The beginning of the NCAA tournament starts with 64 teams, then 32, next the sweet sixteen, after that the elite eight and lastly the final four. The tournament has come down to the four best men’s basketball teams in the country. The 2017 Final Four includes South Carolina, UNC, Gonzaga, and Oregon. Each of these teams have battled hard to make it to this moment and none of them got a easy path to this point.
The number seven seed, South Carolina, is the Cinderella story of this year’s tournament. South Carolina has played Duke, Florida and Baylor. South Carolina was predicted to lose in every single one of those games and yet they are still alive in the tournament. Against Duke, experts gave South Carolina almost no chance and they still won. South Carolina’s coach Frank Martin said “I read what he said about are team, for coach K to say what he said, it’s still the little kid in me watching his teams play” and that “it is the ultimate compliment because I try to get our guys ready to play.”
South Carolina is not used to being at this point in the tournament as this is their first time ever making it this far. The same goes for almost every single one of their games they played in this tournament. The team is led by their star player Sindarius Thornwell. Thornwell has had over 20 points in every single game this season and is a very big part for why they are here. South Carolina has not been able to qualify for the tournament for forty four years and they have made it this far. South Carolina’s first win in the Tournament in forty four years came against Marquette in the round of sixty four. Although South Carolina is playing Gonzaga and their odds are very slim, they still have a chance to win it all.
Gonzaga, who is the number one seed, will play South Carolina in the semifinals on Saturday, April 1st. Gonzaga is a tough team who is no Cinderella story at all. Gonzaga lost only one game this season to Villanova, who was considered the best team in the nation. Gonzaga is led by their best player Nigel Williams, who averaged 16.3 points a game this season. Gonzaga’s head coach said “Gonzaga has beaten North Western, SD state, West Virginia, and Xavier. Gonzaga has been favored in every game they played this tournament. They will seek to move on in the tournament this week and attempt to face the winner of the UNC-Oregon game.
UNC is one of the better teams in the tournament and is very used to making it this far. UNC is experienced and ready for any team that comes at them including Oregon. UNC made it to this point last year and advanced, but was taken out by Villanova in the national championship game off a buzzer beater by Kris Jenkins. UNC was devastated after that loss and has come back hungrier than ever. UNC is led by their star player Joel Berry who has been spectacular throughout the tournament so far. Even though Berry has not shown up big time on the stat board, his presence is a big one on the court. He demands double teaming and this creates opportunities for teammates. Joel Berry’s status for Saturday nights game is unknown and this could be a very scary thing for UNC to think about. Head coach Roy Williams said “Hopefully by the time we get to Thursday and Friday he’ll be able to do some things in practice, but i’m scared to death right now because I just don’t know”. UNC has faced Texas Southern, Arkansas, Butler, and Kentucky. UNC was brought to this point by a game winning shot by Luke Maye as time expired. Luke Maye was the hero of the night for UNC but none of that will be remembered if they fall to Oregon this week. UNC will definitely have a obstacle to overcome this Saturday, but if any team can do it, it would be UNC.
Oregon was devastated right before the beginning of the tournament when they lost their best player Chris Boucher to a torn ACL. Oregon, who is a number three seed, is a very talented team who has the potential to beat UNC if they play at their best. Oregon has played Iona, URI, Michigan and Kansas. Oregon has been led by their star player of the tournament, Dillon Brooks. Dillon Brooks has been great all year and after Chris Boucher went down the leader role fell to him. Oregon can be unstoppable if you do not have lengthy guards, as the shoot the three very well. UNC vs Oregon will be the matchup to watch and Oregon definitely still has a chance as the number three seed.
After Monday night a new champion of the college basketball world was crowned, UNC. UNC was finished off last year in the finals by Villanova but this year they came back with a hunger for the trophy. UNC showed some scares in the first half after being out rebounded and out scored but in the second half they came out on top. UNC will celebrate their fifth national championship in their school’s history. UNC was led by Joel Berry their fantastic point guard who scored 22 points. Both UNC and Gonzaga battled hard to get to the top but Gonzaga fell and UNC is the new champion.
