Or could Roy Williams join the three-titles club?
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Could Mark Few join the 38-win club? The Ducks made an improbable run through the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament, earning their first trip to the Final Four since 1939 with an impressive victory over Kansas in the Elite Eight. Gonzaga forward Zach Collins blocks a shot by SC forward Maik Kotsar (21) during the second half in the semifinals of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 1, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. He was one of the main reasons that Gonzaga regrouped after blowing a 14-point second half lead to beat SC 77-73.
As North Carolina missed four consecutive free throws in the final 5.8 seconds, coach Roy Williams had one thought.
Against South Carolina’s Thornwell, Gonzaga started with 6-foot-4 Mathews guarding him, switched to 6-9 Williams, even had Williams-Goss, their point guard, on him at times.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Zach Collins scores, rebounds, blocks shots and makes predictions.
“To be playing the last game of the year, that’s insane cool”, Few said.
A fire-on-all-cylinders offence helped lead the Zags to 19 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, eight times to the Sweet 16. Berry missed all six of his two-point attempts against the Ducks, marking the third game in the tournament in which he failed to convert a two-point basket.
Meeks grabbed the offensive board and North Carolina dribbled out the clock, earning a spot over the Ducks in the national championship game Monday night against Gonzaga.
The Tar Heels needed every bit of it, too, to survive against OR in the Final Four. “I lost the game for us”.
Pinson missed a driving layup, and OR pushed the ball the other way, bypassing a 3-point shot for an easy layup by center Keith Smith with 6.4 seconds left to make it 77-76.
“If I had just boxed out”, Bell said.
Gonzaga, however, is one of the few teams in the country that can match North Carolina in size and depth.
With limited exceptions, teams didn’t used to play as many games per season as they do now.
The feel-good story continued right up until reality and the Gonzaga Bulldogs stole the punchline by controlling the tempo when they needed to and not being controlled when the Gamecocks sped the game up.
This version corrects that North Carolina is seeking its sixth NCAA title, not fifth.
As a result, there are only 12 coaches in college basketball history who have won at least 36 games in a single season, and majority have come in the past decade. In the chaotic closing seconds, Williams-Goss was practically in Carter’s jersey as he dribbled around trying to get off a tying 3-pointer.
That a Jesuit school with 7,800 students based in Spokane, Washington is going up against a behemoth from Tobacco Road in Monday night’s NCAA final is testament to a coach with a stubborn streak, an administration that bought in to basketball and the modern-day realities of a sport that allows for little guys to reach the biggest stage. Williams is already alone in fourth place on the list of Final Four appearances. North Carolina forward Isaiah Hicks finished 1 of 12 from the field.
Still, it’s been an abrupt fade at the worst possible time for the 6-foot-9 forward with the Tar Heels (32-7) on the doorstep of their season-long goal to win the championship that got away during last year’s crushing title-game loss to Villanova.
“I’m really happy for him”, Karnowski said.
Dorsey didn’t make his mark until late in the game. Oh, you did that past year?
Few joked earlier in the tournament about not worrying about having a monkey on his back.
Williams-Goss, a second-team All-American, led the Bulldogs to a 14-point lead in the second half but it disappeared quickly as the Gamecocks (26-11) went on a 14-point run to grab a 67-65 lead with about 7 minutes to play. “You have 37 wins in a college season, I mean that’s just unbelievable”. I’ve had some really close teams. I’ve said many times I’m not the smartest but I’m not the dumbest guy, so if I keep putting you out there, I must have more confidence in you than you have in yourself.
The matchup is set: the Hall of Fame coach with a chance to move into company that includes the likes of Mike Krzyzewski, Bob Knight and John Wooden against the future Hall of Famer looking to add the only thing missing on his resume.
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