Andie Carroll, Reporter
@acarrollcourant
As one of the most anticipated tournaments in the history of college sports approaches on March 16th, America prepares by creating their infamous brackets. The final bracket was filled on Selection Sunday and the teams in the tournament have been announced. This year’s prestigious number one seeds have been given to Villanova, North Carolina, Kansas, and Gonzaga. The question that remains in everyone’s minds: who will take home the title of National Champion?
The Villanova Wildcats are the defending champions of the tournament after beating the University of North Carolina with a buzzer beater to take home the title last season. This season they have a 28-3 record and are 1st in the Big East. As their head coach, Jay Wright, pushes the team ahead, Villanova has established a strong and consistent game. With star seniors Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins, along with their recent Big East tournament win, Villanova looks towards gaining the national title for the second year in a row.
This season, Gonzaga almost went undefeated. Their single loss to Brigham Young University on February 25 left them with a 30-1 record to close out the season. The West Coast Conference champions have been working toward a number one seed position for years and have finally received what they have been playing so hard for. With five players averaging double digits in their points per game, Gonzaga has a wide variety of players who can convert in high pressure situations. The key to their success in the tournament is finding the open man in a position to score and getting aggressive on the court.
The University of North Carolina is another team who has earned a spot as a number one seed. Heading all the way to the the championship title game last season, they fell just short. Under Roy Williams, UNC has been working hard to get a second chance at the title this year. Ending the season with a 26-6 record, UNC has had some big wins in the last games of the season even though they could not beat Duke in the semi-finals of the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels are relying on Juniors Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II to lead the team throughout the tournament. Both players are currently averaging over 15 points per game.
Kansas, ranked number one nationally this season, has continually been the favorite for the title in the past years. As they look to take home the title this year, coach Bill Self looks toward Senior Frank Mason III, averaging 20.2 points per game and almost 50 percent from beyond the arc, to lead the team to victory. With a bench of only three players, it is imperative that the Jayhawks rest up and get focused in order to prepare for their up and coming game.
These four teams are going to be in the middle of everyone’s bracket this coming week and are expected to make it far in the tournament. However, the winner is hard to predict as the NCAA tournament is notorious for it’s upsets and unexpected victories, and this year is no exception.
