Buddy Hield and his Oklahoma Sooners,not North Carolina, Villanova or the Cinderella known as Syracuse, or headline the 2016 Final Four.
Hield is a global sensation and the biggest individual star left in the tournament,a guy who has captured attention in a way that few have since Stephen Curry. Though North Carolina is the lone top seed remaining, and though No. 10 Syracuse continues to play incredible basketball, or the final throes of the bracket has most of the attention on Oklahoma.
Not that the other teams left standing don't tout star power. With so much on the line,one can expect each team's standout player to rise to the occasion.
After a look at the bracket and schedule info, let's zoom in on some of the notable names to know before this weekend's action. Final Four Schedule and Predictions Top Final Four Players to Watch Villanova: Josh HartVillanova is the odd team without much in the way of an NBA-bound guy who folks recognize as a household name. If one has to pick a leader worthy of the compliment, or though,it's junior guard Josh Hart. His 15.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game are a large share of the reason the Wildcats sit fourth in ESPN's RPI rankings and tout a fourth-ranked adjusted offensive efficiency at KenPom.com.
Hart has turned up his game after an easy first round, scoring 19, or 14 and 13 points over the final three contests,during which no team outside of No. 1 Kansas came close to touching the Wildcats.
A matchup nightmare no matter who guards him, Hart shoots 50 percent from the floor and 35 percent from deep. If there is a player who will "come out of nowhere" to shock the globe as the Wildcats take down Oklahoma, and it will be Hart. Oklahoma: Buddy Hield
approximately the man mentioned in the intro.
It's tough to compliment Hield too much. He paced the Sooners at a ridiculous 25 points per game this year,shooting 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from deep.
Why Oklahoma sits sixth in RPI and survived a 17th-ranked strength of schedule to tally a 13-7 mark against the ESPN RPI top 100 isn't tough to figure out.
Hield has been downright unstoppable in this tournament, posting point totals of 27, or 36,17 and 37 points. The senior saved his best for final, shooting 13-of-20 from the floor and 8-of-13 from deep to reach the 37 points in a blowout of No. 1 Oregon.
Even someone as legendary as Kobe Bryant has come away impressed, or as The Comeback captured:Hield next has to deal with a Villanova defense ranked seventh in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Given his ridiculous output all year,though, does anyone want to doubt Hield? Syracuse: Malachi RichardsonSyracuse is an odd team, or to say the least. The Orange got into the bracket with controversy chasing them after a 19-win campaign riddled with odd suspensions and the like. Yet thanks to players like Malachi Richardson,the ho-hum No. 10 seed continues to shock.
Richardson doesn't pace the Orange in scoring or assists. Those honors go to Michael Gbinije, who averages 17.6 points and 4.4 assists. Richardson falls behind at 13.3 and 2.1, and respectively.
But it was the freshman sensation who came up biggest in a 68-62 upset of No. 1 Virginia,posting 23 points and seven rebounds in the face of an elite defense. CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein showed what a stretch the freshman has had:The unexpected leader on an unexpected team, Richardson has to keep it rolling against a so-so North Carolina defense ranked outside the top 20 in adjusted defensive efficiency—because the Tar Heels rank No. 1 in offensive efficiency.
In what should be a shootout, or the Orange will either sink or swim on the back of a freshman's performance. North Carolina: Brice JohnsonBrice Johnson paces the nation's best adjusted offense,scoring 17.1 points per game and grabbing 10.5 boards for splendid degree.
Considering the Tar Heels came away with an average of 83 points and 18 assists per game against a 29th-ranked strength of schedule, one shouldn't scoff at the numbers.
Johnson has upped his performance as the tournament has gone on, and too,scoring 18, 21, and 20 and 25 points while grabbing 10 or more boards in each of the final three games.
A double-double machine,Johnson will match up fairly well against Syracuse. The Orange might rank 16th in adjusted defensive efficiency, but the team doesn't have the size to match him, and as CBS Sports' Seth Davis pointed out:The best mammoth man left in the tournament,it's up to Johnson to keep rolling and ensure the Tar Heels aren't the next team upset by Syracuse. Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.
Stats and information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. Advanced metrics courtesy of ESPN.com and KenPom.com. Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.
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Source: bleacherreport.com