The final episode of Dash to the Desert aired ahead of Monday Night’s National Championship game between number one seeds Gonzaga and North Carolina. With some thrilling semifinal games, there was a lot to cover.
After jumping to a double-digit lead, Gonzaga fought off a 16-0 South Carolina run in the second half to reach their first National title game. With the Zags up three points in the final seconds, Mark Few elected to foul, just as Scott Williams said teams should do on last week’s Overtime. The result? Gonzaga rebounded, made their free throws, and survived the Gamecocks’ last ditch effort.
The second game also came down to free throws at the end. In this one though, North Carolina could not seal the game – instead they kept missing. With two opportunities to gain possession and a potential game-winning shot, Oregon could not grab rebounds off missed free throws, and the Tar Heels were able to run out the clock.
After recapping the semifinals, Vin and Scott were joined by former Manhattan Coach Barry Rohrssen to continue the late-game situations discussion and other factors that contribute to the outcome of these NCAA Tournament games.
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Besides the Final Four on Saturday, Phoenix was also busy hosting the college dunk and three-point competitions. Grand Canyon University pulled out all the stops, and their student section (and Head Coach Dan Majerle) went nuts when GCU’s DeWayne Russell lit up the semifinal round of the three-point contest to the tune of 22 points (out of a possible 30). But Iowa’s Peter Jok matched him, then took home the trophy by putting up 20 in the finals.
Before checking the tale of the Championship game tape, Bobby Hurley looked back on his memorable 1992 Most Outstanding Player campaign when he lead Duke to a National Championship. Twenty-five years later, the Elite Eight game between Kentucky and Duke is still considered by many to be the best game in college basketball history.
With a month full of analysis, we’re down to 40 minutes left in the college basketball season, and the guys wrap the show by giving their predictions for the national title game. Only one team can complete their Dash to the Desert…who will it be?
