NCAA National Championship Game Preview

It's Time. We started this crazy dance a month ago with 64 teams. All of them with an eye on the prize, to become the National Champions of College Basketball. We saw upsets all over the floor, individual players had superhuman performances, and everything in between. Now, after all of that, we have two teams left standing. When all is said and done, after the smoke has cleared and the horn sounds at the end of forty minutes of play, we will have oursleves a new Champion in College Basketball.

Roy Williams will send out his North Carolina Tar Heels against Jay Wright's Villanova Wildcats. After a 27-4 regular season and winning the 2016 Big East regular season title, they fell just short in the Big East Tournament. However the record was good enough to land them in the big dances, as. they were named the number two seed in the South Region. Villanova kicked off the tournament with a 86-56 victory over UNC Asheville. They followed that up by routed Iowa 87-68 to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009. Villanova then squared off with Miami, blasting the Hurricanes 92-69. Villanova capped off the Elite Eight by beating the top seeded Kansas 64-59 to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2009. Once there, Villanova had the biggest blowout in Final Four history beating Oklahoma 95-51 to advance to the National Championship Game for the first time since their 1985 miracle national championship run.

As for North Carolina, they went 25–6 during the regular season, claiming the ACC Regular Season Title. North Carolina beat Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, and Virginia en route to the ACC Tournament Championship. With a performance like that, it was no surprise they were named the top seed in the East Region of the Tournament. North Carolina kicked off the Tournament with a 83-67 win over Florida Gulf Coast. The Tar Heels followed it up with a win over Providence 85-66 to advance to the Sweet 16. Once there, UNC rolled to a 101-86 victory over Indiana. In the Elite Eight, North Carolina beat fellow ACC foe Notre Dame 88-74 to advance to the Final Four for the 19th time, the most in NCAA history. North Carolina kept right on rolling along, beating Syracuse 83-66 to make their 10th appearance in the National Title game becoming one of only four schools to do so along with Duke who has 11 title game appearances, and UCLA and Kentucky who both have 12 national title game appearances, in hopes of winning their sixth national title.

These two teams never faced each other during the regular season. So that's how we got to where we are tonight, Lets see how these two clubs stack up.

Both teams have their strengths. North Carolina dominated the paint like it was nobody's business against the Orange on Saturday. Sure, they may not have been able to hit many shots from 3-point range (they did go 4-17 from behind the arc). They made up for it by play in the paint, where the Heels scored almost as many points in the paint as Cuse did as an entire team. North Carolina scored 50 points in the paint and defeated Syracuse by an 83-66 margin. In that game, as well as almost the entire tournament, North Carolina is led by its size and strength down low in Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Joel James. Those four guys have been causing massive problems for opposing teams all season long, especially so come tournament time. UNC has been averaging about 88 points a game in the big dance, which shows that their size does pay off. There defense is nothing to sleep on either. Don't believe me? Just as Syracuse.

Villanova is no pushover, they have a good team just the same. Nova had a great defense, as they held Buddy Heild to just nine points in the Final Four. Heild had been averaging 29.9 points a game in the tournament going into that Final Four matchup. Villanova has plenty of talent, and the Wildcats were clearly at their best against the Sooners. Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins and Ryan Arcidiacono punished Oklahoma throughout the game. Hart had 23 points and was able to make contested shots throughout the game. Jenkins was right behind with 18 points, while Arcidiacono scored 15 points and handled the ball with expertise throughout. Nova has talent on both ends of the floor. Holding Heild to that low point total speaks volumes as to how good their team defense is. Not only can they defend, but they can score too. Villanova has scored at least 86 points in four of its five games, and UNC's three-point defense may not be ready or able to deal with a team shooting 49.0 percent from downtown in the tournament.

There's no doubt that this is going to be a battle from start to finish. A very close game will be played out on the floor in Houston. Nova is going to fight and battle from start to finish, and being able to shoot 71.4% from the field is going to be a big help. But play in the paint is going to be critical and that's where the Tar Heels have the edge. North Carolina's ability to score underneath and keep opponents from asserting themselves will make the difference.

Pick: North Carolina Tar Heels