Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht and Kentucky’s Justin EdwardsBryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
East No. 1 Connecticut over West No. 1 North Carolina
In the past 30 NCAA tournaments, Connecticut has five national championships, North Carolina has four and no other program has more than three.
But would you believe these programs have only met in the tournament one time, with UNC beating UConn in the 1998 Elite Eight (before losing to Utah in the Final Four)?
What I’m saying is we are long overdue.
And, well, we already have a good idea what to expect from their neutral-court meeting in early December, which Connecticut won by 11.
UNC has had a great defense for much of this season, but when things go sideways, they really go sideways, allowing at least 80 points in six of its seven losses. And while RJ Davis is mighty good, the Tar Heels’ overall shooting usually isn’t going to be good enough to overcome that type of defensive effort.
Midwest No. 2 Tennessee over South No. 3 Kentucky
Why, yes, I would love a third round of this SEC slugfest, thank you.
Tennessee won 103-92 at Rupp Arena, and Kentucky returned the favor with an 85-81 road win to close out the regular season. And then both teams bowed out immediately in the SEC tournament to prevent a third matchup from coming together.
But speaking from Duke-UNC experience two years ago in New Orleans, a rubber match in the Final Four would be amazing.
Offense was the name of the game in the first two battles, but which do you trust more in the Final Four: Kentucky’s No. 1 three-point percentage offense in the country or Tennessee’s No. 3 adjusted defensive efficiency?
Love this Kentucky team, but I think this is where just not having much on defense beyond Reed Sheppard steals and Ugonna Onyenso blocks becomes its undoing.
