The 4 teams traveling to New Orleans this weekend all have one thing in common. They are historically elite basketball programs. Despite only one #1 seed making it, the names of the other programs sets us up for the biggest matchups on paper in this event since 2015. All 4 programs participating have won at least one National Championship since 2008, and have been operating at an elite level for a long time. Each of one of these teams has had a unique and different journey to get here, which is part of what makes College Basketball such a great sport. Following these teams throughout the season gives you a much better idea of how things once looked at a certain point, and what changed since. Many people might not be thrilled about the idea of an all Blue Blood Final 4, especially if they don’t have a team to root for. With that being said, it has been too long since we had a Final 4, with this high of a name brand.

It is great for College Basketball as a sport, to have these 4 teams here. Primarily, the 2020 NCAA Tournament was the only major sporting event completely whipped out by COVID-19, as all of the other major professional sport leagues managed to get their seasons in. Last year, as great as it was to have the NCAA Tournament back, it didn’t feel normal. With games being played at random times on random days, no crowds and just a different feel a lot of viewers weren’t interested because it just wasn’t a normal tournament.

For the first time since 2019, we are currently witnessing an NCAA Tournament that feels completely normal and America has reacted in a positive way. CBS and Turner said Tuesday that the television audience for the first two rounds of the tournament was up 12% from 2021 and averaging over 9 million viewers per time slot. The broadcasters said that the average viewership in 2022 is the highest through two rounds in five years.

There is zero doubt that #15 seed Saint Peters making it to the Final 4, would have been one of the most incredible stories in the history of sports and it is almost impossible to root against them any time they take the floor. With that being said, very early into their Elite 8 game against North Carolina, it was clear they wouldn’t have a legitimate shot and the run would end. Having a Cinderella team make a deep run like that, before ultimately going down in the Final 4 is the perfect formula for a good tournament. The Peacocks run will be remembered forever, but getting blown out by Duke in the Final 4 would not appealing television. Many people mentioned that this past weekend’s Elite 8 could have been the worst in recent memory, considering the only competitive game between Villanova and Houston had 96 total points scored. That is why, having a Final 4, with these elite teams and brand names should be the best thing for the sport, with all of America watching.

The fact that Duke will be playing their arch rival North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, for the first time ever in the Final 4, doesn’t even feel real yet. No better scenario could have been scripted to close out the legendary career of Coach K. From the start of the season, it has been apparent that Duke had one of if not the most talented roster in all of College Basketball. There are six future pros on this roster and historically, those have been the teams to overwhelm their opponents and do something special in March. With that being said, this Duke team has struggled to put it together on a consistent basis for the majority of the season. There were some games that Duke looked like the best team in the country, and there were others that would leave everyone scratching their head. The biggest one came on the final Saturday of the Regular Season, when North Carolina went into Cameron Indoor Stadium and beat Duke in the final game Mike Krzyzewski would ever coach at his home. At the time, it felt like North Carolina fans would be getting the last laugh for good, causing an awkward scene during the post game festivities. The main narrative was how did Duke lose that game? What no one realized is that North Carolina turned a corner and has only been getting better.

On February 16th, North Carolina had just lost in embarrassing fashion to a bad Pitt team at home. All hope seemed lost for a Tar Heel team that was significantly underachieving and all eyes were on first year Head Coach Hubert Davis. North Carolina also was no guarantee for an NCAA Tournament spot, considering they were yet to collect a quadrant 1 win, basically getting blown out by every good team they had faced up to that point. Right after the Pitt loss, North Carolina picked up their first Quadrant 1 win of the season at Virginia Tech, which really helped them gain some confidence. North Carolina is 10-1 since the loss to Pitt, and have looked like the elite team, many people expected in the preseason. The Sophomore Backcourt of Caleb Love and RJ Davis has been up and down throughout the regular season, and while it has gotten a little better, the narrative hasn’t completely changed just yet. The interesting thing about North Carolina is that they have proven they’re able to win games without the Love and Davis backcourt playing particularly special. Instead it’s been Brady Manek who has elevated the Tar Heels. Manek’s three point shooting and ability to stretch the floor has been the key for this Tar Heel team. The Oklahoma transfer is shooting 47% from three in the NCAA Tournament and Manek’s value was clearly shown in their Round of 32 victory over Baylor. North Carolina was leading by 25 points midway through the second half, when Manek got ejected on a contreverrsial flagrant 2 call. Carolina was lucky to win that game but they haven’t looked back since. With Love and Davis due to have big games and Manek firing from all cylinders, this is why I would have zero interest in playing North Carolina right now.

For a majority of the season, I had a tough time believing that this version of Kansas was good enough to get to the Final 4, especially compared to some of Bill Self’s other great teams of the past. Since the start of the FBI probe in 2017, Kansas and many of the other programs involved have been struggling to return to the same level of recruiting as prior. The reason why not many people realize this, is because Self is such a good coach that it hardly even matters.

Unlike many great previous Kansas teams, there isn’t one elite recruit on this team, but Self still turned it into a winner. He did it with his elite player development, including Ochai Agbaji who only had 1 other Power 6 offer coming out of High School. Up until Kansas’ second half against Miami, the Jayhawks had yet to look like a legit championship team in this NCAA Tournament. Kansas outscored Miami 47-15 in the second half, in the most dominant stretch of basketball by any team so far in this tournament. They barely survived a short handed Creighton team, and easily could have fallen to Providence if it wasn’t for a lackluster shooting night for the Friars. Instead, great teams find ways to win when it isn’t their best night. Kansas even looked like they could be in trouble after the first half, when they went to the locker room trailing by 6 and Miami looked like they had more playmakers. Instead, Kansas outscored Miami 47-15 in the second half, in the most dominant stretch of basketball by any team so far in this tournament. If Kansas plays like that heading into New Orleans, there is zero doubt this team is National Championship good.

Villanova announced on Sunday that Junior Guard Justin Moore has been officially ruled out for the remainder of the NCAA Tournament with an achilles injury. Considering Villanova was just a minute away from clinching a Final 4 berth when the injury occured, it is one of the most heartbreaking moments of recent NCAA Tournament memory.  Moore came to Villanova, not too long after their 2018 National Championship to play in the Final 4. It was gut wrenching to see him go down, with his team so close to securing a Final 4 birth. Moore was out there for the celebration in the post game, but knew the reality in a very difficult situation. The culture Jay Wright has built at Villanova, could be the thing that gets all of Villanova through a tough situation like this.

There is a legitimate argument to be made that this is the best coaching job of Jay Wright’s career considering the situation. Unlike the two National Championship teams under Wright at Villanova, this team does not have a sure fire pro. In addition, while playing 6 guys in the rotation for the majority of the season, depth has been a concern. With that being said, when your team is so disciplined and rarely fouls, that is when depth could be a little overrated. The Wildcats were able to come away with a victory over Houston, despite only shooting 29% from the field and scoring 50 points. Villanova was able to play lights out defense and keep Houston away from the offensive glass, which is usually their biggest strength. It is not spoken about enough, how Jay Wright has turned into one of the premier coaches in the sport with Villanova’s run of the last 8 years. There isn’t a program that knows how to recruit the best kids in terms of fit for the Villanova program. Wright knows to let his Freshman know that if you’re planning on being a one and done and getting to the NBA as quickly as possible, Villanova isn’t the best place for you. This team has six upperclassmen in their primary rotation and all of them have NCAA Tournament experience.

Zachary Krull
Zachary Krull

Zac Krull has covered College Basketball for the last 2 years while working with Aaron Torres of Aaron Torres Media and recording his own Zac Krull Sports Podcast. Currently, Zac is writing as a contributor for Aaron Torres online with weekly articles and working as a producer for the BETQL Network. Zac graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2021 with a degree in Sports Studies.

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