Happy Monday and a happy Opening Day (part two) to everyone! It’s a jam-packed edition of the “Weekend Recap,” and there is quite a bit to talk about today. I’ll be talking Final Four, the first half of Opening Day, and a massive upset in women’s basketball. Plus, I have a preview of tonight’s national championship game. Let’s jump right in and hit the highlights of the weekend.

A Wild Final Four Sets Up a Colossal National Title Game

Saturday night brought us a pair of wild games in the Final Four. Following a crazy second weekend of the NCAA tournament, the Final Four had a lot to measure up to. Luckily, both games delivered a ton of drama.

In the first game, Gonzaga was able to hold off tournament darling South Carolina to advance to its first national championship game in program history. The Bulldogs came in as a heavy favorite, and looked the part for much of the first 25 minutes of the game.

However, the theme of the tournament reared its head once again. The Zags couldn’t put the Gamecocks away on its first try. Down as much as 13 in the second half, South Carolina was able to engineer a furious six-minute stretch that pulled them ahead with seven minutes left in the game.

Gonzaga didn’t let that flurry get in its way of reaching the national title game though. A Zach Collins three-pointer and a pair of layups from Przemek Karnowski put the Zags back in front for good, allowing them to salt the game away with free throws to hang onto the victory.

The nightcap gave us another favorite holding off a hectic comeback attempt from the underdog. North Carolina advanced to its second consecutive national championship game by escaping with a one-point win over Oregon.

On last week’s episode of the Shooting the Moon Podcast, I mentioned that I thought the rebound battle would decide this game. Boy, did I nail that one right on the head. The Tar Heels led for the entire second half, but saw its lead cut to one-point with six seconds left in regulation.

As you could imagine, Oregon immediately fouled to extend the game. That plan almost worked to perfection as Kennedy Meeks missed both of his free throws. “Almost” is the operative word though because Theo Pinson was able to knock the ball away from Jordan Bell and right into the hands of Joel Berry II.

With four seconds left, it was Berry’s turn to try to seal the win for UNC. Unbelievably, Berry missed both of his free throws as well. This time it was Meeks who was able to tip the ball away from Bell, and the clock mercifully ticked down to triple zeroes giving UNC a one-point victory. This now sets up a potential classic in the national title game tonight, which I’ll talk about a little later.

Baseball is Back!

As the calendar turns from March to April, we move away from madness and replace it with the unbridled sense of hope that comes with Opening Day. The World Baseball Classic is a nice event, but for most of us baseball isn’t actually back until the first day of the regular season in the MLB.

We didn’t have to wait too long to see some late game drama either. The defending champion Cubs opened its 2017 campaign in hostile territory as they faced the rival St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis put a swift end to the championship honeymoon for Chicago.

The Cubs lineup was cold for most the night, but finally woke up in the top of the ninth. World Series hero Ben Zobrist was hit by a pitch to start the late game rally, then Jason Heyward singled to bring the tying run to the batter’s box. Wilson Contreras blasted a three-run home run to tie the game at three.

In the bottom of the ninth, it was Randall Grichuk who would send the crowd home happy. Grichuk, who hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, hit a walk-off single with the bases loaded to give the Cardinals a 4-3 win over the defending champions.

This wasn’t our first walk-off win of the season though. That honor went to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who spoiled a dominant performance by Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner. The ace for the Giants cruised early in the game, retiring the first 16 batters. He would end the day with 11 strikeouts and no walks over seven innings with three runs allowed.

Quick trivia question: who is the MLB home run leader after day one of the 2017 season? The answer is Bumgarner, who became the first pitcher in MLB history to hit two home runs on Opening Day.

Unfortunately, Bumgarner’s big day was all for naught. Mark Melancon was unable to bring home the win for San Francisco. They say the 27^th out is always the hardest one to get, and that held true in this game. Melancon, who signed a big four-year contract to be the closer for the Giants, retired his first two batters before allowing four consecutive hits. Chris Owings knocked in the game-winning run to give the Diamondbacks a walk-off win on Opening Day.

UConn’s Record Winning Streak Ends at the Women’s Final Four

The shocker of the weekend didn’t come at Wrestlemania in Orlando, but at the Women’s Final Four in Dallas. UConn saw its record 111-game winning streak end at the hands of Mississippi State on Friday night. Down two points with 26 seconds left in overtime, a flagrant-1 gave Connecticut two shots and the ball. Katie Lou Samuelson hit both free throws to tie the game up.

On the ensuing possession for UConn, you had the feeling that the Huskies would find a way to escape with the victory. However, UConn didn’t run the clock like many, especially the announce team, thought they would. Saniya Chong drove the lane with 13 seconds left to try and give the Huskies the lead. Morgan William, who made a great play to get her feet set to stop the drive without fouling, met Chong. Chong in the lane and forced the shot to sail out of bounds.

It was Mississippi State’s turn to try to win that game, and they wouldn’t squander the opportunity. William got the ball in the waning seconds of the overtime period and put up a jumper just over the outstretched arm of the UConn defender for the win.

This was a sweet measure of revenge for the Bulldogs, who were trounced by 60 in the tournament last year at the hands of UConn. Unfortunately, this story didn’t have a happy ending for Mississippi State, as they were beat soundly in the national title game by South Carolina.

Men’s National Title Preview (Gonzaga vs. North Carolina)

We bring today’s “Weekend Recap” full-circle with a look towards tonight’s national championship game between North Carolina and Gonzaga. The Zags will be looking to become the first team in NCAA history to win a national championship in its Final Four debut, while the Tar Heels will attempt to avenge last year’s loss in the title game. This game has the makings of a classic as both teams mirror each other in very interesting ways.

The point guard matchup between Nigel Willams-Goss (Gonzaga) and Joel Berry II (UNC) will be the one most experts will hone in on tonight. That is for good reason because these two players are among the best in the country. Berry’s injured ankles are a point of concern though because if he turns badly on either ankle that will give Williams-Goss a clear advantage.

For my money though, the real matchup to watch will be on the low blocks and on the boards. Przemek Karnowski and Kennedy Meeks are going to be a matchup of heavyweights down low. Whichever man can gain an advantage over the other will go a long way to determining the outcome of tonight’s contest. Karnowski and Zach Collins will have to find a way to neutralize the rebounding of North Carolina, especially on the defensive end.

If there is a wild card in this game, I believe that it could be Justin Jackson for North Carolina. Jackson is a “do it all” type of player for the Tar Heels, but it will be his three-point shooting that could be the difference tonight. He was 4-of-9 from beyond the arc in the win over Oregon, and he will need to do more of the same against the tough defense of Gonzaga.

Gonzaga is the top team in the country in defensive efficiency and they will need to hold true to form there to win this game. UNC is one of the few teams capable to scoring in the 90’s, and the Bulldogs would be foolish to attempt to run with the Tar Heels. Look for the Zags to slow down the tempo whenever possible and force UNC to play a methodical game.

So the real question tonight is who will be cutting down the nets? I think that Gonzaga will find a way to win this ball game tonight in what should be a fantastic championship game.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with my top storylines to watch this year in the MLB. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.