2017 NCAA Tournament: Championship Game Prediction
We have made it all the way to the Championship Game! What a wild tournament it has been! I only had two Final Four teams out of two separate brackets. The round by round picks were a little better. I ended up with 43 points. At least I have the Final Four right there (so far).
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Is there another upset in store tonight? We have College Basketball blue blood North Carolina against Gonzaga. The mid-major that has finally made it to the Final Four. They sure didn’t look scared against South Carolina. They fought off a furious comeback by South Carolina to advance.
North Carolina more survived against Oregon than anything else. Oregon did everything right at the end. They fouled, and North Carolina missed free throws. The only problem was that Oregon couldn’t corral the rebound. They did miss the size of Chris Boucher in this one, much like I thought they would.
The Final Four was everything it should have been so far. Two games decided by a total of five points! Will the Final game of the college basketball season be the same?
I kind of think it will. There are a lot of people in the media that think this is Gonzaga’s time, and I get it. This is probably the most complete team they have ever had at the exact right time. There was no dominant team this year. I know Gonzaga lost just one game, but they had stretches of the season where they weren’t as dominant as they needed to be.
This is not one of those times. That said, North Carolina has been tested all season long. By big teams, by small teams. By fast teams and slow teams. They have adapted to it all. This is going to be a game that plays more towards their strengths. The health of Joel Barry’s ankle and Przemek Karnowski’s eye with both have a big affect on tonight’s outcome.
Gonzaga will have to find some way to contain Kennedy Meeks. He has been arguably the most important player for North Carolina in this tournament. He was the first player to have 20+ points in a Final Four double-double since Carmelo Anthony in 2003.
North Carolina will have to find a way to contain Gonzaga’s outside shooters. South Carolina’s swarming defense didn’t really get to them until the second half, and even then, Gonzaga still managed to shoot very well from the field. If South Carolina couldn’t even knock them off their rhythm, how will the Tarheels.
With brute force, that’s how. North Carolina is big and strong at every position. They actually match up with will Gonzaga, perhaps the first team this season that really has. They are still bitter from last year’s loss to Villanova in the title game. Will they come oh-so-close again, or will they get their first championship since the 2009 team of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green, and Wayne Ellington. This team could rank right up there with their six players that went on to play in the NBA. Five of which are still active.
This has the feeling of a game that Gonzaga can win. I’m just not sure they will. North Carolina didn’t come all this way to finish second again.
Pick: North Carolina
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