One of the biggest stories to come out of the first couple of rounds of the tournament had to be Xavier. The Musketeers weren't expected to get very far in this tournament. But what did they do? They make it all the way to the Elite Eight by beating some very talented teams. IN the first three rounds, the knocked of Maryland, Florida State and Arizona, the last one coming in a nail biting two point win. The big reason why Xavier got to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2008 was because of Trevon Bluiett, who dropped 25 points and played out of his mind again. He scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half of the game. And Arizona had a lead with about two minutes left in regulation, but couldn't hold the lead and got knocked out. This is one of the reasons that its called March Madness because you just never know what's going to happen. The only problem is, they ran out of magic. Xavier, for as great a run as they had, would get blown out by one of the best teams in the country in Gonzaga, falling to the Bulldogs 83-59 in their elite eight faceoff.
And sticking with Gonzaga, they've had a bit of pressure on them as well. The Zags have never made it to a final four, they finished the season as regular season and conference champions and had one loss all year. But there was still that stigma. They've dominated most of the tournament and showed why they are a number one seed. They had finally started finding a groove from behind the three point line, to go along with the presence in the paint. They are going to the final four for the first time ever.
To stick in the theme of what Xavier has been doing, South Carolina has been doing the same thing. They have become only the 2nd seven seed to ever make the final four, joining Virgina in 1984 as the only seven seed to do so. They pulled off big wins over Duke, a twenty point win over Baylor and a seven point win over Florida to make the final four Duane Notice's breakaway right-handed jam with 11 seconds remaining sealed the Gators fate and moved the Gamecocks on to the big dance. Sindarius Thornwell stepped up for the Gamecocks, leading all scorers in this game with 26 points. Oh and there was the defensive pressure. The Gamecocks' constant pressure on the perimeter stifled Florida, who finished 7-of-26 from beyond the arc. That stiff defense has been the reason why South Carolina has gotten to their first final four ever.
Then we have the story of Oregon, who have pulled themselves into the final four after beating Michigan and Kansas over the weekend. Jordan Bell has been the driving force for the Ducks in the tournament. He has gotten his name into the record books, as Bell is the first player with at least 12 boards in five straight tournament games since Hakeem Olajuwon from 1983 to 1984. Oh and the 8 blocks he had in the win over Kansas were the most ever by Pac-12 player in NCAA Tournament game.
To round out the final four, North Carolina had the game of the tournament, beating out Kentucky 75-73, to reach the final four for the 20th time ever, the most in the history of the tournament. Luke Maye never has to take another shot and his name will live in infamy for hitting the game winning shot to move the Tar Heels back to the final four for back to back years. He sunk the game winning field goal with 0.3 seconds to go on the clock to end Kentucky's season. It wasn't just Maye hitting the game winning shot. Kentucky had no answer for Kennedy Meeks on the boards. The Tar Heels big man grabbed 17 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Meeks also blocked four shots, doubling the Wildcats' entire output.
Still with all the action going on, it made for a very entertaining weekend of basketball.
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