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South Carolina a Cinderella and a Breakdown of Each Final Four Team

By Matthew Bartlett

Mar 31, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Frank Martin on the phone at center court during practice for the 2017 Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 31, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Frank Martin on the phone at center court during practice for the 2017 Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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March Madness, Final Four
Mar 25, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few and his players celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Xavier Musketeers in the finals of the West Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

1 Seed – Gonzaga Bulldogs

Gonzaga had won 27 NCAA Tournament games in their school history entering into the Elite 8. None of those victories had been enough to get them into the Final Four. It all changed following their comfortable win over Xavier. Now, for the first time, Gonzaga is in the Final Four. And they don’t want to stop there.

When the brackets were revealed the other three 1 Seeds were seen as more likely to win it all. In fact, Gonzaga was considered the least likely 1 Seed to advance in every single round of the NCAA Tournament. That includes the championship game where nearly twice as many brackets chose North Carolina (who’s bracket included 2 Seed Kentucky and 3 Seed UCLA) than the Zags.

Gonzaga is lead by junior guard Nigel Williams-Goss. Williams-Goss is averaging 16.7 points per game, but turned it on for 23 points in the win over Xavier. He, along with Przemek Karnowski on the inside have made this iteration of the Zags a much stronger offensive club than previous teams. That, and they’re also the fourth ranked defensive team in the nation, surrendering less than 61 points per game. This Bulldog squad is the real deal.

The Zags draw South Carolina out of the SEC in their semifinal matchup in the Final Four. In their four games so far, the Zags haven’t faced a team seeded higher than 4 Seed West Virginia. Certainly an easier road than the likes of North Carolina had to go through, but that fact only ends up as an interesting anecdote when you win a title.