NCAA Tournament: Tar Heels vs. Ducks Final Four game preview
The North Carolina Tar Heels and Oregon Ducks will meet in the Final Four in Phoenix. How will things play out in the NCAA tournament Semifinal?
The Final Four is coming.
Thanks to the Tar Heels breathtaking win over the Wildcats they will be there in Phoenix and their opponent will be the Ducks of Oregon.
Oregon made it this far by shooting past a previously dominant Kansas team.
The two squads play two different styles of basketball. So with the squads set and ready to play, what are the important questions surrounding this semifinal game in Phoenix.
How does Roy Williams choose to defend the Ducks?
Against the Kentucky Wildcats, Roy Williams decided to defend things a little different this time.
Whether it was the fact that Joel Berry II fouled out in their first meeting, or the fact he was coming off an ankle injury, Roy decided someone else should guard DeAaron Fox.
So with that he put Theo Pinson on Fox. But then he went a step further and put Justin Jackson on Malik Monk and hid Joel Berry on Isaiah Briscoe.
The result was brilliant.
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After scoring 60 combined points in a win against UCLA, the freshman duo of Fox and Monk were held to just 25 total points, and nine of those came in the last minute of the game. Both players were in foul trouble and finished a combined 9-of-24 from the field.
Oregon presents similar if not more problems. Oregon likes to play four guards (Dillon Brooks is listed as a forward, the guy is a big guard).
The biggest difference is unlike Kentucky, the guards are smaller.
Tyler Dorsey, Payton Pritchard, and Dylan Ennis are all 6 foot 4 or smaller. Even backup guard Casey Benson is only 6 foot 3.
Don’t be surprised to see Williams put Pinson on Ennis, Berry on Pritchard, and Jackson on Dorsey, where Jackson’s length can mess with the shorter Dorsey, much like he did against Monk.
The bigger question for Coach Roy is who guards Dillon Brooks. Again, listed as a forward, but is more of a big guard. This could force Williams to go small as Brooks could be a nightmare for either Isaiah Hicks or Luke Maye.
Can the Ducks board with the Tar Heels?
The only downside to going small is that it plays right into the Ducks hands. With Chris Boucher injured, the Ducks only play one player who is 6 foot 8 or taller (they do have Kavell Bigby-Williams who is 6 foot 11, but he has only played 16 minutes total the last two games).
The Tar Heels, on the other hand, have five such players.
Thanks to their size the Tar Heels have an average rebounding margin over the Ducks of seven going into the game.
The Ducks do have Jordan Bell, who had a massive game against Kansas, but Kansas only has one real post player as well. The Ducks have not seen size like this most of the season.
It may force Dana Altman to play Bigby-Jones more and one of his guards less. As mentioned above, that is only more of an advantage for the Tar Heels.
Who wins and why?
In my second round of Best Worst Matchups, the Ducks were the best matchup for the Tar Heels from the four remaining opponents. The size advantage was one of the biggest reasons.
In all the Ducks remind me a lot of Notre Dame, a team UNC has played three times in the past year or so. They too play four guards and one big. In those past three games, the Tar Heels are 3-0 and have outscored the Irish 249-157.
Final Score: UNC 85, Oregon 75. The Tar Heels are just too much for the Ducks to handle inside. UNC continues its defensive dominance and leads the game from start to finish on their way to their second straight National Championship game.