Five best moments from the season for each Final Four team

North Carolina began the season winning a very strong Maui Invitational before Thanksgiving. At the time, the Tar Heels looked like a team that was among the favorites to win the NCAA championship. Oregon was also in the field but lost in the quarterfinals.

Yeah it was a loss, but North Carolina's 103-100 loss to Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic was one of the greatest games of the regular season. The Tar Heels stood toe-to-toe with one of the greatest offenses in the nation and prepared itself in case these two blue bloods met again. Justin Jackson scored 34 points and became a national name.

In what may be the best game Carolina played all year, the Tar Heels blew out rival N.C. State 107-56. It was as complete a game as the team played all year, allowing just 56 points (UNC scored 56 itself in the first half), hitting 12 three-pointers and grabbing 50 boards. After a shaky start to ACC play, this game really stretched UNC's legs.  

One of North Carolina's most important wins was its revenge victory over Duke to close out the regular season, 90-83. The Tar Heels ended the year as ACC regular-season champions, winning what was considered the toughest league in the nation by two full games.  

After watching Malik Monk (who lit up the Heels for 47 points in December) hit a three-pointer to tie the regional final, Luke Maye hit an 18-footer with 0.3 seconds left to lift North Carolina to its record 20th Final Four.

Oregon got out of the gate slowly, including a loss to Georgetown in the first round of the Maui Invitational. A gritty, hard-fought 69-65 overtime win over Tennessee in the consolation bracket may not seem like a big deal, but it began a 17-game winning streak that vaulted the Ducks back to where they felt they belonged.

Seeing Oregon in the Final Four may make you think that the loss of Chris Boucher wasn't that big a deal, but if you watched his performance against Montana in December you'd think differently. Boucher scored 23 points, swallowed 19 rebounds and blocked five shots in that game.

Oregon had some struggles to begin the season, but then the Ducks hosted No. 2 UCLA to begin the Pac-12 slate. Dillon Brooks scored 23 points, including a three-pointer with less than a second remaining in front of a packed, raucous house in Eugene.

In a huge battle for first place in the Pac-12, Oregon blasted No. 5 Arizona 85-58. The Ducks nailed 16 three-pointers (a Knight Arena record) in the route. Tyler Dorsey hit six of those threes with Dillon Brooks hitting four of his own.

Think about what Oregon did in the Midwest region final. The Ducks had to beat Kansas, a team most people felt were the best in the tournament, in Kansas City without Chris Boucher. Jordan Bell went insane, scoring 11 points, grabbing 13 boards and blocking eight shots to send the Ducks to their first Final Four since 1939.

We were all put on notice when the Gamecocks beat Syracuse in the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational right after Thanksgiving. South Carolina had a balanced attack and solved the Orange's zone defense for a relatively easy win.  

Sure, the Gamecocks lost to Alabama, 90-86, but how often are you a part of a four-overtime battle? Sindarius Thornwell had a man's night of 44 points and 22 boards, but it just wasn't enough. The loss knocked the Gamecocks from their perch atop the SEC standings. However, their comeback down 17 set the stage for their postseason run.

Sindarius Thornwell won the SEC Player of the Year award, becoming the first Gamecock to win the conference's highest individual award since John Roche won ACC Player of the Year honors in 1969 and 1970. Thornwell averaged 21.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season.

Two days after winning the program's first NCAA Tournament game in over 40 years, the Gamecocks stunned No. 2 seed Duke, 88-81. South Carolina scored a school-record 65 points in the second half to oust the preseason No. 1 Blue Devils.

A team that entered the NCAA Tournament losing five of its last seven games and who hadn't even qualified for the big dance in 12 seasons somehow secured a spot in the Final Four. Trailing by seven at the half, the Gamecocks ratcheted up the pressure and beat Florida in their rubber match, 77-70, to make their first trip to the Final Four.

Typically one the gripes about strong mid-major schools is strength of schedule. Well, Gonzaga loaded up with wins over Florida, Iowa State and Arizona. The 69-62 victory over the Wildcats (who had won six of the last seven against Gonzaga) was probably the Bulldogs' most impressive of the season.

Earlier in the season, Gonzaga smoked Saint Mary's by 23 points in Spokane. In the much-hyped rematch in Moraga, Gonzaga was just as impressive. Przemek Karnowski scored 19 points in front of a riled-up crowd and a national stage the West Coast Conference usually doesn't get. Gonzaga eventually beat Saint Mary's for a third time for the WCC championship.

Sure, San Diego wasn't among the best teams in the WCC, never mind the country, but Gonzaga showed everyone just how strong it was. The Zags blew out San Diego by 58 points, on the road, to move to 29-0. Strangely enough, the Bulldogs would go on to lose their next game (home against BYU) to ruin their perfect season.

Gonzaga was on the ropes late in the West region semifinal game with West Virginia. Down by a point with less than a minute remaining, Jordan Mathews hit a huge three-pointer to give the Zags the lead. They clinched the win when the Mountaineers' Jevon Carter couldn't connect from deep.  

After nearly two decades of Gonzaga basketball as the poster child for mid-major basketball, the program finally broke through and got to its first Final Four. The Zags' 83-59 rout of Xavier in the West regional final capped off one of the most impressive seasons any program has had in quite some time.