March Madness 2017: Sunday Live Thread

Yesterday, lots of amazing things happened. Gonzaga, after years of smashing their heads into the ceiling, finally broke through to reach their first NCAA Tournament Final Four ever. Oregon pulled off two miracles, and both in emphatic fashion; the tenth-seeded women crushed Maryland by 14 points, and then the men did exactly the same thing to Kansas. Leti Romero poured in 18 as Florida State posted a mild upset over Oregon State.

Not all the news was pleasant. Connecticut destroyed UCLA and Quinnipiac’s Cinderella run is over as they nearly got doubled up by South Carolina.

And with that, we move on today’s Live Thread. There are only four games today, with the men’s games sandwiched between the women’s. The day starts with Notre Dame and Stanford teeing off in Lexington for the first seat at the women’s Final Four table, and then Frank Martin takes the men’s version of the Gamecocks into Madison Square Garden again with Florida standing in his path to the national semifinals. A South Carolina win would present us with the unsettling feeling of having to deal with two former K-State head coaches in the Final Four — and, should they both win there, facing one another for the title.

(We all actually want this, right?)

After that, it’s Kentucky facing North Carolina for the final spot in the Final Four. There are no winners here. The day closes in Oklahoma City with Mississippi State attempting to end Baylor’s reign of terror in the final women’s game of the day.

So your Sunday involves one game in each bracket and in each general time window for which you probably have a very clear rooting interest, and another for which your reaction will probably be a great big “meh”. (Not that Kentucky/UNC won’t be an amazing game, because Kentucky/UNC.)

Kick back and enjoy the last daytime college basketball of 2017, kids. After this, it’s all prime-time. That’s how close we are to the finish line.