March Madness: Top 10 candidates for Final Four most outstanding player

Mar 26, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; Mar 26, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Luke Maye (32) makes a basket with .3 seconds left against the Kentucky Wildcats in the second half during the finals of the South Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. North Carolina won 75-73. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /

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Mar 31, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Sindarius Thornwell (0) laughs during practice for the 2017 Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Several players participating in March Madness’ Final Four have come up big for their teams. Who will do so in the last couple of games and be named MOP?

The Oregon Ducks are probably the Final Four team that has benefited the most from big-time performances in this 2017 NCAA Tournament. The Ducks earned come from behind wins against Rhode Island and Michigan as a result of superlative play from sophomore guard Tyler Dorsey.

Oregon earned its first Final Four appearance since 1939 by stunning Kansas in the Midwest Region Final. A big reason that the Ducks were able to pull off the upset of the Jayhawks was due to the performance of Jordan Bell. The junior center was sensational on both ends of the court against Kansas. He finished with 11 points, hauled in 13 rebounds and blocked eight shots.

No. 1 seeds Gonzaga and North Carolina have also been bailed out by clutch plays by a couple of unsung performers. Senior transfer Jordan Mathews knocked the go-ahead three-pointer down with less than a minute left in the Zags’ Sweet 16 victory over West Virginia while Luke Maye, a little-used reserve, drilled the game-winner to lead UNC past Kentucky with 0.3 seconds left on Sunday.

South Carolina is the only Final Four team that hasn’t had a NCAA Tournament game decided by less than five points. The Gamecocks’ defense has been fantastic this tournament and senior guard Sindarius Thornwell has been one of the top performers over the past few weeks.

With a lot of players turning in spectacular outings in the NCAA Tournament, one of the big questions heading into Final Four weekend is who will be named the Most Outstanding Player? That will ultimately be decided following the championship game on April 3. But until then, here is my list of the leading candidates for the Final Four MOP.

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