The Blue Devils descended on Wall Street.

Duke University president Richard Brodhead led about 350 Duke alumni and students in ringing the closing bell at the Nasdaq stock market this afternoon.

The ceremony was arranged by Bradley Zimmer, a Duke graduate who works with the Nasdaq. Duke officials jumped at the chance for some exposure the day before the men's basketball team plays Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden.

"It's a fun opportunity to celebrate with our alumni and friends in New York," said Duke spokesman Mike Schoenfeld. "There are lot of Duke people in town" for that game.

The Nasdaq's giant video board in Times Square flashed Duke blue and white this afternoon and showed the event live.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It took a while, but the Big East express finally hit an NCAA speed bump Friday with the elimination of Syracuse by Oklahoma in the South Regional.

There could still be three Big East reps (one from the East for sure) at the Final Four, but the Big 12 has a couple of teams standing in the Sooners and Missouri. Both are underdogs, however.

First Look: Photojournalist Robert Willett's raw edit of the NCAA South Regional semifinal game between UNC and Gonzaga at the FedExForum in ... more

Ty Lawson's early scoring leads UNC to a 98-77 win over Gonzaga and a match with Oklahoma for the South Regional championship on Sunday in Memphis.

Let the hype begin for Psycho T vs. Robo B.

UNC ran Gonzaga out of Memphis and the NCAA Tournament with a 98-77 offensive clinic in the South Regional semifinal.

Standing in the way of UNC's return to the Final Four is Oklahoma and Blake Griffin. Sunday's regional final (5:05 p.m.) will pit UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, the 2008 national player of the year, against Oklahoma's Griffin, the 2009 national player of the year.

• Photo gallery: UNC 98, Gonzaga 77

• First Look: See 51 raw images from the game 

MEMPHIS — A handful of things to keep an eye on tonight, as top-seeded North Carolina and No. 4 seed Gonzaga battle it out for a trip to the NCAA's Elite Eight:

Staff photo by Robert Willett

MEMPHIS — Oddsmakers have made Gonzaga an 8-point underdog against North Carolina in Friday’s South Regional semifinal game in the FedExForum.

That fact has not escaped the attention of the Bulldog players. Among the final 16 teams, only Arizona against Louisville is considered more of a long shot to advance.

“It’s kind of nice to be the underdog,” said Zags senior center Josh Heytvelt. “Most of the season, we’ve had the bull’s eye on our back ... There’s just a lot of hype for Carolina. Their fans don’t expect anything less than a championship from those guys.”

MEMPHIS — North Carolina’s approaching NCAA Tournament third-round game against Gonzaga played a faint second fiddle in Memphis on Thursday. And Syracuse vs. Oklahoma? Third fiddle.

Even with the South Regional semifinals in town — Friday and Sunday in the FedExForum —  buzz for the games is light. There’s very little foot traffic around the building, no ticket scalpers out front, the usual Carolina groupies are all but nonexistent.

This quaint, but normally busy city, on the Mississippi River’s banks is locked, loaded and fully braced for the hometown Memphis Tigers’ Thursday NCAA West semifinal game against Missouri in Glendale, Ariz.

In honor of Gonzaga, UNC's third-round opponent on Friday night (9:57 tip) in the South Regional in Memphis. A brief history of the Bulldogs, or Zags, as they're are better known:

June 1984: The Utah Jazz make senior guard John Stockton the 16th overall in the NBA Draft.

March 1999: "Zags Fever" is born. The 10th-seeded Bulldogs beat Minnesota (7), Stanford (2) and Florida (6) to reach the Final Eight. UConn (1) ends the run, 67-62 and goes on to win the national title.