Mark WiedmerIt was late Saturday evening, and Villanova had just stunned overall No. 1 seed Kansas in the South Region final to advance to this weekend’s Final Four in Houston.
As Villanova coach Jay Wright paused to speak to CBS, he perfectly explained his Wildcats’ late-game resolve in their 64-59 win – after all, they did hit 18 of 19 free throws – by recalling point guard Ryan Arcidiacono’s emotions in the game’s final seconds.
“I saw Arc tearing up on the foul line at the end,” Wright said. “I’ve never seen that. Ever.”
That is one aspect of this Final Four that makes it special, whichever team ultimately wins among the Quixotic quartet of North Carolina, Oklahoma, Syracuse and Villanova. These are, save the ‘Cuse, heavily veteran teams desperate to leave a lasting mark on their programs in their last chances to dance.
And while all of these programs have previously reached college basketball’s ultimate weekend, it’s been a while for all of them save the ‘Cuse. Even the baby bluest of the bluebloods – North Carolina – hasn’t gone this far since its last national championship in 2009.
Villanova was also there that year, falling to the Tar Heels in the semifinals. As for the Orange, while they did reach the Final Four in Atlanta in 2013, they have also endured a rather messy NCAA investigation since then, the results of which included coach Jim Boeheim being suspended for nine games this season.
Then there’s Oklahoma, the only one of the four to have never cut down the nets on Monday night, and the one disconnected from the Final Four the longest, having last advanced to so lofty a perch in 2002, when the event was staged inside Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.
So this Final Four is all about revival and redemption, about three schools – North Carolina, Syracuse and Villanova – hoping to add to their NCAA championship trophy case and a fourth, Oklahoma, that has never won.
It will also (at least it should be) about what price is paid for glory, given that one could easily label the North Carolina-‘Cuse semi as the Before-and-After NCAA Investigation Game, because a nasty academic scandal still threatens the Tar Heels if the NCAA ever decides to do its job and bring the school to justice.
That said, the greatest single coaching job of this tournament was delivered Sunday afternoon by Boeheim in turning to a little-used full-court press to erase a 16-point deficit in the final half against Virginia. Held to 21 points the entire first half against the Wahoos, the ‘Cuse outscored Virginia by 20 in the final period to win 68-62.
“It was a great comeback,” Boeheim said, “one of the best I’ve coached in, any team I’ve had, in terms of you’re playing, I think, a great team.”
As for the other semifinal, the one sending probable national player of the year Buddy Hield and his Sooners against Wright’s wise and wily Wildcats, it just could be the most entertaining game of the tournament.
Yes, Oklahoma blasted ‘Nova 78-55 in Hawaii in December. But the Cats hit but 4 of 32 3-pointers that day, and that’s not likely to happen again, even if Houston’s NRG Stadium has the worst shooting background of any Final Four site ever.
And because of that, because inside play should be at a premium, North Carolina should be able to solve the Syracuse 2-3 zone well enough to beat the Orange for the third time this season.
Whether the Heels meet Oklahoma or Villanova in the title game almost completely depends on which of those two teams, if either, can find its shooting eye in a wretched shooter’s arena.
Whatever happens in Houston, the college basketball landscape figures to be much different next season. Wisconsin could conceivably have everyone back. Duke will again be loaded. Perhaps Kentucky. Throw in Michigan State with a potentially stunning recruiting class, and the 2017 Final Four could be an exact repeat of the 2015 Final Four.
Closer to home, Sunday’s news that Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings is leaving for Pitt is significant on two fronts.
One, Vandy would seem at least as good a job as the Panthers and a far better weather climate, so Stallings is probably getting out ahead of a frustrated booster posse determined to terminate him after failing to reach so much as the NCAA’s round of 64 the past four years.
Second, Stallings’ son Jacob is a catcher in the Pirates’ minor league system, which may have led the coach to hope he’ll be able to watch his kid in the big leagues at some point in his reported six-year contract.
And with that opening in Nashville, the drums will beat loudly for former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach and current VCU boss Will Wade to return to the Music City, where he spent so much time as a young man cheering on the Commodores since Memorial Gym.
Wade’s own former assistant’s post at Harvard and his mom’s time as head of Franklin Road Academy leave no doubt of his concern and understanding of the academic model that Vanderbilt prefers. The question for Wade is whether or not he believes his full-court pressing style is a good fit with the ‘Dores and whether he’s also concerned about earning a reputation as a hoops gypsy by taking his third job in four years.
But all that will play out as it plays out.
For now, at least through next Monday night, we will all – at least everyone except the Commodore Nation and the trickle-down impact of that hire – be focused on Houston, and whether anyone can solve the problem North Carolina figures to be in a building where no one can shoot straight, but only the Tar Heels appear to have the size and muscle to turn second-chance points into a NCAA title.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.