By Brody Bryan, Staff Writer
Even after all of the upsets and unexpected surprises, the NCAA Tournament Final Four comes down to four endgame regulars: Kansas, Duke, North Carolina and Villanova. All four have already won at least three championships in the past, and this year each is looking to add one more.
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For the second straight year, a 15-seed has embraced the role of the underdog and turned themselves into a Cinderella story. The Saint Peter's Peacocks, led by head coach Shaheen Holloway, managed to beat a tournament favorite in overtime, knocking off Kentucky 85-79. They then proceeded to take down Murray State, thanks to an outstanding performance by senior forward Kenechukwu “KC” Ndefo. Those two wins allowed Saint Peter’s to become just the third 15-seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen, joining Oral Roberts (2021) and Florida Gulf Coast (2013). The Peacocks decided to take it a step further, though, as they came out on top in a back and forth game over Purdue. However, their magical run eventually came to an end in the Elite Eight, as they fell to North Carolina in a 69-49 blowout.
Even though Saint Peter’s, a team that earned the support of people all across the United States, ended up losing, the result of this game did allow for an incredible matchup in the Final Four. North Carolina’s victory set up for a rivalry game against the Duke Blue Devils, making it the first time the two blue bloods have ever faced off in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his team will be out for revenge after North Carolina spoiled Coach K’s last home game back in early March.
The Blue Devils have taken down some tough teams to get here, too. Texas Tech was a popular pick to make their way into the Elite Eight with their stellar defense, but Duke was able to send them home, winning a hard fought game 78-73. Their next challenge wasn’t much easier. Arkansas was coming off of a win over the top overall seed, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Defeating a motivated, hungry team like Gonzaga proved to be a challenge, but Duke got the job done, advancing to the Final Four for the last time in Coach K’s tenure. The Blue Devils may have played some difficult games, but they luckily missed out on having to play the 1-seed in their region and overall in the tournament, Gonzaga.
Gonzaga looked shaky all tournament long. Letting a sixteen seed hang around past halftime and then just barely coming out on top over Memphis were two worryingly unconvincing games. And it all fell apart in the Sweet Sixteen against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Gonzaga fell behind and couldn’t come back, as their season ended in bitter disappointment yet again.
This tournament may have consisted of many upsets, but two of the Final Four teams weren’t very surprising. Coming out of one of the weaker regions, the Kansas Jayhawks have dominated their way into the Final Four. Even with some tight scorelines on paper, the truth is that Kansas has been in control of every single game they’ve played, and it is certainly no surprise to see them among the last four teams remaining.
Villanova is back and looking to recreate some of the runs they’ve had in recent years. After Houston’s win over 1-seed Arizona, and Michigan’s upset over the SEC champion Tennessee Volunteers, Villanova’s path to the Final Four became much clearer. Similar to Kansas, Villanova has been in the driver’s seat in each of their four games to this point, and look like a real contender to win it all.
Though it’s tough to predict who’s going to end up cutting down the nets in New Orleans, the Final Four look to be the most thrilling matchups yet. Both games will be played this Saturday, April 2nd.