Known more for its football dominance, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) can be viewed as the basketball capital this March with three of its members advancing to the Elite Eight in the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Florida, the No. 4 seed in the East Region, defeated No. 8 Wisconsin 84-83 in the first overtime game of this year’s tournament. Chris Chiozza buried the game-winning 3-pointer after driving the length of the court in less than four seconds. The Gators withstood a 14-1 run from the Badgers over the final minutes of regulation and beginning of overtime.

The Gators advance to play fellow SEC member South Carolina, who topped No. 3 Baylor 70-50. Sindarius Thornwell led the way for the seventh-seeded Gamecoacks with 24 points. South Carolina clinched the program’s first Elite Eight appearance.
The third SEC team in the Elite Eight is not such a newcomer to this stage. Kentucky, who has eight national championships, defeated UCLA 86-75. The second-seeded Wildcats were led by their freshmen – De’Aaron Fox scored a career-high 39 points, and Malik Monk notched 21 points. On the other side, Lonzo Ball, the Bruins’ star rookie, recorded 10 points.
The other semifinal in the South Regional had top seed North Carolina prevail over No. 4 Butler 92-80. The duo of Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II combined for 50 points.
Staying with perennial powerhouses, Kansas, the top seed in the Midwest Region, demolished No. 4 Purdue 98-66 in the Sweet Sixteen. The Jayhawks, who are averaging 96 points per game through the first three rounds of the tournament, outscored the Boilermakers 40-12 over the final 13:30 of the game. Frank Mason III and Devonte Graham each scored 26 points.
The Jayhawks advance to face No. 3 Oregon, who ended No. 7 Michigan’s miracle run 69-68. Tyler Dorsey, who buried the game-winning 3-pointer in the Round of 32, hit the go-ahead lay-up in this game with 1:08 remaining.
While three regions are controlled by the Power Five conferences, the West Region belongs to the smaller schools. No. 1 Gonzaga beat No. 4 West Virginia 61-58. The Bulldogs featured a balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures, none with more than 13.
The Cinderella of the group is Xavier, the No. 11 seed, who edged No. 2 Arizona 73-71. The Musketeers ended the Final Four hopes of former head coach Sean Miller, who now leads the Wildcats. Trevon Bluiett’s led the charge for Xavier with 25 points.
“We’re all tough guys,” said Xavier’s J.P Macura, who had 14 points, according to ESPN.com. “We stuck together. We’re not really backing down from anyone.”
Looking Ahead:
Each of the four regional final matchups should be sensational games. The contest with the most allure is North Carolina vs. Kentucky. The two of them met in December, when the Wildcats prevailed 103-100. UNC is making its 26th regional final appearance. UK is the NCAA’s winningest program. These college basketball bluebloods will square off Sunday afternoon at 5:05 p.m.