With the Final Four and the finals of March Madness right around the corner, everyone has to be wondering: what can I expect from each team heading into the Final Four? After much research, many “grueling” hours of watching March Madness and watching my bracket go down the toilet, I’ve done my research on the last four teams in the tournament. I went 2/4 with my Final Four picks, but now I’ve learned a ton about every team and I think this will help you all learn more about the last four teams.
South Bracket: Villanova Wildcats
The Wildcats went into this tournament with sky-high expectations and have succeeded in fulfilling every one of them so far. Jay Wright has long been criticized for being great in the regular season, but has failed to produce in the tournament since 2009, when Villanova unexpectedly went to the Final Four. This year, the Wildcats are lead by seniors Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu, two four-year players groomed under Wright’s tutelage. Two stamps put on the Wildcats is that they are tenacious on the defensive end and they always play as a single unit. The Wildcats step into the Final Four with no real stars, but the ability to stifle any offense and that gives them a great choice to win the tournament.
West Bracket: Oklahoma Sooners
Star senior Buddy Hield has led the Sooners all year. Hield is a sharpshooting, basket attacking, and high-powered offensive juggernaut. All year, Oklahoma has been expected to be one of the best teams in the nation, but haven’t reached their ceiling until the tournament, which is the right time to catch fire. Hield has put the Sooners on his back all season, ever since the Big 12 Tournament. He has averaged over 25 points a game in the tournament and shows no signs of slowing down. If he and the Sooners don’t spring any leaks on the offensive end (they get more than 40% of their points per game from behind the three-point line), then the Sooners are in prime position to make a serious challenge for the title in Houston.
East Bracket: North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels were a popular pick to win the title before the season even began. They have two NBA-ready players in Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige and head coach Roy Williams is one of the most experienced coaches in the history of the game. The Tar Heels have one of the most high-powered offenses in recent history, with Johnson and Paige leading the way. Paige has recently escaped a prolonged shooting slump and is back to his normal routine of scorching defenses while Johnson has become an all-around force during this season, being nominated for the player of the year award. The only problem with the Tar Heels is that they’re reluctant to play defense. They are so focused on putting 100% of their effort into offense that they sometimes forget that they need to play two ways. However, when the Tar Heels are firing on all cylinders, they’re one of the best teams in the nation and are almost impossible to stop.
Midwest Bracket: Syracuse Orange
The Cinderella story of the 2016 tournament, Syracuse has gone through a relatively easy road to get to the Final Four, with the only real challenge being the #1 seeded Virginia Cavaliers. The Orange are led by their two star guards Michael Gbinije and Malachi Richardson. Richardson torched Virginia in the Elite Eight, outscoring the Cavaliers on his own in the second half. Syracuse’s head coach, the great Jim Boeheim, has rallied this team into an improbable run after they were supposed to miss the tournament all together. The Orange play a tenacious, trapping 2-3 zone that brings opposing offenses to their knees by forcing contested three-pointers. Syracuse could run into problems on the offensive side of the ball however. They are sometimes inconsistent shooting the ball and their offense sometimes becomes stagnant, forcing them to shoot 3s, which isn’t their bread and butter.
Ultimately, I believe that the final two teams in the tournament will be Villanova and UNC. The Wildcats will stifle Buddy Hield and the Tar Heels will outscore the Orange. In the title game, I think the Tar Heels' high scoring offense will be too much to handle for the Wildcats, who certainly won't be a pushover. I believe UNC will win in the finals over Villanova by about 5-10 points. All four of these teams have hit their strides at the right time, but only one can be crowned the champion. Who will it be? We’ll find out in a few weeks.
