Gonzaga, UNC, Oregon, USC to hold open Final Four practices

Berry said he participated fully in North Carolina’s closed practice earlier Friday and said everything felt good. Nike founder Phil Knigh is a big supporter of OR athletics. This is an old school, throwback kind of Final Four.

His three fellow Final Four coaches call him a mentor, a friend and a man whose image should be chiseled into the Mount Rushmore of college basketball coaches. They play in Saturday’s second semifinal.

We played Stanford in our first game and in our last game this season, and it was impressive to see the growth of that basketball team.

“He was a leader on his high school team in Lancaster and then he went to Oak Hill (Academy) and became a leader on a team that had a lot of good players”, USC head coach Frank Martin said Tuesday. “The biggest way to get their big guys in foul trouble is to go inside. Dawn and her staff have done a great job”.

Barnes predicts that North Carolina will cut down the nets on Monday night, but only after an epic tussle with Gonzaga.

OR (33-5) provides a contrast. These two teams are ranked pretty closely, but North Carolina is the heavy favorite. The Ducks also won the Pac 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena. Check out Who’s Left In The 2017 NCAA March Madness Tournament below and let us know what you think in the comments below.

On their way to the Final Four, the Ducks knocked off 2015 Maui Jim Maui Invitational champion Kansas in the Elite Eight and 2017 participant MI in the Sweet 16.

OR went 2-1 at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, earning wins over Tennessee and UConn. UNC outlasted Kentucky in what many see as the game of the tournament thus far. That game-winner came two days after Maye had 16 points and 12 rebounds – his first career double-double – in a win over Butler.

Duke made 5-of-8 from deep in the first half of its NCAA Tournament game against the Gamecocks.

Through the tournament, he is averaging 19.8 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 46.7 percent from the floor. While this isn’t necessarily a defensive stat, it was the Gamecocks defense that allowed them to outscore Marquette 54-33 in the final 20 minutes.

To that point, Martin said he told the team to focus not on it’s opponent on Saturday, Gonzaga, but on itself.

The North Carolina players have walked the fine line this season between the natural inclination to dwell on the painful loss, and the impossible task of forgetting it.

“His kind of whole package is very unsafe”, Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

The Bulldogs, who own Division I’s best record at 36-1, may be making their first Final Four appearance, but the Bulldogs pose a serious threat on offense. He is supported by guard PJ Dozier’s 13.7 points per game. I’m guessing that his in-game adjustments will keep Mississippi State off balance. Before the season, who would’ve thought that SC would be the Southeastern Conference’s final representative in the tournament and Gonzaga would finally transition from Cinderella to powerhouse. “Our guys are aware of that”.

NORTH CAROLINA: Experience paid off for the Tar Heels.