After what has been a crazy NCAA Tournament up until this point, we are finally ready for the Final Four to get underway. The two games on Saturday night are loaded with storylines and intrigue, and they should be very fun to watch. The four coaches left may be the most interesting storyline to watch, as Jay Wright and Lon Kruger seek their first championship while Roy Williams goes for number three and Jim Boeheim goes for number two. Let's get to a bit of a preview for each game.
Oklahoma vs. Villanova (6:09 P.M. TBS)
These two teams met way back in December in a game in which the Sooners blew out the Wildcats by 23 points. The same should not be expected in this game, as both teams come in playing extremely good basketball and seem evenly matched on paper.
The player that everyone wants to talk about in this Final Four is Buddy Hield and rightfully so. Hield is averaging almost 30 points per game so far this tournament, which is the third highest ever for a player entering the Final Four. Oklahoma faced an extremely tough test in the second round against VCU but have coasted past Texas A&M and Oregon in the last two rounds to get here. Hield is the headliner for the Sooners, but he has help in the form of Isaiah Cousins, Jordan Woodard and Ryan Spangler among others.
Villanova doesn't quite have the star power like Oklahoma does, but they have some pretty good players of their own. Josh Hart leads the team in scoring, and then there is Ryan Arcidiacono, who does just about everything well and is the true leader for this team. Villanova ran through the first three rounds pretty much untested, including an impressive throttling of Miami, but won a tough game against Kansas in the regional final. Kansas was the favorite to win the tournament, so if you needed proof that the Wildcats are legit, that should be plenty.
North Carolina vs. Syracuse (Approximately 8:49 P.M. TBS)
To say this is a Final Four matchup nobody expected is a massive understatement. A lot of people expected North Carolina to be here, but nobody expected Syracuse to be here. Many felt that the Orange shouldn't have even made the tournament, but they have certainly made the most of their at-large bid.
North Carolina is the clear favorite of the four teams left in the field. They were the preseason number one team and are loaded with talent and experience. The Tar Heels have looked nearly unstoppable so far this tournament, as they have won every game by at least 14 points and have scored at least 83 points in each game. Brice Johnson is the star of this UNC team, but Marcus Paige has started to percolate in this tournament, and if he can consistently make perimeter shots, this team can be unstoppable.
Syracuse is the first 10 seed to ever make the Final Four. This team is loaded with talent but was very up and down during the regular season, which led to their 19-13 record pre-NCAA tournament. The key for the Orange in this one will be controlling the pace because these two teams play two very different styles. UNC likes to get up and down the floor while the Orange like to go slow and can typically control the pace with their zone defense. Syracuse won via blowout in the first two rounds of the tournament but had to have big comebacks in each of the last two games. Cuse lost to UNC in both meetings this year, but they come in hot and Michael Gbinije and Malachi Richardson should create some matchup problems.
The first Final Four game tips off at 6:09 p.m. with the second one following approximately a half hour after the first one finishes. To watch the live broadcast of the games, head over here and to listen to the radio broadcast go here.
