Final Four 2017 Schedule: Game Times, TV Info, Live Streaming and More

Milestones are now a major theme for the 2017 Final Four, as most of the traditional blue bloods are out and schools like Gonzaga, Oregon, and South Carolina are making history.

The Bulldogs and Gamecocks each clinched their first-ever Final Four berth this weekend, with the Ducks doing so for the first time since 1939. North Carolina, a school with plenty of championship pedigree, will join them as regional winners in what has turned out to be a thrilling 2017 NCAA tournament.

As a matter of fact, North Carolina's Roy Williams is the only coach this upcoming weekend who has ever coached at this stage.

Take a look at the schedule for Saturday's national semifinal action, as well as a preview of each matchup.

Date	Matchup	Location	Start Time (ET)	Network	Live Stream
Saturday, April 1	Gonzaga vs. South Carolina	University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix, Arizona	6:09 p.m.	CBS	NCAA.com
Saturday, April 1	North Carolina vs. Oregon	University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix, Arizona	8:49 p.m.	CBS	NCAA.com

North Carolina vs. Oregon

Most around the country wrote off Oregon as a national title contender following Chris Boucher's season-ending knee injury in the Pac-12 tournament. Yet the Ducks took the Midwest region crown after downing scalding hot Michigan and an elite Kansas squad.

Despite missing a huge interior presence in Boucher, who averaged 11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game this season, Oregon won the rebounding battle in each of its four tournament games thus far.

Jordan Bell has been a massive part of that, as he averaged 12.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and three blocks per game over that span, with his outing against Kansas being especially dominant, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Yet the lack of much interior depth behind Bell could play an enormous factor on Saturday. North Carolina enters this matchup easily leading the nation with a plus-13 rebounding margin, with Saint Mary's and Wichita State's plus-nine being No. 2. After Bell's average of 8.6 boards per night, only Dylan Ennis, 4.4, brings down more than four rebounds a game.

Oregon ranks 49th in rebound margin, but only Kansas, 47th, and Rhode Island, 101st, finished in the top 200 nationally in that category among its tournament opponents. The Ducks lost the rebounding battle in four of their five losses on the season, which does not bode well for them in this game.

To beat the Tar Heels, Oregon will need to hit outside shots and prevent North Carolina from doing so like it did against Kansas. The Jayhawks entered the game shooting 49.2 percent from the field before hitting 35 percent of their looks in the loss, including 5-of-25 from three, while Oregon shot 50.9 percent overall. 

The Ducks will be able to stay in this game with their stout perimeter defense, as they rank 21st nationally in three-point defense and 24th in field-goal percentage defense.

Still, North Carolina does not rely on jump shooting to win, which it proved against a Kentucky team with just as much, if not more, offensive firepower than Oregon. The Tar Heels shot 20 percent from three, but still won with inside buckets despite 16 turnovers to the Wildcats' nine.

North Carolina can match up with Oregon's top weapons. Its bigs and depth can neutralize Bell down low, while Justin Jackson or Theo Pinson can guard Dillon Brooks. Joel Berry II or Nate Britt can stay with Tyler Dorsey. This is just an overall rough matchup for Oregon on paper, which gives North Carolina the edge in this game.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Gonzaga vs. South Carolina

South Carolina overcame numerous challenges to reach this point.

The team won its first NCAA tournament game in 44 years, used a throttling second half to down a loaded Duke squad, and it smoked the best interior team other than North Carolina in Baylor before rallying past Florida. Despite being a seven seed from a major conference, the Gamecocks' magical run qualifies them as this season's Cinderella story.

However, this streak has certainly not been a fluke. South Carolina plays stifling defense and is led by a legitimate star in SEC Player of the Year Sindarius Thornwell—averaging 25.8 points and 7.5 rebounds this tournament—and a great complementary piece in PJ Dozier, who has averaged 15.3 points in the last four games.

Nationally, the Gamecocks rank 31st in scoring defense, 15th in field-goal percentage defense, seventh in three-point percentage defense, fifth in turnovers forced per game and eighth in turnover margin. This will undoubtedly pose a serious threat to Gonzaga, but the team proved it has the personnel to combat tough defense along with some great protection itself.

Although the Bulldogs do not play as tough of a schedule as South Carolina as a whole, they nearly match or exceed the Gamecocks in almost every major statistical defensive category:

Scoring Defense	Field Goal Defense	Three-point Defense	Turnovers Forced Per Game	Turnover Margin
60.9 (Fourth)	36.5 percent (Third)	29.3 percent (Fourth)	12.5 (T228th)	1.1 (110th)

Gonzaga also overcame a rugged defensive team in West Virginia in the Sweet 16, although it did not come with flying colors. The Bulldogs shot 40.9 percent from the field and turned the ball over 16 times, but they shut down the Mountaineers to the tune of just 26.7 percent shooting. 

This was Gonzaga's toughest test, as it did receive a rather fortunate draw in terms of seeding, according to Fox Sports' Clay Travis:

Still, with its combination of size, an elite point guard in Nigel Williams-Goss and excellent wings, Gonzaga is the most complete team South Carolina will have played in this tournament. The team's depth is also tremendous, as six players average at least 20 minutes per game, with effective stretch-four Zach Collins playing just 17.2 minutes per night despite averaging 9.9 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest.

With such an array of offensive weapons in Jordan Mathews, Przemek Karnowski, Williams and Williams-Goss, the Bulldogs just have more players that can create their own shots and control stretches of the game compared to South Carolina. Both teams are great defensively, so in a tight, low-scoring game, a deeper team in Gonzaga that happens to rank second nationally in field-goal percentage has to have the advantage.

Especially with Mark Few having a week to prepare for South Carolina's catalyst in Thornwell, expect Gonzaga to find a way to end the Gamecock's dream journey and play for a national championship.

Statistics are courtesy of NCAA.com unless otherwise noted.