Live at the Final Four: Gonzaga-South Carolina underway

Get the latest from the Final Four in Glendale.

This is the first time the signature event in men’s college basketball will be held in Arizona and the first time it’s been in the West since Seattle hosted it in 1995.

Keep coming back to this page for news and notes from University of Phoenix Stadium.

PHOTOS: Check out the happenings in Glendale

SCOUTING REPORT: Gonzaga vs. South Carolina

SCOUTING REPORT: Oregon vs. North Carolina

Williams’ impact

Gonzaga’s Johnathan Williams continues to dominate on the defensive end in the second. He’s been excellent at denying passes and just deflected another one into a teammate’s hands.

Alert Twitter followers pointed out that South Carolina guard Sindarius Thornwell has been battling illness this week. He missed Thursday’s practice but returned on Friday and said he was fine.

He isn’t playing as well as he has previously in this tournament. That might have to do with illness and it certainly has to do with Williams guarding him most of the time.

Gamecocks still in it

South Carolina trailed by 9 at halftime, but they won’t panic. They won three NCAA Tournament games after they trailed at halftime: against Duke, Marquette and Florida.

Gonzaga starting guard Josh Perkins picked up his third foul in the opening minutes, and Karnowksi has two. This is worth monitoring.

Polish connection

Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski has been effective early, both on offense and defense. When he posts up, he takes up more space than one of the nearby cotton fields. And he does a nice job of protecting the basket, which allows the Zags’ perimeter defenders to play tighter.

Karnowski plays with the Polish National team in the summers and knows former Suns center Marcin Gortat well, even though Gortat, 33, is 11 years older. Karnowski said this week that Gortat, now with the Wizards, has helped him with his post moves over the past several years.

It must have paid off, because Karnowski has excellent footwork and moves well for someone 7-foot-1 and 300 pounds.

Karnowski left the game with 5:12 remaining in the first half after taking a shot to the face by Chris Silva. He did not return in the half.

During warmups for the second half, Karnowski was on the floor with his teammates. He started the second half.

Zigging Zags

The phrase “controlling pace” doesn’t refer only to teams that like to slow the pace and run a methodical offense. In the first half, Gonzaga controlled pace by pushing the ball up court. They aren’t necessarily shooting layups, but they are getting open looks from the perimeter and avoiding being bumped around by a physical South Carolina backcourt.

Gonzaga is shooting nearly 58 percent and is 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Guard Nigel Williams-Goss has 12 points. The Gamecocks missed their last four shots of the half and were on the wrong end of a 7-0 run in the final two minutes.

Thorny problem

South Carolina guard Sindarius Thornwell has a cool name but not much else going for him so far. He entered this game averaging 25 points a game in the but has scored just five in 17 minutes.

The Gamecocks obviously need to get Thornwell more shots. The Zags’ Johnathan Williams is doing a nice job on Thornwell. Williams, 6-9, has a four-inch height advantage and is concentrating on denying Thornwell the ball. He’s also not leaving Thornwell to help on any other Gamecock. The strategy is working so far.

Massive court, no problem

Coaches and players of all four teams were asked this week about the challenges of shooting on a court plunked in the middle of a 76,000-seat stadium. The depth perception is different, and it can take shooters awhile to adjust.

All teams went through a couple of practices here, which should have helped.

Four minutes into the first semifinal game, Gonzaga and South Carolina are having no problems. They are 6 of 13 from the field, with Gonzaga leading, 8-7. Both teams look a bit nervous handling the ball, and so far Gonzaga’s job have handled the Gamecocks’ relentless half-court pressure well.

Naismith Hall of Fame class announced 

We’re about 90 minutes away from the tipoff of the first semifinal game, Gonzaga vs. South Carolina. There are long lines of fans waiting to buy Final Four apparel, and others are starting to filter into University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 2017 class today. The 11 members will be inducted during ceremonies in September.

Here is the class:

Robert Hughes, a legendary boys high school coach.

Rebecca Lobo, who played at Connecticut and in the WNBA.

Tracy McGrady, who twice led the NBA in scoring.

Muffet McGraw, three-time national coach of the year from Notre Dame.

Bill Self, two-time AP coach of the year currently at Kansas.

Distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game also selected six directly elected members. They include George McGinnis from the veterans committee; Nick Galis from the international committee; Zac Clayton from the early African American Pioneers Committee, and Mannie Jackson, Tom Jernstedt and Jerry Krause.

It’s game day

The national semifinal games are finally here. If you’re not among the 76,000 fans who will be in attendance in Glendale, you’ll be watching the games on TV or on your iPhone or at some sports bar somewhere.

TV schedule for Saturday: Gonzaga (36-1) vs. South Carolina (26-10), 3:09 p.m., Channel 5 (Play-by-play: Jim Nantz. Analysts: Bill Raftery, Grant Hill. Reporter: Tracy Wolfson); North Carolina (31-7) vs. Oregon (33-5), 5:49 p.m., Channel 5 (Play-by-play: Jim Nantz. Analysts: Bill Raftery, Grant Hill. Reporter: Tracy Wolfson).

Live stream: Go to ncaa.com/march-madness-live/watch for the official ‘March Madness Live’ on your desktop computer or mobile device.

Radio: All three Final Four games will be broadcast live on KGME-AM 910. (Play-by-play: Kevin Kugler. Analysts: Clark Kellogg and John Thompson).