Syracuse, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Villanova head to Final Four
Mar 27, 2016, 9:44 PM | Updated: Mar 28, 2016, 7:01 am
After two weeks of non-stop basketball, we’re finally down to four teams left in the NCAA Tournament.
Syracuse and North Carolina earned the final two spots on Sunday. The 10th-seeeded Orange rallied from being down by 16 points to upset No. 1 seed Virginia in the Midwest Region Final. Meanwhile North Carolina had no problems in the East Regional Final to claim the final spot in Saturday’s Final Four. The Tar Heels got 25 points and 12 rebounds from Brice Johnson in an 88-74 win over sixth-seeded Notre Dame in Philadelphia.
Sunday’s region championships followed a Saturday during which Oklahoma punched the first ticket to Houston by knocking off the lone Pac-12 team remaining, No. 1 seed Oregon in the West Regional Final. The Sooners will face Villanova after the Wildcats upset the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed Kansas to claim the South Region.
Here’s a look at Saturday’s Final Four matchups.
No. 2 Oklahoma (29-7) vs. No. 2 Villanova (33-5), 3:09 p.m. on TBS
Road to the Final Four
The Sooners’ road to Houston began in Oklahoma City on March 18 with a 82-68 win over 15th-seed Cal State-Bakersfield in the first round, and continued with a 85-81 win over tenth seed VCU on March 20. Oklahoma took care of No. 3 seed Texas A&M 77-63 Thursday in Anaheim and then defeated No. 1 seed Oregon 80-68 on Saturday. The Sooners will make their fifth appearance in the Final Four, their first since the 2001-02 season where they lost to Indiana.
Villanova began its journey to the Final Four on March 18 with a 86-56 first-round 86-56 win over No. 15 seed UNC Asheville in Brooklyn N.Y., and continued with a 87-68 win over No. 7 seed Iowa on March 20. The Wildcats defeated No. 3 seed Miami 92-69 in Louisville on Thursday and No. 1 seed Kansas 64-59 on Saturday. Villanova will make its fifth Final Four appearance, its first since the 2008-09 season when the Wildcats lost to eventual national champions North Carolina.
On the season
Oklahoma finished third in the Big 12 conference with a 12-6 record, three games behind regular-season conference champion Kansas. The Sooners are led by Buddy Hield who averages 25.4 points per game, while Ryan Spangler averages 9.2 rebounds per game.
Villanova won the Big East regular season title with a 16-2 record, two games ahead of Xavier. The Wildcats are led by Josh Hart who averages 15.3 ppg while Daniel Ochefu averages 7.6 rebounds per game.
Previous Meeting
Oklahoma defeated Villanova 75-55 in December during the Pearl Harbor Classic.
No. 10 Syracuse (23-13) vs. No. 1 North Carolina (32-6), 5:49 p.m. on TBS.
Road to the Final Four
Syracuse’s Cinderella ride through the Midwest Region started off on March 18 in St. Louis with a 70-51 win over No. 7 seed Dayton followed by a 75-50 win over Middle Tennessee, who knocked off No. 2 seed Michigan State two days earlier. The Orange continued their run in Chicago with a 63-60 win over No. 11 seed Gonzaga before knocking off top seed Virginia, 68-62. The Orange will be making their sixth appearance in the Final Four and their first since 2012-13 when they lost to Michigan.
After fellow No. 1 seeds Oregon, Virginia and Kansas were eliminated in the Elite Eight, North Carolina is the lone remaining top seed. The Tar Heels began their march to Houston with a 83-67 win over 16th seed Florida Gulf Coast in Raleigh on March 17, and followed up with a 85-66 win over No. 9 Providence on March 19. UNC’s journey continued in Chicago on Friday with a 101-86 win over fifth-seed Indiana and culminated with Sunday night’s 88-74 win over sixth seed Norte Dame. This will be North Carolina’s 19th appearance in the Final Four, tying them with UCLA for the most appearances. The Tar Heels last trip to the Final Four was in 2008-09 when they won their fifth national championship.
On the season
Syracuse finished the ACC regular season with a 9-9 record, fifth place in the conference and five games behind first place North Carolina. The Orange were seen as a bubble team after dropping five of its last six games including losing its final three games of the season. Syracuse is led by Michael Gbinije who averages 17.8 ppg and Malachi Richardson’s 13.0 ppg while Tyler Roberson averages 8.5 rebounds per game.
North Carolina won the ACC regular season with a 14-4 record, finishing one game ahead of Virginia. The Tar Heels are led by Brice Johnson who averages 16.8 ppg and 10.5 rebounds a game. Others to watch include Joel Berry II, Marcus Paige and Justin Jackson who all average 12 ppg each.
Previous Meeting
UNC won both of its previous meetings with Syracuse including a Jan. 9 meeting in which the Tar Heels defeated the Orange 84-74 and again Feb. 29 by the score of 75-70.
