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The Oregon Ducks have reached the Final Four for the first time since 1939 after a 74-60 win over the Kansas Jayhawks in the Elite Eight.
Time_Sports
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USA TODAY Sports’ Dan Wolken breaks down Gonzaga’s Elite Eight victory over Xavier.
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The court for the NCAA Final Four tournament is put together at the University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Thomas Hawthorne/azcentral
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azcentral’s Paola Boivin breaks down Arizona’s loss to Xavier in the Sweet 16. Video: Michael Chow/azcentral.com
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The Arizona Wildcats, who many had in the Final Four, are bounced from the NCAA Tournament. Plus, the Oakland Raiders may soon be the Las Vegas Raiders. Will that actually happen? Video: azcentral sports
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USA TODAY Sports’ George Schroeder looks at how the Jayhawks and Ducks prevailed to set up their upcoming matchup in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament.
USA TODAY Sports
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ULCA head coach Steve Alford acknowledges the game against the two ‘bluebloods’ of NCAA basketball with the most championships between them.
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Considered all but done after losing their star point guard and dropping six straight games in February, Xavier has improbably made a run to the Elite Eight after defeating No. 2 Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen.
Time_Sports
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Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller is the third highest-paid head coach in the NCAA Tournament and can earn close to $1 million in bonuses for winning the national title.
Wochit
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Take a look at some at the faces of celebration and dejection from the tourney.
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The massive scoreboard known as “Colussus TV” is installed at University of Phoenix Stadium for the upcoming NCAA Final Four games. David Wallace/azentral.com
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Being on network TV means this years NCAA tourney should easily overtake last year’s viewership. Richard Deitsch explains how to watch the Madness.
Time
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Oregon advances to first Final Four since 1939 with win over Kansas
Gonzaga advances to program’s first Final Four
Piece by piece, the court for the NCAA Final Four tournament is put together in Glendale
Paola Boivin recaps Arizona’s loss to Xavier
Shot Clock: Arizona knocked out; Raiders moving to Vegas?
Kansas and Oregon set up intriguing Elite 8 matchup
UCLA’s Steve Alford talks about playing Kentucky
No. 11 Xavier upsets No. 2 Arizona to head to Elite Eight
A closer look at Sean Miller’s salary and bonuses
March Madness: Craziest faces of the NCAA tournament
Scoreboard installed at University of Phoenix Stadium for Final Four
Media circus: A guide to March Madness
Finally.
Glendale’s Final Four is only a week away, and the teams playing for the championship on April 3 at University of Phoenix Stadium are set.
Gonzaga will take on South Carolina at 3:09 p.m. Arizona time on Saturday for a right to face the winner of Oregon-North Carolina, which will tip off at approximately 5:49 p.m. or 40 minutes after Game 1 ends. The games will be broadcast on Channel 5.
Dominated recently by men’s college basketball blue bloods, the 2017 NCAA Tournament has a distinct Western flair, a fitting theme for the first Final Four held in the state of Arizona and first in the West since Seattle hosted in 1995.
RELATED: Complete Final Four in Arizona coverage
More firsts in the 78-year history of the tournament: Gonzaga and South Carolina advanced to the Final Four this season.
The West Region’s No. 1 seed, Gonzaga, advanced to its first Final Four in 20 tries. Coach Mark Few is one of a handful of elite men’s college basketball coaches who have carried the proverbial monkey on his back of tournament history without a Final Four.
Gonzaga will face the other Final Four newcomer, No. 7-seeded South Carolina out of the East Region, in the national semifinals on Saturday at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.
South Carolina continued its magical run to send coach Frank Martin to his first Final Four.
MORE: North Carolina rounds out Final Four with thrilling win over Kentucky
Oregon, the No. 3 seed from the Midwest Region, won the very first NCAA Tournament in 1939, but has not been back since. Oregon is one of six Pac-12 schools that has an NCAA men’s basketball championship, for 16 total (UCLA has 11 of those).
Oregon will face North Carolina in the other national semifinal.
The Final Four was regularly held in the west in the 1970s and ’80s. Seattle has hosted the Final Four five times, and the state of California has hosted four times. Other western sites include Portland, Ore., and Salt Lake City.
The national championship game is April 3.
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