INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Gonzaga’s countdown to perfection has ticked to two.
The Bulldogs are back in the Final Four, two wins from becoming the first undefeated team since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers.
And, after all those upsets, the March Madness apex in the Hoosier State will be a high-seeded affair.
Gonzaga is a No. 1 seed. So is Baylor. Houston, a 2.
UCLA is an 11, but it’s also the all-time leaders in national championships.
There also will be a trip down Southwest Conference memory lane on the Texas side of the bracket.
Adia Barnes will part of a couple of firsts in the women’s NCAA Final Four.
She has taken her alma mater Arizona there for the first time in program history.
With Barnes and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, this will be first Final Four with two teams coached by Black women.
Arizona plays its first national semifinal game against 11-time national champion UConn.
The Huskies are making their 13th consecutive Final Four appearance and record 21st overall.
The Gamecocks, the 2017 national champions, play No. 1 overall seed Stanford in the other semifinal game Friday night in the Alamodome in San Antonio.
