The Final Four is set. And in an unusual bit of geography, it'll be schools from neighboring states out west (Oregon, Gonzaga) against schools from neighboring states in the east (North Carolina, South Carolina).

The national semifinals in Phoenix will feature No. 1 seeds in the Bulldogs and Tar Heels, a No. 3 seed in the Ducks and the surprising 7-seed Gamecocks.

The first game Saturday will be South Carolina-Gonzaga, tipping off at 6:09 p.m. EDT. Oregon-North Carolina will follow roughly 40 minutes after the completion of that game.

For the Tar Heels, it's a record 20th trip to the Final Four. Meanwhile, it's the first Final Four trip for Gonzaga coach Mark Few, Oregon coach Dana Altman and South Carolina coach Frank Martin.

Maye hits late jumper to lift North Carolina to Final Four

Luke Maye hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds left, and top-seeded North Carolina held off Kentucky 75-73 to earn the Tar Heels' second straight trip to the Final Four and 20th all-time in Sunday's showdown of college basketball's elite in the South Regional.

 

 The Tar Heels (31-7) will play Midwest champ Oregon on Saturday in Phoenix in the national semifinal.

 

 North Carolina took control with a 12-0 run within the final 5 minutes. Kentucky's freshmen De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk hit three quick 3s, the last two by Monk and his second with 7.2 seconds left tied it up at 73.

 

 Theo Pinson brought the ball down, passed back to Maye. The sophomore from Huntersville, North Carolina, knocked it down for the win with his feet on the 3-point line.

 

 The Wildcats had one last chance, but Derek Willis' inbound pass went out of bounds on the far end.

 

 Kentucky (32-6) will miss out on the Final Four for the second straight year.

Sindarius Thornwell scored 26 points and South Carolina earned its first trip to the Final Four with a 77-70 victory over Florida on Sunday.

 

 The seventh-seeded Gamecocks (26-10) used their trademark swarming defense and some solid free throw shooting to beat their fellow Southeastern Conference Gators (27-9) in the East Regional final at Madison Square Garden.

 

 South Carolina will face Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed from the West Regional, in the Final Four on Saturday at Glendale, Arizona.

 

 The game was as close as expected until the final minute. There were 14 lead changes and 10 ties. The last lead change came on two free throws by Thornwell with 2:24 left that made it 65-63. Florida managed just three field goals over the final 3:55.

Gonzaga beats Xavier 83-59 to reach first Final Four

Nigel Williams-Goss scored 23 points while orchestrating Gonzaga's efficient offense, and the Zags finally shook their overrated tag by routing Xavier 83-59 on Saturday to reach the Final Four for the first time.

 

 Gonzaga (36-1) has been dogged by criticism through the years despite winning consistently, in part for playing in a weak conference but also for never making the Final Four.

 

 On the cusp of history, the Zags took it head on with a superb all-around game to give coach Mark Few the one missing piece of his resume.

 

 Gonzaga found the range from the perimeter after struggling the first three NCAA games, making 12 of 24 from 3-point range. The defense, a soft spot in the past, shut down the underdog and 11th-seeded Musketeers (24-14) to win the West Region.

 

 The Zags will face South Carolina in next week's Final Four in Arizona.

Oregon is in the Final Four.

 

 Tyler Dorsey scored 27 points and Jordan Bell was two blocks away from a triple-double as Oregon upset No. 1 seed Kansas 74-60 in the Midwest Regional final.

 

 Joining Oregon in the Final Four is Gonzaga, which trounced Xavier 83-59 in the West Regional championship.

 

 Two more Final Four invitations go out Sunday. North Carolina takes on Kentucky in the South Region, and South Carolina meets Florida in an all-Southeastern Conference East Region final.

Oregon watched an 18-point lead get whittled to 66-57, but time was on the Ducks' side as they held on against Kansas to advance to the Final Four in Arizona. They will face off with the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday. </s> NEW YORK (AP) – Sindarius Thornwell scored 26 points and South Carolina earned its first trip to the Final Four with a 77-70 victory over Florida on Sunday.

The seventh-seeded Gamecocks (26-10) used their trademark swarming defense and some solid free throw shooting to beat their fellow Southeastern Conference Gators (27-9) in the East Regional final at Madison Square Garden.

South Carolina will face Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed from the West Regional, in the Final Four on Saturday at Glendale, Arizona.

The game was as close as expected until the final minute. There were 14 lead changes and 10 ties. The last lead change came on two free throws by Thornwell with 2:24 left that made it 65-63. Florida managed just three field goals over the final 3:55. </s> The South Carolina Gamecocks punched their ticket to the Final Four with a 77-70 victory over the Florida Gators on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. It is the school’s first ever Final Four appearance.

Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell led the way with 26 points, 6 boards, 1 assist and 2 steals.

South Carolina will face Gonzaga on Saturday for the right to go to the NCAA Championship game. </s> The Latest on the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):

South Carolina has completed its surprise run to the Final Four.

The seventh-seeded Gamecocks held on down the stretch to beat 4-seed Florida 77-70 in the East Region final in New York.

The Gamecocks’ tournament run included upsets of 2-seed Duke — the preseason No. 1-ranked team — and 3-seed Baylor.

South Carolina joins Gonzaga and Oregon in the national semifinals. Kentucky and North Carolina meet later Sunday to determine the last spot in Phoenix.

The all-SEC East Regional final looks as if it will come down to the wire.

There have been 12 lead changes and seven ties so far and with 5:27 left in the second half South Carolina leads 59-57. The Gators still have not hit a 3 in the second half (0-for-12).

Sindarius Thornwell made a tough shot in the lane to give the Gamecocks the lead. He has 21 points and three fouls.

Florida was called for seven fouls in the first 5 minutes of the second half, putting South Carolina in the bonus for 15 minutes. Could be a long second half at the Garden with all those free throws.

The Gamecocks lead 49-48 with 11:03 left, with Florida going scoreless for more than 3 minutes and missing its last six shots.

KeVaughn Allen, who was shaken up at the end of the first half, started the second half for Florida — and promptly shot an air ball on his first attempt.

South Carolina whittled the Gators’ halftime lead to 1 as the teams picked up where they left off, trading baskets. The Gamecocks have trailed at the half twice already in this tournament.

Sindarius Thornwell, who has scored at least 24 points in each previous tournament game, leads the Gamecocks with 15 points.

Florida finished the first half with a 17-9 flourish to take a 40-33 lead at halftime against South Carolina in the East Regional final.

The Gators went 7 for 12 from 3-point range, led by Justin Leon. The senior was 3 for 5 and scored 13 points.

One thing to watch for in the second half: Florida’s KeVaughn Allen, the team’s leading scorer, seemed shaken up when he collided with PJ Dozier of South Carolina going for a loose ball.

With less than a minute left in the half, Allen was taken to the locker room by athletic trainers.

Sindarius Thornwell is carrying South Carolina with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

If only the Knicks could get the Garden sounding like this.

South Carolina and Florida are going shot for shot at MSG and have the sellout crowd — which sounds like mostly Gamecocks fans — rocking as if it was the Georgia Dome for an SEC football title game. Florida got 3-pointers from Devin Robinson, KeVaughn Allen and Chris Chiozza on consecutive possessions to take a 32-28 lead with 3:01 left. Chiozza’s banked 3 as the shot clock expired stood up to a video review.

Chiozza is getting good at beating the buzzer at MSG this weekend. His game-winner as time expired against Wisconsin on Friday got the Gators into the Elite Eight.

The shooting has been on target at the Garden.

South Carolina and Florida are a combined 12 for 20 and the Gamecocks lead 15-14 with 11:41 left in the first half.

But it hasn’t been all offense. Some physical defense has led to 11 turnovers, seven by the Gators. The Gamecocks have turned those giveaways into 8 points.

Among those in the crowd watching the contest: NCAA President Mark Emmert.

Well, things didn’t get off to a smooth start for South Carolina-Florida.

Officials twice had to stop the game in the opening minute due to a bit of clock trouble. A TV replay on the second one showed the shot clock resetting to 15 seconds instead of the full 30.

The issue appeared to be resolved fairly quickly — knock on wood.

The all-Southeastern Conference Elite Eight game saw the football schools playing a physical game a little more than four minutes in, with the Gators leading 7-6 in a game featuring plenty of bumping and tight defense.

And the officials are letting them play. Only one foul has been called so far.

Just how unexpected is this Florida-South Carolina matchup for the Final Four? Just know that it probably won’t have any bearing on your office pool for bracket picks.

Well under 1 percent of those who filled out brackets on ESPN or Yahoo picked the No. 7 seed Gamecocks to reach the Final Four.

Gators support wasn’t much higher — just 3.5 percent of bracketeers on ESPN and 1.9 percent on Yahoo picked the No. 4 seed. Lower seeds Notre Dame, Michigan and Iowa State all had more support to win the regional final.

Florida football coach Jim McElwain made the trip up from Gainesville with his wife, Karen, to root on the Gators against South Carolina on Sunday.

McElwain says it is his first time attending an event at Madison Square Garden.

It will be a quick trip. He says he has a 7 a.m. staff meeting on Monday morning.

Steve Spurrier, the winningest football coach in both Florida and South Carolina history, was not at the game. A Florida spokesman says the coach is out of the country. Knowing Spurrier, he is likely somewhere warm with plenty of golf courses.

The NCAA Tournament will have its Final Four teams on Sunday with two more games to determine the last spots.

And both games are rematches of contests played earlier this season. Southeastern Conference teams South Carolina and Florida face off first for the right to represent the East, then North Carolina plays Kentucky in the South bracket.

The winners will join Gonzaga and Oregon at the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona, where the tournament semifinals will be played on Saturday.

South Carolina and Florida are at this stage of the tournament in large part because of a game they played against one another on Jan. 18. It announced the Gamecocks as a force but also prompted a team meeting for the Gators that triggered a nine-game winning streak, which included a rematch win against South Carolina.

Malik Monk scored 47 points for Kentucky in a 103-100 win over North Carolina in December.

For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25 </s> NEW YORK (AP) — Sindarius Thornwell scored 26 points and South Carolina earned its first trip to the Final Four with a 77-70 victory over Florida on Sunday.

The seventh-seeded Gamecocks (26-10) used their trademark swarming defense and some solid free throw shooting to beat their fellow Southeastern Conference Gators (27-9) in the East Regional final at Madison Square Garden.

South Carolina will face Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed from the West Regional, in the Final Four on Saturday at Glendale, Arizona.

The game was as close as expected until the final minute. There were 14 lead changes and 10 ties. The last lead change came on two free throws by Thornwell with 2:24 left that made it 65-63. Florida managed just three field goals over the final 3:55.

Thornwell, the regional MVP, followed the deciding free throws with a nice assist to Maik Kotsar for a 4-point lead. It seemed Thornwell was always where he needed to be including a steal with 40 seconds left that made it 73-68.

PJ Dozier added 17 points for the Gamecocks, Chris Silva had 13 and Kotsar 12.

It all totaled to a Final Four trip for coach Frank Martin, he of the booming voice and terrifying faces.

Justin Leon had 18 points for the Gators who managed a 40-33 halftime lead on 7-for-12 shooting from 3-point range. But that was it. Florida was 0 for 14 from beyond the arc in the second hald, a lot like the 0-for-17 effort the Gators had in their first meeting with South Carolina this season.

South Carolina, which forced Florida into 16 turnovers, finished 23 for 31 from the free throw line, including a 9-for-10 effort from Thornwell.

South Carolina: This had been South Carolina’s deepest run in the NCAA Tournament. … The Gamecocks beat No. 2 seed Duke and No. 3 Baylor on the way to the Elite Eight. … Until this tournament the Gamecocks hadn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 1973.

Florida: This was Florida’s first NCAA Tournament game against a Southeastern Conference opponent. … The Gators entered the game with an all-time 44-24 record against the Gamecocks, including 1-2 under coach Mike White. … The Gators were trying for their sixth Final Four appearance and that includes the titles in 2006 and 2007.

Among those in attendance at Madison Square Garden were Hall of Famer Rick Barry, whose son Canyon is on Florida, Paul McCartney and Darius Rucker.

South Carolina will meet Gonzaga in the Final Four on Saturday.

For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 </s> NEW YORK (AP) — It’s only right that South Carolina’s first trip to Final Four was earned through its defense.

A team known for a swarming zone used it effectively down the stretch to beat Florida 77-70 on Sunday and win the East Regional at Madison Square Garden.

Sindarius Thornwell scored 26 points for the seventh-seeded Gamecocks (26-10) against the fourth-seeded Gators (27-9) in the all-Southeastern Conference matchup.

South Carolina will face Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed from the West Regional, in the Final Four on Saturday at Glendale, Arizona.

“Gamecock Nation, we heard you loud and clear,” coach Frank Martin roared as the team prepared to cut down the nets. “We’ll see you in Phoenix.”

The game was as close as expected until the final minute. There were 14 lead changes and 10 ties. The last lead change came on two free throws by Thornwell with 2:24 left that made it 65-63. Florida managed just three field goals over the final 3:55.

Thornwell, the regional MVP, followed the deciding free throws with a nice assist to Maik Kotsar for a 4-point lead. It seemed Thornwell, who scored eight straight points for the Gamecocks, was always where he needed to be including making a steal with 40 seconds left that turned into a 73-68 lead.

“I just made plays,” Thornwell said. “Plays needed to be made down the stretch and I stepped up and made plays.”

“Thornwell was just being Thornwell,” Florida coach Mike White said of the SEC player of the year. “He’s one of the best players in the country.”

PJ Dozier added 17 points for the Gamecocks, Chris Silva had 13 and Kotsar 12.

It all totaled to a Final Four trip for Martin, he of the booming voice and terrifying faces.

Justin Leon had 18 points for the Gators who managed a 40-33 halftime lead on 7-for-12 shooting from 3-point range. But that was it. Florida was 0 for 14 from beyond the arc in the second half, a lot like the 0-for-17 effort the Gators had in their first meeting with South Carolina this season.

South Carolina, which forced Florida into 16 turnovers, finished 23 for 31 from the free throw line, including a 9-for-10 effort from Thornwell.

South Carolina: This had been South Carolina’s deepest run in the NCAA Tournament. … The Gamecocks beat No. 2 seed Duke and No. 3 Baylor on the way to the Elite Eight. … Until this tournament the Gamecocks hadn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 1973.

Florida: This was Florida’s first NCAA Tournament game against a Southeastern Conference opponent. … The Gators entered the game with an all-time 44-24 record against the Gamecocks, including 1-2 under White. … The Gators were trying for their sixth Final Four appearance and that includes the titles in 2006 and 2007.

Among those in attendance at Madison Square Garden were Hall of Famer Rick Barry, whose son Canyon plays for Florida, Paul McCartney and Darius Rucker.

South Carolina will meet Gonzaga in the Final Four on Saturday.

For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 </s> NEW YORK (AP) — There’s no need for introductions in the East Regional final. Scouting reports aren’t really necessary.

Fourth-seeded Florida and seventh-seeded South Carolina, two Southeastern Conference foes, will meet Sunday at Madison Square Garden with the winner advancing to the Final Four.

This will be the third meeting between the teams this season with the home team winning both. They are two tough, defensive teams that can get out and run in transition.

“They’re super physical. They pressure a lot, deny a lot of passes. They’re all pretty fundamentally sound. They take a lot of charges and kind of swarm the ball when you drive,” Florida’s Canyon Barry said of the Gamecocks on Saturday. “We have to guard them too. I think it could be a defensive battle and whoever can execute better has a good shot of winning.”

The first game between the teams was a slugfest with South Carolina prevailing 57-53. The Gators missed all 17 of their 3-point attempts and KeVaughn Allen, Florida’s first-team All-SEC guard, scored 1 point.

“I learned that they’re a very aggressive team,” Allen said. “We can’t let them turn us over. We just got to be patient. They’re a team that likes to force you into turnovers. We just got to stay poised, stay together.”

The Gators won the rematch 81-66 with Allen scoring 26 points and they held South Carolina to 39 percent shooting.

Allen struggled in the first two NCAA Tournament games, scoring a total of 11 points on 3-for-21 shooting. He broke out with a career-high 35 points in the regional semifinal.

“I’m very confident. Whether I miss shots, I still just got to keep shooting it because if I don’t, I kind of feel like I’m hurting my team by not shooting it,” Allen said. “The first two games, it didn’t go well for me how I wanted it to go as far as shooting it. I think I found ways on defense to help my team and just try not to hurt them.”

This is South Carolina’s deepest run in the NCAA Tournament while Florida has been in the Elite Eight six times since 2006, including back-to-back national championships in 2006-07.

Their paths to this regional final couldn’t have been any more different. South Carolina beat third-seeded Baylor 70-50, while the Gators dispatched eighth-seeded Wisconsin 84-83 in overtime on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Chris Chiozza.

“I think I heard from everyone I ever met,” Chiozza said of the text messages he received Friday night.

Chiozza described South Carolina’s defense as “hectic. They have guys flying all over the place.”

South Carolina’s star is Sindarius Thornwell, the SEC player of the year and a consistent scorer who has averaged 26 points in the NCAA Tournament.

“Their defense is similar to ours,” he said. “They’re long, they’re athletic. They deny. They play hard. One through four can guard the ball. They protect the rim.

“They’re so long and they’re fast and. It’s just tough. They make it hard for everything. They don’t back down.”

South Carolina coach Frank Martin said he finds the physical reputation for both teams funny.

“We’re not physical because we foul and push, we’re physical because we don’t get out of the way,” Martin said. “Some teams get out of the way. We don’t get out of the way.”

Some things to know about the matchup:

QUICK TURNAROUND: The Wisconsin-Florida game ended at 12:50 a.m. Eastern. The Florida players were back at the Garden for media availability at 2:50 p.m. and the game is set for 2:20 p.m. Sunday.

“Already worried, not going to lie to you, about where our emotions are and our level of mental and physical fatigue,” Florida coach Mike White said. “And I’m sure South Carolina feels that way as well.”

White said the familiarity of the opponent will help both teams with the short turnaround.

CONSTANT REPLAYS: Chiozza can’t help but smile even 12 hours after hitting his game-winning 3.

“Every time I look somewhere somebody’s sending it to me or I see it on Instagram or something, so I’ve seen it quite a bit,” he said. “I enjoy it every time I watch it.”

SEC EXCHANGE: When you talk about success in the SEC the first thought is football. Not this year. With Kentucky still alive, the SEC has three of the final eight teams and is guaranteed one berth in the Final Four.

“They don’t really give the SEC any credit for being the best conference, but we have three teams in the Elite 8, so that speaks for itself right there,” Chiozza said.

NO SCORE: At the first media timeout of the first meeting between Florida and South Carolina the score was 0-0.

“I turned around to one of my assistants and said, ‘Is the score right? Has no one scored yet? Incredible.'”

BETTER D: Florida came up with the best defensive effort of the entire NCAA Tournament, holding Virginia to 39 points in a 26-point second-round win. </s> The Latest on the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):

The shooting has been on target at the Garden.

South Carolina and Florida are a combined 12 for 20 and the Gamecocks lead 15-14 with 11:41 left in the first half.

But it hasn’t been all offense. Some physical defense has led to 11 turnovers, seven by the Gators. The Gamecocks have turned those giveaways into 8 points.

Among those in the crowd watching the contest: NCAA President Mark Emmert.

Well, things didn’t get off to a smooth start for South Carolina-Florida.

Officials twice had to stop the game in the opening minute due to a bit of clock trouble. A TV replay on the second one showed the shot clock resetting to 15 seconds instead of the full 30.

The issue appeared to be resolved fairly quickly — knock on wood.

The all-Southeastern Conference Elite Eight game saw the football schools playing a physical game a little more than four minutes in, with the Gators leading 7-6 in a game featuring plenty of bumping and tight defense.

And the officials are letting them play. Only one foul has been called so far.

Just how unexpected is this Florida-South Carolina matchup for the Final Four? Just know that it probably won’t have any bearing on your office pool for bracket picks.

Well under 1 percent of those who filled out brackets on ESPN or Yahoo picked the No. 7 seed Gamecocks to reach the Final Four.

Gators support wasn’t much higher — just 3.5 percent of bracketeers on ESPN and 1.9 percent on Yahoo picked the No. 4 seed. Lower seeds Notre Dame, Michigan and Iowa State all had more support to win the regional final.

Florida football coach Jim McElwain made the trip up from Gainesville with his wife, Karen, to root on the Gators against South Carolina on Sunday.

McElwain says it is his first time attending an event at Madison Square Garden.

It will be a quick trip. He says he has a 7 a.m. staff meeting on Monday morning.

Steve Spurrier, the winningest football coach in both Florida and South Carolina history, was not at the game. A Florida spokesman says the coach is out of the country. Knowing Spurrier, he is likely somewhere warm with plenty of golf courses.

The NCAA Tournament will have its Final Four teams on Sunday with two more games to determine the last spots.

And both games are rematches of contests played earlier this season. Southeastern Conference teams South Carolina and Florida face off first for the right to represent the East, then North Carolina plays Kentucky in the South bracket.

The winners will join Gonzaga and Oregon at the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona, where the tournament semifinals will be played on Saturday.

South Carolina and Florida are at this stage of the tournament in large part because of a game they played against one another on Jan. 18. It announced the Gamecocks as a force but also prompted a team meeting for the Gators that triggered a nine-game winning streak, which included a rematch win against South Carolina.

Malik Monk scored 47 points for Kentucky in a 103-100 win over North Carolina in December.

For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25 </s> If your bracket is in shambles, you can blame these teams.

If your bracket is in shambles, you can blame these teams.

If your bracket is in shambles, you can blame these teams.

If your bracket is in shambles, you can blame these teams.

The champs are here! After defeating SEC rivals Mississippi State 67-55 in Dallas, the women Gamecocks basketball team returned home to Columbia in stormy weather.

The champs are here! After defeating SEC rivals Mississippi State 67-55 in Dallas, the women Gamecocks basketball team returned home to Columbia in stormy weather.

South Carolina forward A'ja Wilson (22) holds the trophy as she and teammates celebrate their win over Mississippi State in the final of NCAA women's Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 2, 2017, in Dallas. (Source: AP Photo/Eric Gay)

South Carolina forward A'ja Wilson (22) holds the trophy as she and teammates celebrate their win over Mississippi State in the final of NCAA women's Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 2, 2017, in Dallas. (Source: AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Gonzaga's Johnathan Williams (3) reacts during the first half in the finals of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament against North Carolina, Monday, April 3, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

North Carolina's Theo Pinson (1) dunks during the first half in the finals of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament against Gonzaga, Monday, April 3, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

GLENDALE, AZ (RNN) - North Carolina has won the 2017 NCAA basketball championship with a 71-65 victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Joel Berry II lead the game in scoring with 22 points, he played and gave heroic efforts through injuries to both ankles during the tournament.

Nigel Williams-Goss finished with 15 points, and a strong second half.

Locked in a defensive struggle, Gonzaga and North Carolina battled in a game full of poor shooting and a load of foul calls, with neither team shooting over 36 percent from the field.

North Carolina shot a dreadful percentage from three-point line, converting on less than 15 percent of their shots from behind the arc.

Gonzaga’s Przemek Karnowski had a tough game as he struggled with foul trouble and horrid shooting. He finished with only 9 points and shot 13 percent from the field, with most of his missed shots coming right at the rim.

Gonzaga held a slim 35-32 lead over North Carolina at the end of the first half.

North Carolina gave coach Roy Williams his third national championship after titles in 2005 and 2009 and a loss at the buzzer in last year’s championship game against Villanova. This will mark the 100th NCAA tournament game for Williams.

UNC’s return visit to the championship game for a consecutive year is a rare one in the history of the NCAA tournament.

Teams have only accomplished the feat six times before, including a Dean Smith-coached UNC team that won the title in 1982, after falling short in 1981.

The Tar Heels are basketball aristocracy, but Gonzaga has been a small-school challenger for years.

Gonzaga first burst onto the national scene in 1999 when the unknown mid-major made it to the Elite Eight. But the Bulldogs have never gone further until now. Coach Mark Few was an assistant that first year, took over as head coach the next season, and has taken the team to the tournament each of his 18 years.

Before this year’s tournament, Gonzaga had a history of not being able to defeat the nation’s top ranked teams.

With a core group of seniors and juniors, this year’s team has proven to be a formidable opponent for the Tar Heels, along with touting a record of 37-1.

Gonzaga's only loss came to Brigham Young in the final game of the regular season.

North Carolina is 32-7 against a tougher schedule, but both teams have been dominant this year. Both are No. 1 seeds and both have been ranked No. 1 in the nation during the regular season.

Both had to dispatch tough opponents on the way to the finals.

Big man Kennedy Meeks saved the Tar Heels with 25 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday’s 77-76 win over Oregon.

Guard Nigel Williams-Goss led the Zags’ 77-73 win over South Carolina with 23 points, five rebounds and six assists.
The last two places in the Final Four are decided. In the East Region in New York City, South Carolina defeats Southeastern Conference foe Florida 77–70 for the Gamecocks' first-ever Final Four appearance.