First look at the men’s Final Four: College basketball’s blues will play in New Orleans
The men’s Final Four will be viewed through blue-tinted glasses with some of college basketball’s most historic programs and top brands meeting in New Orleans this week. Bluebloods who wear blue trimmed uniforms.
Throw in an epic rivalry for good measure.
Kansas, the game’s most victorious team, is the only No. 1 seed headed to Caesars Superdome. Joining the Jayhawks are programs that have won five of the last seven national championships: Villanova, North Carolina and Duke.
A story line overrides all else. Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski now knows where his career will end. Duke’s season and the legend’s career were extended with the West Region championship.
Coach K will bid for his sixth NCAA championship before retiring. He won’t catch UCLA’s John Wooden, who has 10. But Krzyzewski will finish his career with a record 13 Final Four appearances, one more than Wooden.
And how about Duke’s semifinal opponent?
The Blue Devils and North Carolina will meet for the first time in a NCAA Tournament game. They made the Final Four in 1991 but didn’t play in the semifinals. Duke defeated UNLV but the Tar Heels lost to Kansas.
North Carolina did its part to keep the rivalry alive by ending the magical run of St. Peter’s in the East Regional final. The Peacocks had been the NCAA Tournament darlings, bidding to become the first No. 15 — and first higher than an 11 seed — to reach a men’s Final Four. They had defeated Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue along the way to become the first 15 seed in the Elite Eight.
But the Tar Heels dominated from start to finish in a 69-49 victory to dash the underdog’s dreams and set up the showdown between ACC schools.
The Final Four includes three of the top four teams in all-time Division I victories. The order: Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Duke.
When it comes to all-time Final Four appearances, North Carolina tops the list with 21. Duke and Kansas are in the top five.
Also there’s this: Three teams are led by Hall of Fame coaches. Villanova’s Jay Wright was elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2021, Kansas’ Bill Self in 2017 and Krzyzewski in 2001.
Game times are set: Kansas-Villanova at 5:09 p.m. Central, Duke-North Carolina about 7:49 p.m. Both semifinals and Monday’s title game will be on TBS.
Here’s a first look at the games.
No. 2 seed Duke vs. No. 8 North Carolina
Lost in the Krzyzewski celebration is the job of North Carolina first-year coach Hubert Davis, who was elevated from his assistant’s seat to replace the retiring Roy Williams.
The Tar Heels dropped to 18-8 with a mid-February loss to Pittsburgh. North Carolina was out of the polls. But North Carolina won its final five regular-season games, including a 13-point triumph to spoil Krzyzewski’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tar Heels had fallen to Duke by 20 in Chapel Hill a month earlier.
North Carolina entered the tournament as a No. 8 seed but defeated top seed Baylor in the second round, got huge shots from Caleb Love in the final moments of its Sweet 16 victory over UCLA and blitzed St. Peter’s.
Davis served as a Tar Heels’ assistant for the previous decade and went to multiple Final Fours, so he’s no final weekend novice.
If North Carolina cuts the nets on Monday night he’ll become the second coach to win a championship in his first year, joining Michigan’s Steve Fisher in 1989. Davis became the second coach to take his alma mater to the men’s Final Four after playing in one (1991), joining Kansas’ Dick Harp (1940 and 1957).
Duke also waited until the tournament to play its best basketball. The Blue Devils not only fell late to North Carolina but were upset by Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament title game. Talk of a possible top seed faded and Duke entered the postseason on the second line.
Would there be a net to cut down for the final time for Krzyzewski?
It was assured after Duke pounded Arkansas behind freshman and regional MVP Paolo Banchero to capture the West title. “The joy, you can’t explain,” Krzyzewski said.
No. 1 seed Kansas vs. No. 2 Villanova
The Jayhawks and Wildcats couldn’t win their most recent national championships without beating each other.
The Wildcats’ road to their 2016 and 2018 titles went through Kansas. The first victory came in a regional final, the second in a national semifinal.
Kansas’ 2008 national championship run included a Sweet 16 victory over Villanova.
The Jayhawks (32-6) roared past Miami (Florida) 76-50, outscoring the Hurricanes by 32 points in the second half. The 10th-seeded Hurricanes were bidding for the first Final Four in school history. Instead, they got steamrolled after playing an inspired first half.
Regional most outstanding player Remy Martin has been a late-season spark for KU but the big second half was a team effort. All-American Ochai Agbaji scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, and center David McCormack started the comeback with five straight points to open the second half.
The Jayhawks are headed to their 16th Final Four, the most recent in 2018. They were the nation’s top-ranked team in 2020 heading into the postseason when the tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.
Villanova survived a defensive battle with Houston 50-44 on Saturday to win the South Regional and advance to their third Final Four in six years. The Cougars missed 19 of their 20 three-point attempts.
The bad news involving VIllanova’s Justin Moore was confirmed on Sunday. Moore suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the final minute of Saturday’s game and will miss the Final Four. He’s Villanova’s second leading scorer (14.8).
This story was originally published March 27, 2022 at 4:13 PM with the headline "First look at the men’s Final Four: College basketball’s blues will play in New Orleans."