Some of the electrifying males’s NCAA Tournaments in current reminiscence will feature four blue bloods facing off Saturday at the Final Four in New Orleans, with Monday’s nationwide championship sport awaiting the winners.
The insanity positively is not over but – even because the calendar turns to April and Cinderella Saint Peter’s has left the Huge Dance.
The semifinal matchup between Duke and North Carolina (in Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last season) is shaping as much as be one of many greatest video games in faculty basketball historical past, whereas Kansas and Villanova are additionally in line for net-cutting in New Orleans.
A have a look at 5 daring predictions for the remaining video games within the 2021-22 males’s faculty basketball season:
1. North Carolina performs spoiler once more vs. Duke
There should not be any concern that this rivalry – arguably the best in sports activities historical past – will go downhill after coach Mike Krzyzewski retires. UNC going into Cameron Indoor Stadium for Coach Okay’s final residence sport and embarrassing the Blue Devils 94-81 made this crew the final word villain. May they play spoiler once more? Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis has gotten this crew to play with nice depth since that upset in opposition to Duke. They knocked off reigning nationwide champion Baylor and one other title favourite, UCLA, to achieve the Closing 4. Duke is scorching (32-6), however so is North Carolina (28-9). Armando Bacot,Brady Manek, Caleb Love and R.J. Davis all scored greater than 20 factors within the March 5 victory in opposition to Duke.
FINAL FOUR: New Orleans will host four blue bloods after manic March
OPINION: Coach K, Duke get one more swing at North Carolina
ROCK CHALK: Kansas punches Final Four ticket as lone remaining No. 1 seed
2. Villanova sends Kansas, Invoice Self residence
With Villanova’s Justin Moore out with an Achilles harm and Kansas hitting its stride with explosive switch guard Remy Martin, the Jayhawks are the odds-on favourite to advance to the nationwide championship sport and provides coach Invoice Self a shot at his second nationwide title. However there’s additionally room for coach Jay Wright’s Wildcats to play impressed for Moore. The Wildcats (30-7) have a number of expertise, specifically fifth-year senior Collin Gillespie.
3. A number of-overtime thriller in title sport
There have solely been eight extra time video games for a nationwide title in Closing 4 historical past. A number of overtimes have solely occurred as soon as, in 1957, when North Carolina beat Kansas 54-53. Final 12 months’s nationwide semifinal of Gonzaga and UCLA that went into extra time proved to be among the finest Closing 4 video games of all-time. What would punctuate this as among the finest Closing Fours ever? A a number of OT championship sport.
4. North Carolina wins the title
With Duke and Kansas receiving a lot of the hype to win the nationwide title, trying previous North Carolina might be a mistake, contemplating how nicely the Tar Heels are taking part in. If Manek is hitting three-pointers in excessive quantity, it provides this crew a distinct dimension and opens up the court docket for guards Love and Davis to get into the lane and do their factor. Towards Baylor, earlier than Manek was ejected, this UNC crew was pummeling the Bears by 20-plus factors. The Tar Heels are peaking in March, and whereas the No. 8 seed is indicative of all the season, slicing down the nets should not be an enormous shock.
5. An unsung hero wins MOP
Gauging the historical past of the match’s Most Excellent Participant award winners, it is typically an surprising X-Issue participant — not a future NBA star or the crew’s finest participant — who excels on the massive stage. Louisville’s Luke Hancock in 2013 and Villanova’s Donte DiVincenzo in 2018 are prime examples.
An surprising MOP from every crew this 12 months:
Duke: AJ Griffin
North Carolina: R.J. Davis
Kansas: Christian Braun
Villanova: Jermaine Samuels
Observe faculty basketball reporter Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.
This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: Final Four men’s predictions: UNC plays villain again; Kansas tanks
