We started all the way back on March 15th with 68 teams before four were eliminated during the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. After a little more than two weeks we are down to two, Villanova and North Carolina.
Two teams that have held the number one ranking in the country for multiple weeks over the course of the season. Two teams with differing styles of play but also two teams built very similarly but very different at the same time. North Carolina has lots of experience on its roster three seniors and three juniors in its nine man rotation. Villanova is similar in that it plays five upperclassmen in its seven man rotation. The difference is with North Carolina is that six of the nine in their rotation are McDonald’s All Americans while Villanova boasts the lonely number of one.
Villanova though comes into the game playing stifling “D” shutting down 2nd team All American Perry Ellis on 1-5 shooting and limiting recently announced Naismith winner Buddy Hield to single digits. Hield came into the game averaging 25 points a game and 29 during the tournament. The biggest question Nova will face is how they keep North Carolina off the offensive boards. Carolina isn’t a great shooting team and gets many of their points off of second chance points. Nova on the other hand likes to play small with 6’6 Kris Jenkins manning the four spot but will be in for a tough assignment guarding the “springy” Brice Johnson tonight.
Tonight will be interesting to watch whether Villanova will be able to slow the pace down like they have against two teams not afraid to push in Oklahoma and Kansas in their last two games. Carolina is a “run ’n gun” squad and they always has been under Roy Williams. If Nova can slow it down and make it a half court game it may frustrate Carolina and give the Wildcats a great chance to win this game.
Everyone has talked about the year of the senior this season and both of these teams seemed to have embraced that with the amounts of upperclassmen both teams will play tonight. As they say there is no substitution for experience and both teams tonight have an abundance of it. This game will definitely be a battle.