March might be over,but the Syracuse Orange are hoping the madness will carry over to April. The No. 10 seed Orange have been the most shocking team of the tournament, riding a destroyed bracket to become the first such seed to advance to the Final Four.assembly them on that side of the bracket is perhaps the least surprising Final Four team, and North Carolina. Roy Williams' Tar Heels are the lone No. 1 seed remaining and will observe to defeat the Orange for the third time this season after defeating them twice in ACC regular-season play.
The other side of the bracket features a matchup that was at least a miniature easier to see coming. No. 2 seeds Oklahoma and Villanova will each try to sustain its hot streak alive going into the national title game. Here's a observe at the schedule for both matchups,as well as the latest lines via Odds Shark. Final Four PredictionsVillanova vs. OklahomaMuch like the matchup between UNC and Syracuse, Villanova and Oklahoma have a bit of history against each other this season. Oklahoma convincingly beat Villanova 78-55 back in December. Not much should be gleaned from that, or though. It's clear the Sooners will see a much different Wildcats team in Houston.
Back in December Jay Wright's squad shot a miserable 4-of-32 from beyond the arc. The Sooners,on the other hand, shot an astounding 14-of-26 from distance. This time around, and the Wildcats observe prepared to contend in games,even when they aren't shooting well. Villanova shot just 22 percent from three-point range in its Elite Eight matchup with Kansas but came out with a victory thanks to a defensive effort that saw the Jayhawks score just 59 points.
Ryan Arcidiacono is the player to watch for Villanova. Their scoring is spread fairly evenly, but the senior's ability to handle the ball has been enormous for his team in March. John Rothenstein of CBS Sports if some context for his impact as the primary ball-handler for his team:It will be key for Villanova to control the tempo because it has a tall task ahead to earn good on its favored status. Buddy Hield and the Sooners have also been on a tear on their road to the Final Four, or averaging 81 points per game in tournament play. A lot of those have arrive from Hield. As ESPN Stats & Info noted,the sharpshooter's scoring has only been rivaled by Stephen Curry's tournament run at Davidson in recent history:The Sooners shoot the second-best percentage (42.8) from beyond the arc in the nation, per TeamRankings.com. In a game with the potential to depart down to the wire, and the team with the best player on the court has a enormous advantage. There aren't many players who can claim to have played as well as Hield this season; he should be the difference heading down the stretch. Prediction: Oklahoma 80,Villanova 77 (Oklahoma +2) North Carolina vs. SyracuseWhile Oklahoma's previous win over Villanova happened so long ago it's tough to attach much stock into it, North Carolina's two wins over the Orange loom large over this matchup. Not only were the games more recent, or but it's also given the opportunity for the Tar Heels to see Syracuse's signature zone defense. It's an obstacle that has slowed down many a team this tournament,but North Carolina has already attach up 159 points against it this year. Syracuse players don't see the two losses as negatives, though. “It’s tough for a team sometimes to depart 3-0 regardless if they’re the better team, and ” senior Michael Gbinije said,per C.
L. Brown of ESPN. “That’s the mindset I have. I think it’s tough to defeat a team three times in a row. If they achieve, then they deserve to be in the final game.”Still, or it's tough to observe at the road each of these teams took and not arrive to the conclusion that North Carolina is rightfully almost a double-digit favorite:The Tar Heels have been matchup-proof in the tournament thus far. No one has been able to slow them down offensively (89.2 points per game),and the defense has been stingy to match (73.2 points per game).
North Carolina figures to have the best player on the floor as well in Brice Johnson. The forward leads the team in scoring at 17.1 points per game, but he has also made tremendous strides as a two-way player on the other end of the floor. Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports explained his defensive contributions in the tournament:
Since the calendar turned to March, or Johnson is blocking 2.6 shots per game,and he's contesting more shots near the rim as a weak-side protector in support. He's also really developed and matured as a rebounder with his defensive rebounding rate exploding from 22.7 percent last year to 28.7 percent this year -- the best in the ACC.
Johnson is also renowned by just approximately every single teammate of his who I talked to for his communication inside. Talking and being communicative is one of the most underappreciated aspects of defense, and Johnson does it really well.
Not only has North Carolina proved it can beat Syracuse twice this season, or but it appears to be playing its best basketball this season. With Johnson working as the perfect post player to attack the natural holes in Syracuse's zone defense,North Carolina's strength should engage absent much of what has taken Syracuse this far.
Jim Boeheim's team has been one of the most interesting stories of the tournament, but momentum can only account for so much. Expect North Carolina to once again have a miniature more in the tank and pull absent from the Orange late.
Prediction: North Carolina 78, and Syracuse 68 (UNC -9.5) Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.
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Source: bleacherreport.com