Breaking New Ground: Gonzaga and USC First F4 Newbie Duo in 21 Years

April 1st, 2017 - 16:43

When Gonzaga and South Carolina met at the 2017 Final Four, they joined the 1996 tandem of Massachusetts and Mississippi State as only the second "fresh-blood" duo in 38 years to each reach the national semifinals for the first time in the same season. The Zags and Gamecocks were the first set of newcomers to oppose each other at the F4 in 40 years since UNLV defeated UNC Charlotte in the 1977 national third-place game. Newbies Memphis State and Providence clashed in the 1973 semis.

Prior to Connecticut in 1999, the last team to win a championship in its initial national semifinal appearance was Texas Western (now Texas-El Paso) in 1966. Following in reverse order are the schools - two of them coached by Hugh Durham - making their first impression on the Final Four since 1970 when three colleges - Jacksonville, New Mexico State and St. Bonaventure - each made their only national semifinal appearance:

Year Final Four Newcomer Appearance Head Coach Final Four Outcome
2017 Gonzaga 20th Mark Few Reached championship game.
2017 South Carolina 9th Frank Martin Lost in semifinal.
2011 Virginia Commonwealth 10th Shaka Smart Lost in semifinal.
2010 Butler* 10th Brad Stevens Lost in final.
2006 George Mason 4th Jim Larranaga Lost in semifinal.
2001 Maryland* 18th Gary Williams Lost in semifinal.
1999 Connecticut* 21st Jim Calhoun Won NCAA championship.
1997 Minnesota 7th Clem Haskins Lost in semifinal.
1996 Massachusetts 6th John Calipari Lost in semifinal.
1996 Mississippi State 4th Richard Williams Lost in semifinal.
1994 Florida* 4th Lon Kruger Lost in semifinal.
1990 Georgia Tech* 7th Bobby Cremins Lost in semifinal.
1989 Seton Hall 2nd P.J. Carlesimo Lost in final.
1988 Arizona* 7th Lute Olson Lost in semifinal.
1983 Georgia 1st Hugh Durham Lost in semifinal.
1981 Virginia* 2nd Terry Holland Won third-place game.
1979 Indiana State 1st Bill Hodges Lost in final.
1979 Penn 9th Bob Weinhauer Lost consolation game.
1978 Notre Dame 15th Digger Phelps Lost consolation game.
1977 UNC Charlotte 1st Lee Rose Lost consolation game.
1977 UNLV* 3rd Jerry Tarkanian Won third-place game.
1976 Rutgers 2nd Tom Young Lost consolation game.
1975 Syracuse* 5th Roy Danforth Lost consolation game.
1974 Marquette* 9th Al McGuire Lost in final.
1973 Memphis State* 4th Gene Bartow Lost in final.
1973 Providence* 5th Dave Gavitt Lost consolation game.
1972 Florida State 2nd Hugh Durham Lost in final.
1971 Western Kentucky 7th John Oldham Won third-place game.

*School subsequently returned to Final Four.