Not all matches are created equal. With only eight teams left at March Madness, these five potential Final Four encounters have more noise than the rest.
The road to Final Four It’s nearly over as the NCAA Championship field has been reduced from 68 teams to just eight. Four matches over the next two days will resolve the question of who will arrive in New Orleans a week from now to fight for a place in the National Championship game.
Eight teams alive means we could end up with many potential matches in New Orleans but not all of them are created equal. Let’s take a look at the five most interesting games that we could see next weekend if the chips fall in certain ways.
The most attractive potential matches in Final Four
5. St. Peter vs. Kansas – National Championship
Cinderella’s St. Peter’s Race has tossed out 2 seeds, 7 seeds, and 3 seeds in order to get to this point. There is no doubt that the Peacocks have the courage and are more than capable of holding out against any opponent at this point in the field.
The only part really missing from the Cinderella story is seeing if Saint Peter could slay a single seed in order to win it all. The only person left at this point is Kansas, and the possibility of David facing off against the real Goliath with the Championship on the line is pretty tempting.
4. Saint Peter vs. The Duke – Final Four
Peacocks are only one win away from Final Four and they have two potential opponents waiting for them there. With all due respect to Arkansas, the prospect of Saint Peter trying to keep his dream season alive against Duke would be a TV must-see.
The Blue Devils have a story of their own to push as they attempt to send legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement with a national championship. Seeing the end of Krzyzewski’s career with a loss to a small Jesuit school outside of MAAC would be a delicious ending for people who hate Duke, creating big bets for this game.
3. North Carolina vs Villanova – National Championship
One of the most memorable National Championship matches in recent memory came in 2016 when Villanova’s Chris Jenkins won the national title with whistle blows over North Carolina. The two programs have not met since, making this potential tournament a second match in the pipeline for six years.
This match will also be a legacy game for both coaches as Jay Wright can claim his third National Championship while Hubert Davis can win his first game in his first season as Tar Heels coach. The drama will be high here as Jenkins’ replay will run on a fixed episode in the lead up to the competition.
2. Duke vs Kansas – National Championship
Watching two of the most iconic shows in college basketball arena history outside of the National Championship would be a satisfying end to the NCAA Championship. Despite all the turmoil, there’s still a good chance we’ll end up with a Blue Bloods four in Final Four and these programs are among the most popular in the game.
Duke and Kansas met six times in the NCAA Championships and were 3-3 in those encounters, including winning the Blue Devils in a 1991 championship match that secured Krzyzewski’s first title. Krzyzewski would like to end his career by winning one last title against the Jayhawks while KS is looking to spoil the party by helping Bill Self secure his second championship.
1. Duke vs. North Carolina – Final Four
Can you believe the fiercest competition in the sport has never been played in an NCAA tournament? Duke and North Carolina have met 256 times in their written history and have never attended one of those NCAA tournaments.
That would change dramatically if Duke tops Arkansas and North Carolina knocks out St. Peter in the Elite Eight with a meeting in New Orleans. The Tar Heels already ruined Krzyzewski’s last home game with a win at Cameron Indoor on March 5 and they’d love nothing more than to deliver the Duke’s final humiliation by ending his Hall of Famer career with a Final Four loss in the first-ever championship encounter between the two arch-rivals.
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