Final Four scouting report: Gonzaga vs. South Carolina
No. 1 Gonzaga (36-1) vs. No. 7 South Carolina (26-10)
Time: 3:09 p.m. TV: Channel 5. Gonzaga’s road: Beat No. 16-seed South Dakota State 66-46; No. 8 Northwestern 79-73; No. 4 West Virginia 61-58; No. 11 Xavier 83-59. Coach: Mark Few, 18th season (501-112, .817). Projected starters: G Nigel Williams-Goss, 6-3, Jr., 16.7 ppg, 4.6 apg; G Josh Perkins, 6-3, Soph., 8.2 ppg; G Jordan Mathews, 6-4, Sr., 10.7 ppg; F Johnathan Williams, 6-7, Jr., 10.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg; C Przemek Karnowski, 7-1, Sr., 12.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg. Scouting report: “They have tremendous size and depth in the frontcourt. They’re great rim protectors. They’re great runners. They can get on the glass on both ends. Karnowski is one of the more unique players in the country. He’s very difficult to play against, and honestly, talking with some of my officiating buddies, he’s very difficult to officiate. He’s so big and strong, you have to figure out how to lean on him and get on that right shoulder that he likes to go over. And then when you double him, he’s a skilled passer. Then, their four guards, when they want to turn up the heat and get after you defensively, they really have a good ability to do that. They’re strong and quick and aggressive. And when they get beat, they got three or four guys that can protect the rim. There's just not a lot of weaknesses.” – Santa Clara assistant Barret Peery. South Carolina’s road: Beat No. 10 Marquette 93-73; No. 2 Duke 88-81; No. 3 Baylor 70-50; No. 4 Florida 77-70. Coach: Frank Martin, fifth season (96-73, .568). Projected starters: G Sindarius Thornwell, 6-5, Sr., 21.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg; G Duane Notice, 6-2, Sr., 10.2 ppg; G P.J. Dozier, 6-6, Soph., 13.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg; F Maik Kotsar, 6-10, Fr., 5.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg; F Chris Silva, 6-9, Soph., 10.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg. Scouting report: “In my 14 years of college coaching, they play harder than anybody I’ve coached against. They do as good a job as anybody I’ve seen at taking you out of your offense. You literally can’t run offense against them because they deny everything one pass away. They’re physical. They don’t let you catch the ball where you want. Their guards are really physical. Over time, that wears you down. You just start to make mental mistakes. They’re also one of the best teams in the country at not only blocking shots, but taking charges. Offensively, they’re better than you think. They’re fast. They really sneak up on you in transition. And then they have a guy who can go win a game for them if it’s close. Thornwell can you beat on three levels. One, he can beat you driving the ball. He gets to the free-throw line at a high level and then he kills you on the offensive glass.’’ – Marquette assistant Stan Johnson.