iStock/Thinkstock(GLENDALE, Ariz.) — The Gonzaga Bulldogs (37-1) and North Carolina Tar Heels (32-7) won their Final Four matchups on Saturday night and will face off in the NCAA Tournament Men’s Final on Monday night.
Gonzaga defeated South Carolina 77-73 in the first game, and North Carolina secured a 77-76 win over the Oregon Ducks.
Nigel Williams-Goss scored a game-high 23 points as Gonzaga was led by strong guard play, and the Bulldogs proved to be too much while South Carolina was mounting their second half comeback. With 7:06 left in the game, the Gamecocks took a 67-65 lead after trailing by as much as 14 points in the second half. Big men Przemek Karnowski and Zach Collins contributed on both ends of the floor to help Gonzaga take back the lead and keep it for the rest of the game, but they were challenged in the final seconds of the game.
With 12.7 seconds to go and South Carolina trailing 75-72, the Gamecocks got Sindarius Thornwell the ball and Gonzaga fouled him before he could shoot with 3.5 seconds to go. After making the first free throw, he intentionally missed his second, and Gonzaga’s Killian Tillie rebounded the ball, was fouled, and made both of his free throws to ice the game.
Gonzaga advanced to its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament Final.
Following Gonzaga’s victory, North Carolina punched their ticket to the title game despite missing a number of late free throws.
With seven seconds left in the game, Oregon was trailing 77-76. The Tar Heels’ Kennedy Meeks was fouled, but missed both of his free throws. Theo Pinson rebounded his second miss and got the ball to Joel Berry II with four seconds to go in regulation, who went on to miss both of his free throws as well. However, Meeks came down with the rebound of Berry II’s second miss, and the Tar Heels dribbled the ball out to win the game.
Meeks led the way for the Tar Heels, finishing 11-for-13, matching a career-high 25 points while recording 14 rebounds. Afterwards, North Carolina coach Roy Williams said, “If it wasn’t for Kennedy Meeks, we wouldn’t have been in the basketball game.”
North Carolina is in pursuit of its sixth national title after losing in the championship game last season. Gonzaga is looking to win its first NCAA basketball title.
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