Game Thread: FINAL FOUR 2017

[douggie]

Latest Vegas Lines

Saturday 6:09 Tip
South Carolina
Gonzaga -6.5

Saturday 8:49 Tip
Oregon
North Carolina -5

 

[douggie]

Martin won at least 21 games in all five of his seasons at K-State. He took the school to four NCAAs and one NIT, never once getting ousted in the first round. Therefore, I was at a loss for why it was taking him so long to get it going at South Carolina, especially at a time when the SEC was down -- really down if your name wasn’t Kentucky or Florida.

And it wasn’t as if he wasn’t thriving on the recruiting trail. Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and P.J. Dozier were wanted by a plethora of big-name schools, but chose South Carolina ahead of them all.

Thornwell and Notice are the senior leaders of this team. Thornwell garnered Most Outstanding Player of the East Region after bullying his team into the Final Four with a combination of skill, power, leadership and desire. In short, he has been nothing shy of sensational in the 2017 Big Dance.

Trailing Florida by seven at intermission Sunday at MSG, Thornwell quickly got his team going in the second half. We should note also that Martin stuck with Thornwell despite getting his second foul with more than six minutes left in the first half, in addition to his third fairly early in the second half. Nevertheless, he still played 36 minutes because Martin knew he could trust his senior.

When the Gators sliced the deficit to two with 51 seconds remaining, I guess Thornwell had trust in Notice as he precariously moved closer to being whistled for a five-second call on an inbounds pass. In this situation, you don’t want to make a high-risk entry pass, but nobody was open and Notice opted to go long.

Thornwell heaved a dangerous length-of-the-floor baseball pass to the streaking Notice. It appeared as if he had overthrown him or that the ball might hit the backboard. Notice made an amazing catch and at this point in the story, we’re supposed to look past the fact that he clearly travelled (perhaps twice?) as he caught the ball.

Alas, regardless of the lack of a whistle, it worked out perfect for USC. Instead of being called for a walk, which would’ve given UF the ball down two with 51 seconds and a chance to go 2-for-1, Notice gathered the catch, took a few dribbles and was fouled. He made both free throws, UF missed and fouled again, and it was time for the fat lady to take the microphone.

Thornwell scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the 77-70 win over UF as a three-point underdog. Dozier added 17, while Chris Silva produced 13 points and nine rebounds in only 21 minutes of action due to foul trouble.

USC has won a pair of games by 20 points (over Marquette and Baylor) and outscored Florida and Duke by 14 points apiece in the second half en route to comeback victories.

No other team comes to Glendale with more confidence. Waiting for USC will be the ‘Zags, who as of Tuesday were listed as 6.5-point favorites. The total was 138, while the ‘Cocks were +250 on the money line (risk $100 to win $250).

Gonzaga shredded its mid-major label long ago, well before Butler, Wichita State and VCU did the same. The Bulldogs made their splash on the national scene with Casey Calvary’s game-winning putback to beat Florida in the 1999 West Region semifinals. They haven’t gone anywhere since, except, of course, to the Final Four.

Butler, Wichita State and VCU have made the national semifinals since then, while the original mid-major turned power program was unable to get over that hurdle. Call it a coincidence if you wish, but Gonzaga is finally in the Final Four in the same city (Phoenix/Glendale) where Calvary’s magic got the ball rolling in that direction.

Like Few said after a thrilling West Region semifinal win over West Virginia this past Thursday, he’s never given much thought to “any monkeys, dogs or cats” on his back for not making the Final Four during an iconic 19-year tenure that hasn’t once seen his team absent from the NCAA field. Whether that quote was factual or not, it’s irrelevant after Gonzaga absolutely dominated 11th-seeded Xavier in an 83-59 win Saturday night in San Jose.

It was the Bulldogs’ first spread cover of the Tournament as 8.5-point favorites. Few has had Final-Four talent a few times out of those 18 previous NCAA teams, but it’s been unanimous all year that this has been his best collection of talent ever. They have it all covered – a star in Nigel Williams-Goss, defense (ranked fourth in the nation), shooting (ranked second in the country), size (three seven-footers and five players standing 6’10” or taller), speed and experience.

Williams-Goss was the catalyst against the Musketeers, producing 23 points, eight rebounds, two steals, one block and four assists without a turnover. Johnathan Allen added 19 points, eight boards, three blocks and a pair of steals.

North Carolina is the lone No. 1 seed standing. A quarter-century after Christian Laettner crushed the hearts of the Kentucky faithful in the 1992 NCAA Tourney, UNC’s Luke Maye took his turn by draining an 18-foot jumper from the left wing with 0.3 seconds remaining to lift the Tar Heels to a 75-73 victory. Playing the role of Sean Woods circa ’92, UK’s Malik Monk had hit a fadeaway trey with 7.2 seconds remaining to tie the game.

The Tar Heels, who were beaten at the buzzer by Villanova’s Kris Jenkins in last year’s finals, remain alive in search of giving Ol’ Roy a third national title. Justin Jackson had 19 points, five rebounds and four assists in the victory over UK, while Maye contributed 17 points, three boards and two assists without a turnover in 20 minutes of playing time from off of the bench. Maye buried all three of his free throws, 6-of-9 attempts from the field and 2-of-3 launches from 3-point range.

Oregon was nearly ousted in the first weekend by Rhode Island. However, Tyler Dorsey wasn’t going to allow that to happen to Dana Altman’s team. Dorsey hit 9-of-10 shots, including 4-of-5 from downtown, against the Rams. With the Round-of-32 showdown tied with 11 seconds left, Dorsey buried a deep 3-ball to spark his team to the Sweet 16.

Facing red-hot Michigan at Sprint Center in Kansas City on Thursday night in the Midwest semifinals, Dorsey knocked down 5-of-7 from long distance en route to a team-high 20-point effort. Still, the Ducks advanced only after Wolverines’ senior star Derrick Walton, who had seemingly hit every big shot he took the entire month of March, left a potential game-winning triple just a tad short at the buzzer.

This left Oregon to take on top-seeded Kansas in what was essentially a road game in KC. After all, KU was playing at Sprint Center for the sixth time this season. The Jayhawks were favored by 6.5 points, but they were routed from the opening tip.

Guess who stole the show yet again? That would be Mr. Dorsey, the sophomore guard who has secured him and his family millions of dollars in future earning over the last few weeks. His amazing shooting pace was featuring again as he dropped 27 points on the Jayhawks. Dorsey made 9-of-13 from the field and 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Dillon Brooks added 17 points, five boards and four assists, while Jordan Bell was a monster in the paint. Bell tallied 11 points (5-of-6 FGs), 13 rebounds, four assists and EIGHT blocked shots.

As of Tuesday, UNC was listed as a five-point ‘chalk’ versus the Ducks, who are +185 on the money line (risk $100 to win $185). The total was at 151 points.

South Carolina and Gonzaga are scheduled to tip Saturday at 6:09 p.m. Eastern on CBS. UNC and Oregon will go off 30 minutes after the conclusion of the ‘Zags and ‘Cocks.

 

[Duckboy33]

Go Ducks!

 

[The Q]

South Carolina is the only interesting and/or likable team left.

Hard pass.

The women's final four has more intrigue than this one.

 

[sonnyblack65]

South Carolina is the only interesting and/or likable team left.

Hard pass.

The women's final four has more intrigue than this one.

 

[Jordan23]

Let's go Heels!!! Get it done this time.

 

[Duckboy33]

South Carolina is the only interesting and/or likable team left.

Hard pass.

The women's final four has more intrigue than this one.

This is certainly an intriguing Final Four even if you don't like any of the teams. You have a little bit of everything. You have the cinderella that nobody expected to make it (South Carolina). The team that overcame adversity (Oregon losing Boucher). The team that was nearly perfect in the regular season (Gonzaga). And the traditional power/blue blood (North Carolina). It's a pretty diverse Final Four and not full of teams that always make it.

 

[The Q]

This is certainly an intriguing Final Four even if you don't like any of the teams. You have a little bit of everything. You have the cinderella that nobody expected to make it (South Carolina). The team that overcame adversity (Oregon losing Boucher). The team that was nearly perfect in the regular season (Gonzaga). And the traditional power/blue blood (North Carolina). It's a pretty diverse Final Four and not full of teams that always make it.

USC is intriguing.

I clearly overrated Boucher.

Gonazaga and UNC frankly shouldn't be here. Sucking out most of the interest.

The only way this would've been a worse FF would've been if Duke and Mich St made it.

that would be the quartet of least likable programs all in one block.

 

[Jordan23]

USC is intriguing.

I clearly overrated Boucher.

Gonazaga and UNC frankly shouldn't be here. Sucking out most of the interest.

The only way this would've been a worse FF would've been if Duke and Mich St made it.

that would be the quartet of least likable programs all in one block.

They shouldn't be there? I imagine everyone wants under dogs and cinderellas? If those aren't the reasons that I disagree with that comment.

 

[purguy12]

Lets go UNC. Credit to Roy and this team. Should be a good game sat. Cant wait.

 

[Wamu]

 

[ericd7633]

USC is intriguing.

I clearly overrated Boucher.

Gonazaga and UNC frankly shouldn't be here. Sucking out most of the interest.

The only way this would've been a worse FF would've been if Duke and Mich St made it.

that would be the quartet of least likable programs all in one block.

I'm not sure what makes Gonzaga unlikable? Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're trying to say.

 

[CCF151]

South Carolina is the only interesting and/or likable team left.

Hard pass.

The women's final four has more intrigue than this one.

Two teams are facing each other in their first ever Final Four. The other side has a team that has been to 25% of the recent final fours faces a team that hasn't been this far since they won the whole thing in the inaugural tournament.

How is that not compelling?

 

[The Q]

I'm not sure what makes Gonzaga unlikable? Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're trying to say.

I find them incredibly unlikeable. It might just be because Casey Calvert and Adam Morrison were unlikeable.

Xaiver and Butler are the likeable type of mid-majors.

 

[The Q]

Two teams are facing each other in their first ever Final Four. The other side has a team that has been to 25% of the recent final fours faces a team that hasn't been this far since they won the whole thing in the inaugural tournament.

How is that not compelling?

50% of the field, aka the bottom half the bracket, don't belong there.

And one guy's business is getting drilled because of it.

 

[The Q]

Two teams are facing each other in their first ever Final Four. The other side has a team that has been to 25% of the recent final fours faces a team that hasn't been this far since they won the whole thing in the inaugural tournament.

How is that not compelling?

An Oregon/USC championship game would be compelling.

Any other match-up would not be.

 

[ericd7633]

I find them incredibly unlikeable. It might just be because Casey Calvert and Adam Morrison were unlikeable.

Xaiver and Butler are the likeable type of mid-majors.

Wow. I totally disagree. I regularly root for them March.

 

[sonnyblack65]

Let's go Heels!!! Get it done this time.

Is that the guy Lavar Bell can beat in your AV?

 

[sonnyblack65]

I find them incredibly unlikeable. It might just be because Casey Calvert and Adam Morrison were unlikeable.

Xaiver and Butler are the likeable type of mid-majors.

You don't like Morrison because your jealous you can't grow a mustache like him, admit it and suck it up

 

[DJ Fieri]

It's going to be UNC vs Gonzaga for the NC.