North Carolina Tarheels vs. Villanova Wildcats

NCAA Final Four Preview
North Carolina Tarheels (32-4) vs. Villanova Wildcats (30-7)
Saturday, 8:47PM Eastern

Betus.com betting line – North Carolina -7, O/U 159

The North Carolina Tarheels and the Villanova Wildcats will take the floor in the second game of the Final Four this Saturday night in what will definitely be an exciting basketball game. These two teams are fast pace, fly around the ball, and flat out hustle all over the court. If you want to see all out basketball then do not miss this one. The North Carolina Tarheels have long claimed the most talented team in America with so many weapons on the offensive side of the court. All five starters’ average at least 10 points per game which is very rare among the college ranks. However, they will meet a Villanova team that is perhaps one of the most talented starting line-ups they have battled all season. The Wildcats should be able to match the speed of the Tarheels and provide some tenacious defense that could give North Carolina some problems especially if they do not come out shooting well. The Tarheels may be everyone’s pick to win the game, but Villanova has all the ingredients to pull off a win and continue to shock the college basketball world as they have done over the past few weeks.

North Carolina is led by the play of former Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough the ACC’s all-time leading scorer. Hansbrough along with teammate all-American Ty Lawson both gave up the chance to go to the NBA last season just to come back and try and win a National Championship. The two standouts are now only one game away from playing from a National Championship and you would have to expect them to be very hungry. Hansbrough is sporting a strong 21 point average this season along with 8 rebounds. Lawson on the other hand has really stepped up in tournament play average 20 points per game after missing the end of the season with an ankle injury. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, North Carolina has many other threats on the floor outside of these two superstars. Junior Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, and Deon Thompson can all get very hot from the floor and put up big numbers. The Tarheels main challenge in this game will being able to beat the man to man swarming defense that Villanova will try to apply along with the full court pressure. North Carolina was a lot of people’s pick to go to the National Title game and they will get to prove that this Saturday.

Villanova is perhaps the big surprise story of the tournament. The Wildcats came in as a number 3 seed, but few predicted if any that they had what it takes to make the Final Four. After all Villanova had to overcome Duke and Pittsburgh on their road to the Final Four, and now are set to take on the Tarheels in another underdog role. However, the underdog role has not bothered the Wildcats and they will seek another upset. Villanova has really played strong defense all Tournament and their classic battle with Pittsburgh was one of the best basketball games in recent memory. The Wildcats sport a smaller than average lineup that contains a lot of speed and quickness. Villanova must use their speed to make quick drives to the basket and keep North Carolina on their hills. After all they are competing with the best scoring offense in America. Villanova still may be up to the challenge if they can continue to play defense really well and commit to the man to man defense and not allow Tyler Hansbrough to be a big difference on the inside. Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds are both averaging 16 points per game this season. It will be most interesting to see how Reynolds and some of the other Villanova guards match-up against the best backcourt duo in the nation. However, if they can remain solid on defense and knock down the shots just perhaps that have another upset in store.

Pick – Villanova +7