Final Four Predictions

After all of the early round madness, who remains to play in the Final Four on April 4^th? If I got it right to this point, here are the four teams that emerge. Out of the Midwest Region is almost everyone’s favorite to win it all, undefeated Kentucky (34-0), who is the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. The West Region has my lowest seeded team advancing to the Final Four, #4 seed North Carolina (24-11). #1 seed Villanova (32-2) makes it out of the East Region, and #3 seed Iowa State (25-8) rounds out my Final Four, which will be held on April 4^th, 2015 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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National Semifinals Game 1

In the first Final Four game, the Kentucky Wildcats will face the North Carolina Tar Heels. North Carolina comes into this game out of the West Region, which included such powerhouses as Wisconsin, Arizona, Baylor, and Arkansas. The Tar Heels had signature wins against No.2 Virginia, Louisville, and Ohio State. The Tar Heels also took Duke into overtime before falling, 92-90. Kentucky is undefeated this season, including having beaten North Carolina at home, 84-70, back on December 13^th. Kentucky outscored its opponents by an average of 21 points this season, ranking #29 in scoring offense and #3 in points allowed this season. North Carolina outscored its opponents this season by an average of almost 10 points this season. No surprises here, Kentucky wins and advances to the championship game.

National Semifinals Game 2

In the second Final Four matchup, the Villanova Wildcats face the Iowa State Cyclones. Villanova has only tasted defeat twice this season, and beat tournament teams Providence, Butler, Xavier, and St. John’s twice each. Villanova also beat Georgetown and VCU. The Wildcats have outscored its opponents by an average of over 16 points per game this season. Iowa State will have had to get by some tough opponents to get to this game, but are outclassed here. Iowa State did beat Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas in its conference tournament, as well as Arkansas, Iowa, and West Virginia during regular season play. Iowa State outscored its opponents by an average of 9 points per game this season. Villanova is just the better and more consistent team, and will advance to the championship without a lot of difficulty.

National Championship Game

The NCAA Basketball title game takes place on April 6^th, 2015 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is the game Kentucky has pointed to all season. Villanova should make it a game for the first half, but look for Kentucky not to hold anything back as they see the finish line. John Calipari finally lets the Kentucky Wildcats players cut down the net, as they win their 9^th NCAA Basketball National Championship. My predicted score: Kentucky 70, Villanova 56.

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