Two of the teams in the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four are there for the first time. Gonzaga and South Carolina are newcomers to the pinnacle of college basketball. Oregon notched their second berth in the Final Four, joining the 1939 team that won the inaugural tournament championship. The fourth team is North Carolina, who is in its 20th Final Four – the most all-time.
Gonzaga is in its 19th consecutive NCAA Tournament. In that stretch, the Zags had advanced to the Elite Eight twice and were a No. 1 seed in 2013 but finally broke through to make the Final Four with an 83-59 win over No. 11 Xavier.
“Just an incredible feeling of elation and satisfaction,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said, according to ESPN.com. “It’s been a long, hard journey to get this program here.”
The top-seeded Zags knocked down 50 percent of their 3-point attempts, including shooting 8-for-13 in the first half from long range.
This matchup featured the two schools with the most tournament wins without making a Final Four (27).
The Zags are the first West Coast Conference team to make it to the Final Four since San Francisco in 1957.
South Carolina, who has won a school record 25 games this season, topped No. 4 Florida 77-70 in an all-SEC regional final. The seventh-seeded Gamecocks outscored the Gators by 14 in the second half. Florida failed to hit a 3-pointer in the second half on 14 attempts. South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell recorded 26 points and seven rebounds and was named regional MVP.
Oregon, led by hot shooting, beat Kansas 74-60. The No. 3 Ducks hit 60 percent from the floor in the first half, including 7-for-12 from 3-point land and led by 11 at the break.
The top-seeded Jayhawks pulled within six with two and a half minutes remaining. The Ducks then scored the final eight points of the game.
Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey compiled 27 points on six-for-10 shooting from 3-point land. Teammate Jordan Bell was a force inside with 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks.
Kansas head coach Bill Self falls to 2-7 in the Elite Eight, which is the second most all-time to Adolph Rupp’s eight.
No. 1 North Carolina defeated No. 2 Kentucky 75-73 in an epic clash of college basketball bluebloods. The Tar Heels scored the first six points of the game and built the lead up to nine, which was the Wildcats’ largest deficit of the tournament.
Kentucky stormed back and took a five-point lead with 5:30 remaining. Carolina then went on a 12-0 run to retake the lead. The Wildcats tied the game on Malik Monk’s 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds on the clock. Carolina’s Luke Maye followed that up with a jumper that broke the tie with 0.3 seconds left.
Maye finished with 17 points off the bench. Justin Jackson led the way for the Tar Heels 19 points.
Looking ahead:
All eyes turn to Phoenix for the Final Four. South Carolina matches up with Gonzaga in the first semifinal at 6:09 p.m. on April 1. North Carolina takes on Oregon in the second game at approximately 8:49 p.m.