No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 1 Kansas
Date: Saturday, April 4, 2022
Tipoff: 9:20 PM
Arena: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Where to Watch: TBS
The National Championship will be between the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels (29-9) and the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (33-6). North Carolina reached the final four with wins over No. 9 Marquette in the first round, No. 1 Baylor in the second, No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16, against the Cinderella No. 15 Saint Peter’s in the Elite Eight, and their archrivals No. 2 Duke in the Final Four. The Jayhawks danced their way to the Final Four with wins over No. 16 Texas Southern in the first round, No. 9 Creighton in the second round, No. 4 Providence in the Sweet 16, No. 10 Miami in the Elite Eight, and finally No. 2 Villanova in the Final Four.
WHY NORTH CAROLINA CAN WIN
Rebounding
UNC can rebound well, and I mean really well, the Tar Heels grabbed 50 boards in the 81-77 Final Four win over Duke, including 21 from Armando Bacot. Kansas is just 1-3 when allowing more than 37 rebounds from the opposing team, and North Carolina has reached that mark in each of its last 10 games. The Tar Heels are 20-2 when grabbing more than 37 rebounds, which is what will happen on Monday.
WHY KANSAS CAN WIN
Three-pointers
Unlike North Carolina, Kansas was supposed to be here. The No. 1 seeded Jayhawks are playing like a number one seed and they’re shooting the ball very well. In the Final Four win over Villanova, Kansas shot 13 of 24 from three. Efficient shooting like that can outmatch good defense any night.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
Obviously, there’s no easy path to the Final Four. However, Kansas has caught many lucky breaks throughout the tournament. Creighton was missing a key inside presence in Ryan Kalkbrenner. They nearly choked a double-digit lead to a lackluster Providence team. The Jayhawks were blessed with a 10-seed in the Elite Eight. Villanova was missing Justin Moore who suffered a torn Achilles vs. Houston. So, while there is no way to fluke your way into the national title game, Kansas certainly hasn’t had a difficult road. On the contrary, North Carolina has had a very tough path to the national championship and they have not flinched. The Tar Heels beat a 1 seed, 2 seed, and 4 seed on their way to the big game.
North Carolina will finish their fairytale season with a national championship win over Bill Self and Kansas.
Pick: North Carolina +4
Prediction: North Carolina 81, Kansas 75
Will Bill Self and Kansas win the national championship? Or will Hubert Davis and North Carolina complete the miracle season?
Only time will tell.
Caleb Love takes AJ Griffin's ankles in the Final Four Matchup. UNC would win 81-77
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