30.7. Michigan State is led by Big Ten Player of the Year Cassius Winston, who had 26 points in the first-round win over Bradley and is the only player in the country averaging at least 18 points per game, seven assists and shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.
And Duke may be without star forward Cam Reddish, who is a game-time decision with a knee injury. Reddish sat out Duke's extremely tight victory against Virginia Tech on Friday.
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Katie Lou Samuelson put UConn on her injured back and shot the Huskies into a record 12th straight Final Four.
Samuelson scored 29 points and second-seeded UConn held off No. 1 Louisville80-73 on Sunday in the Albany Regional final.
"I wanted to keep my career going," Samuelson said. "I had to step up. They were really making it hard for us, so I had to do what I could."
The Huskies (35-2) have won six national championships and had a 111-game winning streak during their remarkable Final Four run. They will try to reach the title game for the first time in three years after losing on last-second shots in the past two national semifinals.
UConn, which made 14 3-pointers, nearly blew an 11-point lead in the final 1:47.
Louisville scored 10 of 11 points to cut its deficit to 75-73 with 26.6 seconds left. Samuelson then hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game.
Asia Durr was fouled a few seconds later, but the Cardinals' senior leader missed both free throws. Napheesa Collier was fouled after the Cardinals missed a chance on an offensive rebound. She stepped up and sank both free throws on the other end to make it 79-73.
As the buzzer sounded, the Huskies mobbed Samuelson at the foul line to celebrate another trip to the Final Four.
"It's amazing just to be part of this program, just to wear this name on our chest every day," Samuelson said. "You know you're part of something special. And they've created something amazing here. And for us, we just want to be part of that and keep it going as long as we can."
Louisville (32-4) was looking to become only the second team to beat UConn twice in a season in the past decade, joining fellow ACC school Notre Dame, which did it in 2012 and 2013. The Huskies could face the Irish in the Final Four in Tampa, Florida, if Notre Dame beats Stanford in the Chicago Regional final Monday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
UConn was not a No. 1 seed for the first time since 2006. While much was made of that leading up to this game, the only real difference, as coach Geno Auriemma put it, was that his team would wear the road blues and would be sitting on a different bench. The Huskies band also played the national anthem pregame. It certainly wasn't a road game, though, with a very pro UConn crowd of 9,204 at the Albany site, about a two-hour drive from Connecticut.
Samuelson has been dealing with a back injury since getting hurt near the end of the regular season. She missed the entire American Athletic Conference tournament and struggled in the Sweet 16 victory over UCLA, scoring just six points and not hitting a basket until the fourth quarter.
She was much better against Louisville despite being saddled with foul trouble.
Her fifth 3-pointer of the game late in the third quarter gave UConn a 10-point lead. She soon after picked up her fourth foul, and Louisville was able to cut its deficit to 57-53 heading into the final period.
The Cardinals hung around and were down 66-62 when Samuelson hit a 3-pointer. With 3:02 left, Samuelson hit another 3-pointer and was fouled. She missed the ensuing free throw, but it gave UConn a 72-63 lead.
Durr saw her brilliant career come to an end as she scored 18 of her 21 points in the second half to lead the Cardinals.
Samuelson got UConn going early. She hit a 3-pointer from the wing in the first quarter as UConn scored the first seven points of the game.
Louisville bounced back with a 9-0 run to go up 16-12. The Huskies scored the final 10 points of the quarter to lead 22-16. Durr missed all eight of her shots from the field in the period but did have five rebounds and three assists.
The lead grew to 10 before Louisville made a run to get within four. The Huskies were up 41-34 at the half as Megan Walker had 12 points, hitting four of UConn's nine 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. UConn hit eight 3s in the loss to Louisville in January.
TIP-INS: Louisville's senior class of Durr, Arica Carter and Sam Fuehring are 123-23 in their careers at the school. It's the most wins by a class at Louisville ever. ... UConn continues to flourish in the NCAA tournament when playing in the Northeast or Pennsylvania. The team is 74-1 when playing in those areas since winning its first title in 1995. The lone loss came against Duke in the regional final at Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 2006.
