That the Final Four hasn’t been to a Western site in 22 years is a matter of simple logistics: Until recently, the region hasn’t had a domed facility big enough to host one since the Seattle Kingdome was blown up in 2000.
That the Final Four hasn’t had any Western influence for nearly a decade is another story.
Since UCLA reached college basketball’s pinnacle weekend three straight times from 2006-08, there hasn’t been anybody west of the Rockies good enough to make it, though Arizona (in 2011, 2014 and 2015) came achingly close in Elite Eight losses.
All that history could come to an end in Glendale later this month.
Gonzaga, Arizona, UCLA and Oregon all have a shot at reaching the Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium, the first Western Final Four site since the Kingdome hosted UCLA’s 1995 championship.
“I hope it happens,” Arizona coach Sean Miller says.
So does former Arizona State and NBA standout Fat Lever. A Tucson legend who starred at Pueblo High School, Lever said he follows the college game closely from his home base in Phoenix.
“Let’s hope it changes,” Lever said at a Final Four event in Phoenix earlier this season. “Let’s hope it changes. I root for all the Pac-12 if ASU’s not there.”
Up to three of the Western teams can conceivably do it — Gonzaga (No. 1) or Arizona (2) have been placed together in the West region — and each of the four teams can build an argument why they will be there.
Actually, folks all over the country are doing the arguing for them this week.
Former UA standout Miles Simon, who led the Wildcats to their 1997 national championship, picked North Carolina to beat Arizona in the championship game. The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy picked Arizona to win the West Region, too.
Of ESPN’s “GameDay” crew, Jay Bilas and Jay Williams both picked Arizona to win the West and lose in the national semifinal. Rece Davis put both Gonzaga and Oregon into his Final Four, while former coach Seth Greenberg even had UCLA beating Arizona in the national championship game.
Of the players involved, nobody might be more qualified to discuss the West teams’ chances than sixth-year Oregon senior Dylan Ennis, a Canadian guard who has some perspective: He played at both Rice and Villanova before transferring to the Ducks as a grad transfer in 2015.
And guess what? Ennis is high on everyone’s chances in the region.
“Oh yeah, for sure,” Ennis said last week at the Pac-12 Tournament. “When I was in the Big East, I always had that confidence in the Providences, the Butlers and all them. But coming out here I have that same confidence in the UCLAs and Arizonas. … I definitely think there’s the potential that we’d all meet up somewhere close to the trophy.”
Said UCLA senior Bryce Alford, a four-year starter in the Pac-12: “I think many of us can make it. There’s a lot of talented teams out here.”
All that is the kind of discussion Dan Gavitt can appreciate. Gavitt, the NCAA’s vice president for basketball championships, said his goal is that the best and most-deserving teams make the Final Four, but noted the additional boost a local team can bring.
“If Arizona, UCLA, Gonzaga or Oregon were to advance here, it would bring an extra level of excitement, I would think,” Gavitt said of the Phoenix event.
“It is neat that in particular you’ve got so many Final Four contenders this year and I think it’s something that the committee envisioned and hoped for when they awarded Phoenix the Final Four. This is a way to celebrate basketball in this region and this area.”
Here’s why the West’s best can join the backyard party:
