It doesn’t take long to appreciate the overwhelming historical strength of next weekend’s Final Four in New Orleans.
Two facts will do. No. 1: Focusing on tourney seeding only, the University of North Carolina is the Cinderella among a quartet that includes fellow blue bloods Duke, Kansas and Villanova. That’s because the late-charging Tar Heels – who just happen to have won the third-most NCAA men’s basketball tournament titles with six, and who own the record for Final Four appearances with 21 – entered this year’s March Madness as a No. 8 seed in the East Regional before dispatching the tourney’s all-time Cinderella in Saint Peter’s by a 69-49 score Sunday.
Yet UNC’s seed sits in stark contrast to Duke – No. 2 out West – Kansas, which won the Midwest to become the lone No. 1 seed in this year’s tourney to reach college hoops’ final weekend, and Villanova, the No. 2 seed in the South.
As for Fact No. 2: The four schools have combined to win 17 NCAA titles, which ties the 2008 quartet of UCLA, Kansas, Memphis and North Carolina for the most entering the Final Four. Along with UNC’s six, Duke has five and Kansas and Villanova three each.
So for all the feel-good unexpected moments delivered by the Saint Peter’s Peacocks in becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach a regional final after shocking No. 2 seed Kentucky, seventh-seeded Murray State and No. 3 seed Purdue, as well as Iowa State’s run to the Sweet 16 after going 2-22 a year ago, this 2022 Final Four is all about the sport’s rich and powerful.
And completely fair or not, it will mostly be about the ongoing, season-long retirement party for 75-year-old Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who’ll be walking into the sunset hoping to add at least two more to his record 1,202 total victories and record 101 NCAA triumphs in an attempt to win his sixth NCAA title, his five crowns already second to the 10 in 12 years the late John Wooden won at UCLA from 1964 to 1975.
So which of the sport’s royalty will cut the nets down inside the Superdome to the iconic victory song “One Shining Moment”?
Before news arrived Sunday night that superb Villanova guard Justin Moore is out for the rest of the tournament with a torn Achilles’ tendon suffered in the final 35 seconds of Saturday’s regional final victory over Houston, it certainly appeared as if the Wildcats would be the dark-horse pick coming out of the Big East.
But that all changed when Moore was lost.
“This is a tough blow for all of us, not just because of the great player Justin is, but because of what he means to us as teammates and coaches,” coach Jay Wright said in a statement released Sunday. “As one of our captains, Justin has been an integral part of our success. He helps our team in so many ways. Every game, he guards the opponent’s best scorer and is one of the toughest rebounding guards we have had in our time at Villanova.”
Indeed, it was Moore whom the Philly Felines would have counted on to slow Kansas All-America guard Ochai Agbaji, who led the Jayhawks’ impressive 76-50 win over Miami on Sunday with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting after the Hurricanes led 35-29 at halftime.
Said Kansas coach Bill Self afterward: “That was about as well as we can play, the second half. These guys earned it.”
All four teams are probably playing as well as they have all season, at least everyone save Villanova now that it has lost Moore.
UNC came into this tourney with a 3-8 record in Quad 1 games, its only truly high-profile win coming at Duke in the final game of the regular-season. But the Tar Heels built a 25-point lead against No. 1 seed Baylor in the round of 32 before hanging on to win in overtime, then knocked off last year’s Final Four Cinderella UCLA in the Sweet 16 before crushing Saint Peter’s.
Said Peacocks forward KC Ndefo of the Tar Heels: “We give a lot of credit to them. They’re a talented team.”
But no one is as talented as Duke, which, according to NBA Draft Room’s projections, has freshmen Paolo Banchero and Adrian Griffin going fifth and sixth, respectively, in the draft, with center Mark Mitchell in the top 20.
The Tar Heels may be a wee bit hotter right now, but Duke will have the advantage of revenge as motivation when the two giants meet for the first time ever in the NCAA tournament.
Regardless, the stage is now set for one of the most top-heavy Final Fours ever inside a Superdome that has hosted two of North Carolina’s most memorable title victories – against Georgetown in 1982 on Michael Jordan’s winning shot, and the 1993 final against Michigan when the Fab Five’s Chris Webber called a timeout the Wolverines didn’t have.
“There’s no greater day in college basketball than when those four regional champions, four champions, get in one arena and play,” Krzyzewski said after Saturday’s 78-69 win over Arkansas. “It’s the greatest day for college basketball, and we’re honored to be a part of it.”
Come the night of Monday, April 4, expect Duke to face Kansas for the championship. Then expect the NCAA to hugely hope Coach K goes out in style, if only to spare the tournament the embarrassing possibility of having to later strip the Jayhawks of their title because of the five Level I violations they’re currently facing due to the FBI investigation that’s now five years old.
Me? I’m taking the possible NCAA Jailhawks to win 73-69, then Duke’s legal eagles to hand their retiring coach his sixth crown a few years later on some sort of legal appeal, assuring that Krzyzewski’s final victory lap will hold the sport hostage for at least a wee bit longer.
Mark WiedmerContact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @TFPWeeds.