No. 2 Villanova (33-5) vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (29-7) in Houston, 6:09 p.m. TBS
No. 1 North Carolina (32-6) vs. No. 10 Syracuse (23-13) in Houston, 8:49 p.m. TBS
As a Virginia fan, who should you root for? It's up to you, but I'll give my opinions on why you should or shouldn't root for the four teams at the Final Four.
Oklahoma: The Sooners have one of the best players in the country and maybe the best player left in the tournament on their team, Buddy Hield, who is averaging around 29 points in the tournament, and he seems
like a likable fellow. He is from the Bahamas and can really fill it up from deep, shooting 46.5 percent from 3-point land. Earlier this year in an interview, Hield admitted that he has a lot of time for basketball because he takes a lot of online classes during this, his senior year. However, this appears to be above the table and nothing shady going on (more on this later). Now, you can argue he isn't a student-athlete per se, but everything he is doing seems to be legal, so that is an issue you would have to take up with the NCAA and what it allows.
Villanova: The Wildcats have perhaps the best-dressed coach in America, Jay Wright, next to Tony Bennett, of course. Seriously, Wright is a good coach who doesn't get his due sometimes perhaps because he is a handsome dude and so that takes away from his teams, and because his teams flame out in the
tournament. Still, this is his second Final Four (Villanova made it in 2009, too), and his guard-oriented Wildcats, who have a Greg Oden lookalike at center in Daniel Ochefu, are looking to bring home a title this time. Virginia beat Villanova earlier this year, 86-75, at home. The Wildcats winning would make it all the more obvious this actually could have been a year in which UVa had a real chance at the title. Go Sooners.
The pick: In addition to losing to UVa before January, the Wildcats also lost to the Sooners in the pre-conference schedule -- by 33. That is too hefty a margin for me to reverse course and pick the Wildcats now.
Oklahoma by 1-5 points.
Syracuse: At this point, I want the winner of Oklahoma and Villanova to capture the crown. The Orange, which shouldn't have even gotten in the tournament, has taken advantage of its opportunity and gone on a nice run. Syracuse is in the ACC, and I was in favor of the league doing well until now. Again, Virginia beat Syracuse earlier this season, so there's no fun in seeing a team you beat and should've beat twice winning it
all. However, if the Orange was to win, it would slightly legitimize UVa's loss. Syracuse would be remembered for knocking off two No. 1 seeds this year instead of one. Syracuse winning the championship would make it look like the Orange had a date with destiny that was unstoppable. If the Orange loses, especially if it isn't close, it'll seem all the more disappointing that UVa blew a lead against it. For that reason, and the next one, I want Syracuse to defeat North Carolina.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels have done something I didn't think they would do this year. I thought I would hate them more this year than Duke because they are better than the Blue Devils. But I ended up hating Duke more, since it had an unlikable player as its star and a sniveling hateful coach trying to dole out life lessons (see the incident with Oregon's Dillon Brooks and Mike Krzyzewski). Plus, UNC was gracious in defeat in Charlottesville in late February and Roy Williams had a lot of good things to say about UVa and Bennett. With that said, however, it is hard to get rid of the pervasive feeling the Tar Heels should not be eligible this year for the postseason. The university has long had an academic fraud case hanging over its head, and this week the NCAA said that punishment would likely be coming within a month. Back in the fall, UNC released "new findings" regarding the case, delaying any action from the NCAA. Critics and rival fans believe this was done so that UNC could escape punishment this year because the team was loaded and ready for a title run. That is exactly what's happening. Syracuse has had its share of troubles, too, but didn't participate in the postseason last year and seems to have atoned for its sins. UNC, meanwhile, has a stench it isn't getting rid of anytime soon and plenty of people will be crying foul if this team, the heavy favorite in Houston, ends up winning it all.
The pick: UNC has beaten Syracuse twice this season, once by 11 and once by five. It's hard beating a team three times in a year, but for Syracuse, it would be hard to have three big comebacks in a row, as it is almost inevitable the Orange will fall behind the Heels sometime during the game. Syracuse overcame deficits to top Gonzaga and UVa in its past two games. Even though Syracuse is leading a charmed life right now, I think North Carolina wins by 1-5 points.
No. 1 North Carolina (32-6) vs. No. 10 Syracuse (23-13) in Houston, 8:49 p.m. TBS
As a Virginia fan, who should you root for? It's up to you, but I'll give my opinions on why you should or shouldn't root for the four teams at the Final Four.
Oklahoma: The Sooners have one of the best players in the country and maybe the best player left in the tournament on their team, Buddy Hield, who is averaging around 29 points in the tournament, and he seems
like a likable fellow. He is from the Bahamas and can really fill it up from deep, shooting 46.5 percent from 3-point land. Earlier this year in an interview, Hield admitted that he has a lot of time for basketball because he takes a lot of online classes during this, his senior year. However, this appears to be above the table and nothing shady going on (more on this later). Now, you can argue he isn't a student-athlete per se, but everything he is doing seems to be legal, so that is an issue you would have to take up with the NCAA and what it allows.Villanova: The Wildcats have perhaps the best-dressed coach in America, Jay Wright, next to Tony Bennett, of course. Seriously, Wright is a good coach who doesn't get his due sometimes perhaps because he is a handsome dude and so that takes away from his teams, and because his teams flame out in the
The pick: In addition to losing to UVa before January, the Wildcats also lost to the Sooners in the pre-conference schedule -- by 33. That is too hefty a margin for me to reverse course and pick the Wildcats now.
Oklahoma by 1-5 points.
Syracuse: At this point, I want the winner of Oklahoma and Villanova to capture the crown. The Orange, which shouldn't have even gotten in the tournament, has taken advantage of its opportunity and gone on a nice run. Syracuse is in the ACC, and I was in favor of the league doing well until now. Again, Virginia beat Syracuse earlier this season, so there's no fun in seeing a team you beat and should've beat twice winning it
all. However, if the Orange was to win, it would slightly legitimize UVa's loss. Syracuse would be remembered for knocking off two No. 1 seeds this year instead of one. Syracuse winning the championship would make it look like the Orange had a date with destiny that was unstoppable. If the Orange loses, especially if it isn't close, it'll seem all the more disappointing that UVa blew a lead against it. For that reason, and the next one, I want Syracuse to defeat North Carolina.North Carolina: The Tar Heels have done something I didn't think they would do this year. I thought I would hate them more this year than Duke because they are better than the Blue Devils. But I ended up hating Duke more, since it had an unlikable player as its star and a sniveling hateful coach trying to dole out life lessons (see the incident with Oregon's Dillon Brooks and Mike Krzyzewski). Plus, UNC was gracious in defeat in Charlottesville in late February and Roy Williams had a lot of good things to say about UVa and Bennett. With that said, however, it is hard to get rid of the pervasive feeling the Tar Heels should not be eligible this year for the postseason. The university has long had an academic fraud case hanging over its head, and this week the NCAA said that punishment would likely be coming within a month. Back in the fall, UNC released "new findings" regarding the case, delaying any action from the NCAA. Critics and rival fans believe this was done so that UNC could escape punishment this year because the team was loaded and ready for a title run. That is exactly what's happening. Syracuse has had its share of troubles, too, but didn't participate in the postseason last year and seems to have atoned for its sins. UNC, meanwhile, has a stench it isn't getting rid of anytime soon and plenty of people will be crying foul if this team, the heavy favorite in Houston, ends up winning it all.
The pick: UNC has beaten Syracuse twice this season, once by 11 and once by five. It's hard beating a team three times in a year, but for Syracuse, it would be hard to have three big comebacks in a row, as it is almost inevitable the Orange will fall behind the Heels sometime during the game. Syracuse overcame deficits to top Gonzaga and UVa in its past two games. Even though Syracuse is leading a charmed life right now, I think North Carolina wins by 1-5 points.
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