Only four remain in hopes of becoming NCAA Champions. Syracuse, UNC, Oklahoma, and Villanova will face off this weekend in hopes of being able to lift the trophy. All four teams deserve to win and are capable of doing so. Here is a look at the Final Four teams.
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Syracuse Orange
The Orange are technically the Cinderella team this year as a number ten seed, but the team certainly does not feel lucky to be in the Final Four. Senior guard Trevor Cooney spoke about the label saying, “We’re Syracuse. We’re not normally a 10 seed, and I think that we’ve proved that through this tournament.” The team will face off against division rival and number one seed UNC. The Tar Heels beat Syracuse in both of their meetings this season. The Orange have pulled off what seemed like the impossible thus far so who is to say they won’t defeat the Tar Heels? Syracuse has already made history as the only number ten seed to advance to the Final Four after defeating number one seed Virginia last weekend.
Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson who coached his team to a win over UNC in November offered Syracuse advice on how to defeat the Heels. Jacobson’s team win over UNC was when the team was without star player Marcus Paige who was out with a fractured hand. Jacobson talked about the importance of trying to stop UNC’s key player with FOX Sports saying, “And the way he’s playing right now, obviously he’s a key to what happens. Because he opens up the floor even more for their tremendous size, and those guys up front do such a good job putting pressure around the basket.” Trying to stop Paige is a huge take for the Orange, but they have had a historic run thus far and it does not appear like they want it to stop.
Villanova Wildcats
The Wildcats know all about Buddy Hield and what he has done this tournament. Having played Oklahoma already, Nova knows that he is not the only player they will have to defend for. Nova assistant coach Baker Dunleavy told reporters, “There can be a temptation as a staff to focus a lot on Buddy, and rightfully so, he’s great. Sometimes when you do that and you haven’t played a team, you struggle to convince guys how good the other guys are. Our guys have a full understanding of how good they are, too. I really do thinks it helps us to have played them before. I don’t think it necessarily helps to have lost by 20-plus, but in a way it helps the guys be on edge.”
Similarly, Nova’s strengths are that everyone on the team can score. The Wildcats are great at defending and forcing they opponents into turning the ball over. Getting Hield into foul trouble early will be part of the game plan for the Wildcats. The team relies on their shooting guards for offense, but could look to drive the ball as Oklahoma will be without their center Akolda Manning for another game as he is still in Minnesota after the sudden death of his brother.
Oklahoma Sooners
Buddy Hield has become the star of the tournament. The Wildcats already saw what Hield is capable of when they lost to the Sooners by 23 points. Hield scored 18 points in the matchup, but Nova believes they will be ready for him this time around. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Hield has only gotten better since that game in December. He had a 46 point night against Kansas, a team many people expected to be in the Final Four. Nova is also coming off a win against Kansas, 64-59 that helped people see this team has a real threat to win the title this year.
While he has definitely helped propel Oklahoma’s run, he has also helped other guards on the team. Jordan Woodward has shot 45.9 percent from the three point line, making Oklahoma that much harder to defend. The team does not need Hield to have an unbelievable night for them to advance to the Championship game.
University of North Carolina Tar Heels
The Heels definitely have the advantage in their matchup as they enter as nine point favorites. The team has been dominate thus far in the tournament, blowing their competition out early in games. This team will now face Syracuse who are masters of the 2-3 zone head coach Jim Boeheim is famous for. Boeheim gave credit to the Tar Heels’ offense, which has been the highest scoring team in the tournament, having scored at least 80 points in every game thus far. He told the media, “North Carolina gets the ball inside as well as any team in the country
They always have. They get the ball up the court as well as anybody in the country. You have to be prepared for those things, those two things particularly, when you play North Carolina.” The Tar Heels will have a tough time trying to drive inside against Tyler Lydon who has eighteen blocks alone. UNC will need their stars including Paige and Brice Johnson to show up like they have in every other game this tournament. The Orange will have their hands full with UNC’s ability to pull from three and drive inside against that famous zone defense.
