Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, and Villanova Reach Final Four
After an upset filled first two weeks of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, we have ended up with four very familiar teams in the Final Four: Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, and Villanova.
In the West Region, #2 seed Duke beat #4 Arkansas 78-69 to advance to the Final Four for the 17th time overall, and the first since 2015, when the Blue Devils won the championship. This is coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 13th trip to the Final Four and it’s also his final season as Blue Devils’ coach. Coach K has won five national titles at Duke. Will we have a Hollywood finish, where he goes out on top? An ancient rival stands in the way in the semifinal.
That rival is North Carolina. The Tar Heels were the eighth seed in the East, and were probably underseeded at that. UNC beat #9 Marquette, then grabbed everyone’s attention by beating top seeded and defending champion Baylor, followed by a victory over another of last year’s Final Four, UCLA. The Tar Heels then put an end to #15 St. Peter’s remarkable run as the only #15 ever to reach the Elite Eight, beating the Peacocks by 20 points to advance to the Final Four. This is the 21st Final Four appearance by the Tar Heels, and the first since 2017. UNC won its sixth national championship that year. Roy Williams was the coach for that one; he was succeeded by former UNC player and assistant coach Hubert Davis , who has reached the Final Four in his first season as a college head coach. UNC and Duke are both in the ACC and have played each other 257 times, but this will be the first time they’ve met in an NCAA Tournament game. They split their two regular season meetings this season.
In the South Region, #2 Villanova beat #5 Houston 50-44 to advance to the Wildcats’ third Final Four since 2016, and seventh overall. Villanova won the title in both 2016 and 2018. Both of those championship teams were under current coach Jay Wright.
The Wildcats will play Midwest Region champ Kansas in the semifinal. The Jayhawks are the only #1 seed to make it this far, and are making their 16th Final Four appearance; their last one was in 2018, when they lost to Villanova. Out of the four teams in the final, Kansas has gone the longest without winning it (2008). The Jayhawks beat #10 Miami 76-50 to advance. Kansas trailed the Hurricanes 35-29 at halftime before outscoring them 47-15 in the second half.
The semifinals are on Saturday April 2nd in New Orleans, with the championship game on Monday April 4th.
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Mark, I agree that the Tar Heels were “underseeded.” This has been the most exciting March Madness I can recall seeing in a long time. I hope you don’t mind if I interject my opinion on student-athletes and compensation. I won’t be offended if you delete it. St. Peter’s University team made the most compelling argument, imo, on why student-athletes should have been compensated decades ago.
Per the media outlets the school’s applications are up since the team’s appearance in this Tournament. The school’s website supposedly crashed because there was so much curiosity and their apparel sold out. The performance and composure of these players on the court generated visibility for the school. The final four teams schools already have the notoriety but St. Peter’s name was unknown until this tournament. Sports, in general, generate a lot of revenue for colleges. Glad to see the NCAA has finally begun to acknowledge the connection. There is nothing like sports and its ability to bring people together.