South Carolina’s improbable journey to the Final Four culminated with a 77-70 win over No. 4 Florida. The Gonzaga Bulldogs, whose program has been prominent for over a decade, beat No. 11 Xavier, 83-59 to finally get over the hump.
“We had a plan for ourselves,” Bulldogs guard Nigel Williams-Goss said. “We believed from day one when we all stepped foot on this campus that we could go to Phoenix, we didn’t shy away from setting that goal, and we bought in. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but we knew if we put in the work and bought into the system here, and listened to coach (Mark Few)…that we could do it.”
“It’s a crazy feeling to be able to go to the Final Four,” added Gonzaga guard Jordan Mathews.
The Oregon Ducks defeated No. 1 seed Kansas, 74-60, to advance to the Final Four. Awaiting them is No. 1 North Carolina, who edged No. 2 Kentucky, 75-73, on a last-second shot by sophomore Luke Maye.
“I just shot it, and luckily it went in, and it was a great feeling,” Maye said after the arena-shaking jumper. “Just very blessed to have this opportunity.”
“I love these guys,” said Justin Jackson, the Tar Heels’ leading scorer during the season. “I wouldn’t trade this coaching staff, these knuckleheads of brothers that I got, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”
North Carolina reached the title game last year, but lost in dramatic fashion to Villanova, 77-74. Kris Jenkins hit the championship-winning three point shot for the Wildcats then, and Maye’s South Region-winning shot a few days ago has the Tar Heels in position to reach the title game now.
“I’m really happy for this team, and the work that they put in, the toughness that they’ve shown, and they’re just wonderful kids,” Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said.
No local teams were selected to this year’s NCAA Tournament. Pitt finished its season at 16-17, and 4-14 in the ACC in Kevin Stallings’ first year as coach. Duquesne was 10-22, and 3-15 in the A-10 conference. The Dukes recently fired its head coach, Jim Ferry, and leading scorer Mike Lewis II requested to leave the program. The Panthers have seen Damon Wilson, Crisshawn Clark and Corey Manigault leave the program since the season ended.
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