The 2017 March Madness Final Four are set to go. The two games will be played on Saturday, Apr. 1 with the championship contest being played on Monday, Apr. 3. The first 2017 March Madness Final Four game will feature the #7 South Carolina Gamecocks at the #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs. That contest is set to start at 6:09 p.m. ET.
The second game, which is between the #3 Oregon Ducks and #1 North Carolina Tar Heels. The second game will tip off at 8:49 p.m. ET.
#7 South Carolina Gamecocks
The Gamecocks come into this game as the lowest seed. The team has surprised everyone. In the Elite Eight, they took down the #3 Florida Gators 77-70. South Carolina’s leading scorer Sindarius Thornwell scored 26 against the Gators. Thornwell, who has had a great tournament, is averaging 21.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 2.2 SPG. He’s shooting 45% from the field, 39% from the three-point arc, and 83% from the free throw strip.
The tournament journey for South Carolina has included at 93-73 first round win over #10 Marquette. The round two, the Gamecocks completely surprised #2 Duke 88-81. In the Sweet 16, they eliminated the #3 Baylor Bears 70-50.
#1 Gonzaga Bulldogs
In their Elite Eight game, the Gonzaga Bulldogs easily beat #11 Xavier 83-59. Throughout the season, many have said that Gonzaga was overrated. But the Bulldogs, who have now made it to their first Final Four, have disproved those doubters. In their convincing win against the Musketeers, Nigel Williams-Goss scored 23 points and was a massive court general. Johnathan Williams out in 19 points for the Bulldogs.
The Zags started the 2017 March Madness Tournament with a 66-46 win over #16 San Diego State. They then beat the Cinderella team, the #11 Northwestern Wildcats, 79-73 in a close contest. In the Sweet 16, they beat a tough #4 West Virginia club 61-58.
#3 Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks are certainly a surprise team. The managed a huge win in their Elite Eight game, taking out the favorite, the #1 Kansas Jayhawks, 74-60. That victory marked the first time in 80 years since the Ducks have made it to the Final Four. Numerous players offered major performances with Tyler Dorsey knocking down a half-dozen three-point attempts, as he scored 27 points, Dillon Brooks had 17 and Jordan Bell ended up with 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks. Bells was truly amazing.
Oregon’s initial game resulted in a 93-77 win over #14 Iona. In the second round, the Ducks beat the University of #11 Rhode Island Rams 75-72. Then in the Sweet 16, Oregon defeated the #7 Michigan Wolverines in a very close game 69-68. They are certainly a worthy opponent.
#1 North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels are the favorite to win it all. In their last game, they managed a very close 75-73 win over the #2 Kentucky Wildcats. In that game, Luke Maye hit a jump shot with 0.03 seconds left to seal the deal for the Tar Heels. This is a team that has been getting the job done.
In the initial round of March Madness 2017, North Carolina hammered the #16 Texas Southern Tigers 103-64. Next, they beat the #8 Arkansas Razorbacks 72-65. In the Sweet 16, the Tar Heels took out the #4 Butler Bulldogs 92-80. This is their second straight Final Four and the 20th time they have made it this far in the tournament.
Last Word: 2017 March Madness Final Four
For now, this is the last word on the 2017 March Madness Final Four. But we’ll have more words on these games and teams as we pick the spread and totals on both games. We’ll be posting both on Friday. It should be a wild Final Four.
