There was a nice stream of excitement coming into the 2016 Final Four. The matchups were set after some thrilling Elite 8 contests and we had our games for Houston. It would be the Villanova Wildcats, the number two seed that many people forgot about as a top program, going up against the Oklahoma Sooners and their star guard, Buddy Hield. On the other side of the bracket, it was an all-ACC matchup when the top overall remaining seed North Carolina Tar Heels and their dominant frontcourt was slated to matchup with the cinderella story in the Syracuse Orange. When it was all said and done, the Final Four ended up being a day with a pair of blowouts.
No.2 Villanova Wildcats defeat No.2 Oklahoma Sooners 95-51
Villanova made history with an incredible, blowout victory over Oklahoma in their NCAA Tournament Final Four game on Saturday. The Wildcats built a lead late in the first half and destroyed the Sooners in the second half to reach the national championship game for the first time since 1985. The 44-point win is the biggest margin of victory in Final Four history. Villanova shot 71.4 percent from the field, which is the second-best mark in Final Four history; the Wildcats set the record in 1985, when they won their only national championship. Wildcats wing Josh Hart was practically unstoppable en route to 23 points on 10 of 12 shooting, attacking the rim, making jumpers and led the charge on both of Villanova’s big runs including their 25-0 second half run that put the Sooners away for good. Six players scored in double figures for Villanova. The Wildcats threw multiple defenders at Sooners star guard Buddy Hield and held him to just 9 points on 4 of 12 shooting; he scored just 2 points in the second half and didn’t make a field goal for the final 19-plus minutes of the game. Hield, one of the most prolific shooters in the country, shot just 1 of 8 from 3-point distance. The Sooners shot just 31.7 percent from the field and were 6 of 27 from 3-point range. Jordan Woodard led Oklahoma with 12 points. Villanova has won four of its NCAA Tournament games by at least 19 points, their closest game came in their Elite 8 win when they beat Kansas by just 5 points.
No.1 North Carolina Tar Heels DEF No.10 Syracuse Orange 83-66
A late run got the Orange back to within single digits, but ultimately top-seeded North Carolina proved to be too much down low in their Final-Four matchup Saturday night. The Tar Heels handled the 10th-seeded Orange in the paint, ending the Cinderella run for Syracuse one game shy of a title-game appearance, which would have been their first appearance since Carmelo Anthony led the Orange in 2003. Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 8 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Every Tar Heels starter other than Berry scored in double figures, led by 16 points apiece from Brice Johnson and Justin Jackson. The Tar Heels shot a strong 58.3 percent overall, but just 4-of-17 from long distance. Tar Heels guard Marcus Paige was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc; the rest of the team was 1-of-10. North Carolina’s dominance down low was also seen in rebounding totals, as the Tar Heels had a 43-31 advantage. The Orange had just five assists on 27 field goals. Syracuse senior forward Michael Gbinije closed his collegiate career with 12 points on 5-of-18 shooting, including missing all five 3-pointers he attempted and Trevor Cooney paced Syracuse with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting. This was North Carolina’s third Final Four win under head coach Roy Williams in 13 seasons and it was North Carolina’s first win over Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament since 1957.
