What started with 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament field three weeks ago has come down to the Final Four and three games to decide who will be the men’s basketball national champion and cut the nets down at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, Monday night.
The second-seeded Oklahoma Sooners (29-7), champions of the West Region, take on the second-seeded Villanova Wildcats (33-5), who outlasted the No. 1 overall team in the tournament, the Kansas Jayhawks, in the South Region final last Saturday night.
Then, the only No. 1 seed to advance to the Final Four, the North Carolina Tar Heels (32-6), faces off against the 10th-seeded Syracuse Orange (23-13) for the final spot in the National Championship Game.
Here are four reasons why Syracuse will win the National Championship.
MOTIVATION TO PROVE PEOPLE WRONG
Syracuse not supposed to make the 2016 NCAA Tournament, let alone the Final Four after the men’s basketball team was given a host of sanctions as a result of a multi-year investigation into the athletic program.
However, the Orange (23-13) earned their way into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed and advanced to the Final Four, where they will take on the Tar Heels tonight.
“There's certain words that I object to,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “‘Clean’ is one of them. Things can happen in a program. That doesn't mean it's something dirty. It just means something happened that shouldn't have happened and you try to correct it. You face your punishment and you move on. That's what you do.
“As far as our team, these players weren't involved in anything. They're concerned about playing basketball. They are focused on our season. They've been consistent from day one. We started out really great. We struggled a little bit. We got great again. We struggled a little bit again. Now, we're playing great again.”
PLAYERS BONDED BY ADVERSITY
The investigation yielded enough results for Syracuse to lose 12 scholarships, Boeheim to be suspended for nine games within the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule and the vacation of 108 victories for using ineligible players from 2004-2007, and again, from 2010-2012.
“Through all of it, the players kept their purpose, they kept their heads down, they kept playing,” Boeheim said. “I mean, we had some really close, tough losses. At Carolina, you're down two with 40 seconds to go. I don't think anybody has been that close to Carolina since.
“It's been a very focused group, great senior leadership. We have three freshmen in the seven guys that play. They've been consistent from day one. We talk all the time in life about you can't be distracted by things because there are distractions in everybody's life, and you still have to go out and do what you do. Our players have done that. I'm very proud of them.
“I think our players just want to win. I really do. At the end of the day, whether you have a chip on your shoulder or not, you have to go out and play well. You have to play better than the other guys.”
JERSEY STRONG
Syracuse’s run to the Final Four has been a story of redemption for a very proud program that was banned from the postseason last year for sanctions against men’s basketball team for using ineligible players in past seasons.
Through all of the adversity, the Orange relied on the talents of a pair of New Jersey natives, Malachi Richardson and Tyler Roberson, in order to return to the elite of college basketball, particularly in a comeback win in the Elite Eight.
“Both guys were the main guys on their teams,” Boeheim said. “They played on high-level teams, so I think that helps guys when they make that first-year adjustment. It's a little ironic, but the offense in the second half really came from those two guys. I mean, we had contributions from others, but those two guys were phenomenal in the second half.”
COMEBACK ABILITY
The No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region, the Orange used a late second-half rally to earn a 68-62 win over the top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers and punch their ticket to the Final Four.
Down by 13 points, 54-41, with 8:54 to play, Syracuse cranked up the defensive pressure and made three layups and a pair of free throws in the next minute. Then, the rally really got underway as Richardson buried a three-pointer, and followed it up by forcing a turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass.
Following a three-pointer from Tyler Lydon, Michael Gbinije and Richardson made layups to put the ‘Cuse in front for good.
According to Boeheim, Roberson’s defensive efforts buoyed the comeback effort.
“He made unbelievable plays,” Boeheim said. “He had 11 blocks this weekend. I mean, everybody said he couldn't play center. He's 212 pounds, but he's been able to do it. That's why we've been successful because he's been able to play center. If he couldn't, we wouldn't be here. We would have been long gone.
“He made 11 blocks. He made two critical defensive plays at the end of the (Virginia) game. He blocked the possible game-winning shot in the Gonzaga game coming from out of nowhere. It was an unbelievably instinctive reaction. It was kind of like Hakim Warrick blocking the shot in the corner against Kansas. Great plays.”
