"The Stack" 4-3-17
Justin Jackson and UNC are hoping to reverse what happened last year in the national championship game and win it all. They can certainly do it and Jackson is a major reason why they will win it....
Or will Gonzaga's Nigel Williams-Goss help lead Gonzaga to their first ever college basketball championship? It's going to be a great national championship game tonight in Glendale.
The Stack is back on this Monday and there is one final college basketball remaining this season. This saddens me so. I love college basketball and am sad to see the season come to an end, but next year will be a great year. However, we have a great title game tonight that we will be discussing. It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball. OK, technically it was yesterday with three games. Still baseball season is back and The Stack will at some point here later this week or early next week come out with our season preview and picks. Now though, let’s see what is in “the stack” for today, Monday, April 3rd:
South Carolina wins Women’s National Championship
It was absolutely amazing watching the #2 Mississippi State Bulldogs take down the mighty #1 seed UConn Huskies Friday night 66-64. It was one of the better women’s college basketball games I’ve seen. It was definitely one of the best finishes and it was one of the biggest upsets not just in women’s college basketball, not just in college basketball and not just in basketball in general. It was one of the biggest upsets in sports history. We all knew at some point that UConn’s streak would come to an end. They weren’t going to keep winning, but playing a team that they had beat by 60 in last year’s Sweet 16, it seemed unlikely that this Mississippi State team would come close to that, but they jumped out to an 18 point lead only to see UConn fight back. When UConn took the lead in the second half I think most of us didn’t expect Mississippi State to come back, but they responded. Morgan William hit the shot of her life in overtime to win the game and pull the victory.
There was still win more game to be played. I heard some people compare what Mississippi State did to what Team USA did over the USSR in the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid at the 1980 Olympic Winter games. Team USA beat the Soviet Union in the semi-finals and had to win one more game against Finland for the gold medal. They did. Likewise, Mississippi State needed one more win over #1 seed South Carolina to win. Both teams are very familiar with one another playing in the same conference, the SEC. Mississippi State head coach Vic Schaefer thought his team’s depth would help them in this one as well as the energy and momentum from Friday night’s earth shattering win. It did not. South Carolina took control midway through the first quarter and really never looked back. Mississippi State got as close as within four points at 54-50, but couldn’t get any closer. Perhaps they ran out of gas or maybe it’s just that South Carolina was the better team. There is a reason why they were the number one seed. They swept Mississippi State in the regular season and they beat them again in the national championship game 67-55. Darius Rucker is one happy Gamecock fan today. With the championship title, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley also becomes just the second African American head coach to win a national championship joining Carolyn Peck who did it at Purdue. Well done Dawn Staley and well done South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball. You are the 2016-17 national champions!
Final Four reaction
You couldn’t have asked for two better semi-final games in the men’s NCAA Tournament Final Four Saturday night. #7 seed South Carolina (East) and #1 seed Gonzaga (West) scored a lot more points than I think a lot of people were expecting including myself. Gonzaga played the up-tempo pace that they like and were making a lot of threes. South Carolina was staying in the game despite an off-game from Sindarius Thornwell. The Gamecocks found themselves down 65-51 in the second half, but as has been the case all NCAA Tournament long, South Carolina went on a run that included some great defensive work which led to transaction buckets including some big time three pointers. They made free throws, they made acrobatic layups. They were doing it all. Gonzaga called a timeout twice, but it was no use. South Carolina was doing whatever they wanted. With the score 67-65 South Carolina, I believe it was Zach Collins for Gonzaga who took a three point shot and it hit off the back iron and rolled into the hoop. It was a lucky make and it gave Gonzaga the lead back and they would not relinquish it. Gonzaga ultimately won 77-73, but it was a dog fight and a close one throughout the rest of the game. South Carolina head coach Frank Martin and the Gamecocks won over a lot of fans this tournament. Thornwell leaves, but we’ll see how South Carolina does next year. For Gonzaga and head coach Mark Few, they’ve final made it to the Final Four and they won their first ever Final Four game.
Their reward? North Carolina. The #1 seed Tar Heels (South) got a sensational game from senior Kennedy Meeks who was a beat on the offensive glass all game long and posted a double-double while Justin Jackson hit some big threes in the second half. #3 seed Oregon (Midwest) didn’t get the normal performance they have received in the past from Tyler Dorsey and Dillon Brooks yet somehow stayed in the game. Every time UNC would start to pull away and get comfortable Oregon would answer back. It didn’t help that Joel Berry II had a bad night shooting for UNC and most people suspect it is because of his bum ankles. It was really Meeks and Jackson doing most of the damage for UNC all game long. Oregon had a chance though down 77-74 they got an easy layup to cut the lead to one with six seconds left. It was a smart decision to take the layup rather than try a three pointer for the tie. They fouled UNC and the Tar Heels promptly missed both free throws, but Meeks found a way to hustle in and get an offensive rebound. Another foul occurred and the Tar Heels missed another free throw but got the offensive rebound again and ran out the clock. They won 77-76. It was an absolutely bananas finish (thinking of you Stuart Scott who by the way was a UNC alum) and UNC finds themselves back in the title game with a chance to redeem themselves and win it all against Gonzaga. Saturday night was quite the night in Glendale, Arizona, for the Final Four.
NCAA Tournament national championship game
#1 Gonzaga vs. #1 UNC 9:20 PM ET CBS (Glendale, AZ)
What a championship game this is going to be. Both teams are models how you don’t need to have a lot of one-and-done players. Yes Gonzaga has some outstanding freshmen like Zach Collins, but they have a lot of upper classmen like Nigel Williams-Goss, Karnowski and others. North Carolina has guys like Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks, Kenny Britt, Joel Berry II and others who have helped get the Tar Heels to back-to-back championship games here. College basketball needs more teams like this. They help make the sport better, but they need help from the NBA to get this done, but I digress. Gonzaga is one of the best defensive teams in the country. They will need to be on top of their game against the fast pace offense that UNC likes to run. Gonzaga likes to get up the court in a hurry so UNC better be ready on that end of the floor as well. Joel Berry II will have to shoot better than he did against Oregon on Saturday night. Can’t expect Meeks to have as good of a game tonight like he did Saturday night when he had a double-double. Justin Jackson is going to have a big game, but he’s going to need others to help. Gonzaga’s three point shooting has improved as the tournament has gone on. North Carolina can’t dare them to shoot the three, because they will knock them down. Expect a lot of points in this one. Will Gonzaga win their first ever championship or will UNC win their sixth title? It almost seems like a toss-up. Have to go with the team that has been here before and who lost in the championship game last year. They want revenge.
Pick: UNC
Coming up Tuesday: National championship game reaction plus other top stories and headlines in spor
