This year’s NCAA Tournament has been nothing short of madness. History has been made, with Saint Peter’s becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight. Defending champs have fallen, with Baylor being bounced in the second round.
Now with this year’s favorite Gonzaga falling in the Sweet Sixteen, it’s safe to say every bracket has been busted. Despite all of these so-called upsets, we’ve somehow managed to end up with an all “Blue Blood” Final Four.
This year’s Final Four will be held in New Orleans on Saturday, April 2. The matchups are No. 2 Duke vs No. 8 North Carolina and No. 2 Villanova vs No. 1 Kansas.
That means that for the first time in tournament history, the biggest rivals in all of college basketball, Duke and North Carolina will square off against each other. This sets to be one of the most anticipated tournament games in recent memory.
Duke will be looking to avenge their loss to North Carolina from early March. North Carolina spoiled Coach Krzyzewski’s celebration during his last home game as the head coach of the Blue Devil’s, defeating them 94-81 in a packed Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke has knocked out CSU Fullerton, Michigan State, Texas Tech, and Arkansas, while North Carolina has taken down Marquette, Baylor, UCLA, Saint Peter’s en route to the Final Four.
The matchup between Villanova and Kansas will be a repeat of the 2018 Final Four, in which Villanova went on to win it all that year. The two teams met two other times in the tournament back in 2008 and 2016, with Kansas winning the first matchup, then Villanova winning the next.
Villanova has eliminated Delaware, Ohio State, Michigan, Houston, while Kansas has beaten Texas Southern, Creighton, Providence, Miami so far in the tournament.
To me, Duke looks like the favorite. When everything is clicking for them, they look nearly unbeatable. Very few teams in the country can produce a star-studded lineup like Paolo Banchero, Adrian Griffin Jr., Jeremy Roach, Wendell Moore Jr., and Mark Williams. Plus, how storybook of an ending would it be for Coach Krzyzewski to finish his historic coaching career with a sixth National Championship?
Though I like Duke to win it all, I wouldn’t quite count out North Carolina. They were one of the hottest teams coming into the tournament and have yet to slow down since it began. The Tar Heels have made it this far behind big performances from Caleb Love, RJ Davis, Armando Bacot, and Brady Manek all tournament long. The Tar Heels last won it all in 2017, but are seeking their first championship in the Hubie Davis era.
Villanova is led by their experienced senior guard Collin Gillespie. Junior guard Justin Moore was their second leading scorer, but recently suffered a torn Achilles in the Elite Eight win against Houston. Gillespie was a freshman on the Wildcats’ National Championship team in 2018 and is a two-time Big East Player of the Year, so he is no stranger to winning. Villanova is the only school to win multiple titles in the last 10 years. Could this year bring the third title in a decade for Nova? Or will the loss of Moore be too much to overcome for the Wildcats?
Kansas has been one of the best and most consistent teams in the country this year behind the efforts of Christian Braun and First Team All-American, Ochai Agbaji. Agbaji has struggled for the better part of the tournament, but I expect him to rise to the occasion after being one of the best players in college basketball all season long. When their stars have not played well, Jalen Wilson and Remy Martin have stepped up for the Jayhawks as they keep their pursuit alive for the school’s first title since 2008.
Final Four Predictions: Duke over UNC, Kansas over Villanova
National Championship Prediction: Duke over Kansas