NCAA Final Four: Oregon Ducks Face Rebounding Monster In North Carolina

Freshman center Tony Bradley and sophomore forward Luke Maye have each had big moments in this year’s NCAA Tournament. There is another variable, too, that can’t necessarily be quantified. UNC coach Roy Williams has won two titles with the Tar Heels (2005 and 2009) and has taken his teams to nine Final Four appearances (four as Kansas head coach and five at UNC).

OR faces one of the giants of NCAA basketball history-the North Carolina Tar Heels at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Williams drills his players through those situations in practice every day. These are situations in which intangibles may set clutch players apart. We don’t want to push our luck, especially given the incredible logistical challenges of moving the championship game back east. Hayes and guard Bronson Koenig were the headliners of a savvy senior class that produced in crunch time. While that may be surprising, if you look back throughout Gonzaga’s past teams, they tend to not meet expectations in March.

The extra time with film on and study of the west coast team all highlighted one thing for UNC: Oregon’s guard play.

“I was freaking out on my couch, man”, Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph said Wednesday.

This time previous year North Carolina was preparing for a deep run in the NCAA tournament. They are not an excellent shooting team, but due to their physical dominance near the basket, they don’t need to be.

Berry said he was a full participant in North Carolina’s practice on Friday in Glendale, Ariz. “We’ve won a few games like that”. The Los Angeles product ranks second on the team with 14.5 points per game, and he leads OR in made three-pointers (85) and free throws (93). “Defensively, we have to come out with the same type of defensive energy as those last two games that we’ve had”.

“He’s been on a tear”, OR head coach Dana Altman said. I expect this game to be somewhat competitive, which means the defensive effort should be there from both teams.

SC coach Frank Martin believes, as he said Thursday: “Everyone falls in love with the one-and-done phenomenon”. Oregon, on the other hand, is probably the least likely of the Pac-12 teams to be in this situation outside of USC, which was in the First Four. They were known for their hard style of play, diving for loose balls and swarming defense, which created an intimidating atmosphere for any opponent who came into McArthurt Court. Coach Roy Williams has used that loss as a motivator and continues to reference it this weekend, even though he has not been able to bring himself to watch it again.

After that game, Williams told his players to use the heartbreak as fuel. “We have the experience of playing Kansas last week, so it’ll be a fun experience”.

AP Sports Writers Teresa Walker, Janie McCauley and Pete Iocabelli contributed to this story.

If North Carolina and SC should win tonight, it seems silly to play that game 3,000 miles away from both their home states.

This is a North Carolina squad that has been there, done that when it comes to the Final Four and everything surrounding it. Coaches say experience, talent and preparation all help in those tight situations.

North Carolina, which was the top seed in the South, is in the Final Four for the second consecutive season, having lost in the 2016 final when Villanova’s Kris Jenkins hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. He has 103 points in the Gamecocks’ four NCAA Tournament games, but it’s not just his offense – he’s one of the best two-way players in the SEC.