North Carolina team to beat
The North Caroina Tar Heels are the favorites heading into the Final Four. While the Syracuse Orange are the darlings of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed – the first 10th seed to ever reach this depth of the tourney – and the Villanova Wildcats are finally living up to their vast potential, it’s North Carolina which has the look of the favorite.
The Tar Heels are the only No. 1 seed remaining and are playing like a team on a mission. North Carolina has been one of the best teams all year and looked strong down the stretch. In the tournament, the Tar Heels havse dispatched the Providence Friars, Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, doing so without having to break much of a sweat. Against Indiana, Roy Williams’ team scored 100 points, leaving no doubt as to the offensive prowess of this bunch, led by senior guard Marcus Paige.
There is also legacy on the line. The great Dean Smith won two national titles with the school back in 1982 and 1993 and Williams is hoping to exceed that total in 2016. Williams won his first title at North Carolina back in 2005 over the Illinois Fighting Illini and then repeated the feat in 2009, beating Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans. Should Williams deliver this season, he would give the program its sixth title with the first coming back in 1956-57 when the team went undefeated.
Certainly, all four of the remaining teams could get to cut down the nets come April 4. Syracuse remains the longshot but Jim Boeheim’s group has shown it belongs with the elite. Villanova is an excellent team with explosive playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, leading to a blowout of the Miami Hurricanes and a tight win over the tournament-favorite Kansas Jawhawks.
Then there are the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma is a team with a nice inside game led by senior Ryan Spangler, and an outstanding perimeter offense paced by the nation’s top player, Buddy Hield. While many stars shrink in the March Madness limelight, Hield has taken his game to another level. After torching opponents for more than 25 points per game in the regular season, Hield has lit up the Oregon Ducks and others on the way to the first Final Four for this program since 2002.
In the final analysis, no remaining team has the depth of North Carolina. Hield is the best player in the tournament and Boeheim could arguably be the best coach, but no school has a better balance and mix than North Carolina. The Tar Heels have a blend of veteran and youthful talent under the watchful eye of a Hall of Fame coach.
When the final horn sounds, Williams and his charges should be grabbing scissors. Again.
