The NCCA Tournament has been quite the journey, but now we are down to the final games of the tournament. The Final Four teams have marched their way to the tourney and are now 40 minutes away from being in the national championship game. All of these teams have made it to this point on their go to trait. For some it was defense, some it was veteran leadership, and some it was just pure desire and grit. With two matchups slated for April 1st, lets look at the games and see what each team needs to do in order to get to the championship game.
South Carolina vs. Gonzaga
The South Carolina Gamecocks are in unfamiliar territory, as it is their first Final Four birth in tournament history. The have made upsets in the past few rounds, beating Duke, Baylor and Florida on Sunday. They have thrived off of their defense, shutting opponents down when they need to the most. Sindarius Thornwell has been the teams leader, adding 26 points in their win against Florida. He was named regional MVP and he has led the Gamecocks into the Final Four. They now face top seed Gonzaga and they need their swarming zone defense to be at it's best. They caused 16 turnovers vs. Florida and that will be critical in slowing down Nigel Williams-Goss and the Zags.
Thornwell will need to have a career game if South Carolina want to get in that championship game.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are also in their first Final Four in school history. Led by their point guard Nigel Williams-Goss, They have breezed through the tournament facing little resistance. Their post play needs to come up big against South Carolina's defense.
Przemek Karnowski will need to play better, as he only had 5 points in their last game. With his big body, he can surely cause some of South Carolina's big men to get into early foul trouble. Nigel Williams-Goss will need to be the floor general and guide his team through the defense and make plays for himself and others. If he can do that, Gonzaga will find themselves in their first championship game.
Oregon vs. North Carolina
The Oregon Ducks are back in the Final Four in a long time. This is their first time in the Final Four since 1939 to be exact. They beat the Kansas Jayhawks 74-60 to get there and they have been led by Tyler Dorsey. He hit 6 three-pointers, and ended up with 27 points. Dillon Brooks also chipped in with 17 points. Jordan Bell had himself a block party, swatting away eight shots. The Ducks will need to swat away even more shots to beat the seasoned North Carolina bunch. North Carolina is a team that is offensively talented, so making them work for every bucket can throw them off their game. Tyler Dorsey will need to have another March Madness performance, as he has out Oregon over the top offensively.
North Carolina survived an assault from Kentucky's freshman stars to make it to another Final Four appearance. They have been a team led by their veteran talent in Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II. They will need these veteran players to play well in order to beat Oregon. Jackson is a difference maker on offense, as he can play in the paint and hit the shot from three-point range. They are great in the paint on offense and the post should be their go to scoring outlet for the game. North Carolina made it back to the Final Four and they plan on leaving with a different result from last year.
This is what it all comes down to. Four teams, two slots for a place in the championship game. All these teams have earned their right to be in the Final Four, but they need to make sure their game plan is crystal clear in order to get them into the game that matters most. The Final Four begins on April 1st, so make sure you tune in on CBS for all the NCAA Final Four action.
