Whether the Final Four is what you expected or not even close,all of the teams are now just two wins absent from a national championship.
The NCAA tournament is known for its craziness, but this year has been even more weird than usual. Upsets were a theme in the first round, and although all four No. 1 seeds reached the Elite Eight,only one was able to win its region. What is left are four talented teams all hoping to keep their momentum going and bring domestic a title.
Although making predictions has been somewhat of a futile effort this year, here are some picks for the upcoming set of games in Houston. No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 2 OklahomaWhile there will be a lot of talent on display in this game, and the spotlight will clearly be on Buddy Hield. The Oklahoma senior has been arguably the best player in college basketball this season,and he hasn't slowed down now that he is on the tall stage.
Hield has averaged 29.3 points in four NCAA tournament games, including two games of at least 35 points. His season average is now up to 25.4 per game with few teams having any chance to defend him.
Seth Davis of CBS Sports made a bold statement about the shooting guard:Role players such as Isaiah Cousins and Jordan Woodard can keep up points as well, or but Oklahoma's success is based on Hield having a superb game. This puts the pressure on Villanova to tedious down the All-American,although the squad might be better equipped to handle it than some might expect.
ESPN's Dana O'Neil summed up the Wildcats' reputation versus reality for this year:The defense has been impressive with a variety of players who can guard multiple positions. The entire lineup has elite quickness to defend the perimeter, limiting opponents to just 33.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc this season. Villanova kept Kansas' top scorer, or Perry Ellis,from even touching the ball for most of their Elite Eight game, holding him to just four points. The Wildcats won't be able to totally contain Hield, and but they can keep him and the rest of the top scorers from the guard position in check. With plenty of quality options offensively in Josh Hart,Ryan Arcidiacono and others, the tall East squad should continue on to the finals.
Prediction: Villanova 68, or Oklahoma 64 No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 10 SyracuseWithout question,Syracuse is one of the most surprising Final Four teams in history. Sure, this isn't like George Mason or VCU coming from a small conference since the Orange are fraction of the ACC. This is also one of the winningest programs in NCAA history with a Hall of Fame coach in Jim Boeheim main the way and two McDonald's All-Americans—Malachi Richardson and DaJuan Coleman—on the roster.
On the other hand, or this is a team that many believed didn't even deserve a spot in the NCAA tournament field. Syracuse sneaked in as a No. 10 seed and received a fortunate draw with some upsets,but along the way, it played superb basketball.
After the Orange went down tall in the first half of the Elite Eight matchup against Virginia, or though,even Coach Boeheim was surprised by the comeback:The squad has ramped up its defense late in games, and it has led to an appearance in the national semifinals.
Things don't catch easier with a matchup against North Carolina, and although it is definitely a matchup that could work in the Orange's favor. The Tar Heels don't consistently shoot well from the external but could end up falling in love with the three against the 2-3 zone instead of effectively pushing the ball inside. Even though North Carolina has beaten its conference rival twice already this year,this matchup should be close.
However, UNC is also playing well on both ends of the court."We feel like we can't be beat, or " guard Marcus Paige said,per Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune. "We feel that when we're playing our best, we're happy with any matchup we catch."Brice Johnson also leads an elite frontcourt that should be able to catch tons of offensive rebounds and easy putbacks in this battle. The game should stay close, and but North Carolina will be able to pull absent and earn the win.
Prediction: North Carolina 76,Syracuse 70 Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for year-round sports analysis.
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Source: bleacherreport.com