The Pacific Northwest ruled Saturdays Elite 8 matchups. Gonzaga and Oregon have already punched tickets to the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona.On Sunday, No. 4 Florida and No. 7 South Carolina will square off in the East Region final. No. 2 Kentucky will play in another contest loaded with college basketball prestige in a matchup against No. 1 North Carolina.Among the six teams left, whos primed for a shot in the title game on April 3' Will the Tar Heels reach the national final in consecutive years' Can Oregon continue to bust brackets on an incredible run'Gonzaga BulldogsIts time to give head coach Mark Few his due praise. Coming into this years tournament, he ranked second among coaches with the most wins without a Final Four appearance, per college basketball reference:Fews 502nd win goes down as his most important victory in the programs history as Gonzaga clinched its first-ever Final Four spot. The Bulldogs broke Northwestern's hearts in the round of 32, survived West Virginias press defense in a physical matchup and jumped out quickly on upset-hungry Xavier to earn their spot in Arizona.Typically, the Bulldogs attack the paint and chip away with mid-range jump shots. On Saturday, guards Nigel Williams-Goss and Josh Perkins erupted from three-point land; they combined for 7-of-14 from distance. With the added boost in triples, Xavier didnt stand a chance:Most people will talk about an easy pathway to the title game for Gonzaga without Duke or Villanova coming out of the East Region. However, Few's team is playing on another level during the tournament. Floridas pace and defensive prowess would likely pose a bigger threat, but either team will have an issue beating the Bulldogs with their perimeter threats adding offensive pressure.In a matchup against South Carolina, Gonzagas shooters would have to kick into overdrive. The Gamecocks averaged 83 points per game over the first three rounds. The Bulldogs averaged 72 points through four victories; they tallied their highest final score (83) in Saturdays win over the Musketeers. Senior guard Jordan Matthews, who nailed big-time shots against West Virginia, should come up huge in the next round.Kentucky WildcatsKentucky eliminated an offensive powerhouse in UCLA. Freshman guard DeAaron Fox outplayed Bruins guard Lonzo Ball throughout the contest. He went 13-of-15 from the free-throw line and scored a game-high 39 points. The Wildcats freshman owned the spotlight as his team matched their up-tempo play style against a scoring juggernaut.In the previous outing, guards Malik Monk and Dominique Hawkins and forward Derek Willis added a combined nine three-pointers to extend leads and keep the Bruins at bay. Similar to Gonzaga, Kentucky doesnt need three-point shooting to win games. It's comfortable getting to the charity stripe and pounding the ball down low to forward Edrice Adebayo. He scored two points against UCLA.Head coach John Calipari knows how to tweak the game plan to suit the opponent. On Sunday, the Wildcats match up against a physical North Carolina team that features two junior classmen in Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II who found their shots in the Sweet 16 round.The Wildcats and Tar Heels flash similarities in play style, but Kentuckys penchant to slow the game down with free-throw attempts may disrupt Carolinas rhythm on offense.Expect Calipari to pound the ball inside with Adebayo against Oregon in a Final Four matchup. Monk and Willis shooting on the perimeter would neutralize Jordan Bells defensive presence in the paint. As the No. 2 rebounding team in the country, second-chance scoring opportunities should compensate for poor shooting efficiency.Stats provided bySports Reference,unless otherwise noted.
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