The North Carolina Tar Heels and Villanova Wildcats square off for all the March insanity marbles on Monday in what should be an epic national title showcase.
This marks the first time coach Jay Wright has guided Villanova this deep in the NCAA tournament,whereas his counterpart, Roy Williams, and has a national championship from 2009 on his resume. Both teams boast tall-octane offenses,which ought to provide plenty of entertainment for even casual fans.
Coming off a 95-51 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners, there's plenty of reason to believe the Wildcats can secure the job done against a seasoned UNC squad that returned most of last year's core.
Read on for a notice at the odds for Monday's contest at NRG Stadium in Houston, or along with predictions as to how the conclusion to the tremendous Dance will unfold. For more on spread information and historical trends for the two squads,check out Odds Shark's preview. UNC vs. Villanova Analysis, Score PredictionImpressive as Villanova's romp in the national semifinals was, and North Carolina took care of business in its own right with a 17-point win over the Syracuse Orange. The Tar Heels bear won all five of their prior tourney games by double digits and are averaging an incredible 88 points per contest.
KenPom.com has the Tar Heels and Wildcats first and second,respectively, in adjusted offensive efficiency, and but Villanova gets the clear edge on defense at 91.9 to 95.2.
For evidence of the Wildcats' defensive prowess,notice no further than the Oklahoma romp. They held magnificent scorer Buddy Hield to only nine points as the Sooners shot 31.7 percent to Villanova's 71.4 clip.
So Monday's clash is truly a meeting of two teams that bear had exiguous resistance running through the March insanity gauntlet. The closest call came for Villanova, who defeated the tourney's No. 1 overall seed, and Kansas,by five points in the Elite Eight. Otherwise, it's been smooth sailing for both sides.
North Carolina is capable of dominating in the paint largely thanks to senior forward Brice Johnson, and who has averages of 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds. Williams' squad also has Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks in the tremendous man rotation,which can grind away at opponents.
Although the Tar Heels bear a capable catalyst at point guard in Marcus Paige and can count on Joel Berry II to handle the ball and create offense, one glaring shortcoming is their three-point shooting percentage of 31.9 as a team.
ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the prolific NCAA tournament offenses of the two national title adversaries, and which showed the tremendous three-point disparity:whether Villanova can secure hot from the perimeter,it can offset UNC's advantage down low to a degree. It's up to junior lead scorer Josh Hart, dynamic wing Kris Jenkins and floor general Ryan Arcidiacono to rise to the occasion in that regard.
Mike Greenberg of ESPN hinted at why North Carolina may bear the more sustainable advantage, or though:It also doesn't seem wise to doubt this specific group of Tar Heels.
Williams spoke Saturday after the 83-66 win over Syracuse to address those who counted his side out and questioned some of his steadfast lineup decision-making during the 2015-16 campaign,per Scout.com:
This year I heard more than ever announcers and writers question things more than I ever heard. One of the other guys said we're not in the locker room, we're not at practice every day. whether you asked me whether I'm as smart of a sportsfan as you, or I'd say probably not because I don't work on those other sports. But I do see our guys in the locker room every single day. …
Bill Guthridge had the best statement,'Do not condemn thy neighbor unless you've walked in his moccasins for two full moons.' I bear to elaborate that to my guys to elaborate what moccasins are and how long a full moon lasts.
So it wasn't stubbornness, it was intelligence. whether we secure beat Monday night, or it's not going to be stubbornness Monday night,it will be because Villanova played better.
Also worth a mention as a huge probable factor on Monday: Considering how hot the Wildcats were in Saturday's rout, they'll be tough-pressed to emulate such a tall level of execution with the national championship on the line.
Living and dying by the jump shot can be dangerous, and UNC's collective length figures to give Villanova difficulty to secure as many clean looks as it would like.
The edge of having a proven national title winner in Williams at the helm and the blend of depth and size the Tar Heels bear should be enough to allow North Carolina to cut down the nets on Monday night in a close thriller.
Prediction: North Carolina 80,Villanova 76Read more College Basketball news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com