BY: Tony LiebertThis year NCCA Tournament started out slow, but it sure has heated up as of late. The Final Four terrific storylines, Michigan State is the team who is always in big games, Virginia is coming off of being the first one seed to get upset in the first round by a 16 seed. And Texas Tech and Auburn are two of the hottest teams in the country. April 6th, 2019 5:09 pm. CT #1 VIRGINIA (33-3) vs. #5 AUBURN (30-9) VIRGINIA CAVALIERS Virginia’s Previous tournament games: - (Round of 64) vs. #16 Gardner Webb: 71-56 - (Round of 32) vs. #9 Oklahoma: 63-51 - (Sweet 16) vs. #12 Oregon 53-49 - (Elite 8) vs. #3 Purdue 80-75 F/OT Virginia comes into the Final Four as the only one seed left in the tournament. Virginia has only lost three basketball games this season, two of them were against Duke, and the third was a tough loss against Florida State in the ACC tournament. The Cavaliers are led by three main players. Their “big-3” is junior guard Kyle Guy (15.2 PPG, 42.7 3P%), sophomore forward Deandre Hunter 14.9 PPG, 5 RPG), and junior point guard Ty Jerome (13.3 PPG, 5.4 APG). Virginia has always been known as one of the best defensive teams in the country, for as long as Tony Bennett has been their head coach. This year is no different, Virginia has held their teams to an average of 55.4 points per-game which is number one in the country. This year Virginia’s offense is much more complete than it ever has been. They still play at their normal “slow paced” level offense, but they have three offensive studs. Kyle Guy was recently named a 3rd team AP-All American. Guy may be the best 3-point shooter in the entire country, he has shot 42.7 percent from the arc this season which was 19th in the country. He had more 3 point attempts than any of the 19 players ahead of him so I’d consider him the most efficient 3 point shooter in the country. Ty Jerome is one of the most complete point guards in the entire country. This year Jerome is 6th in the country in turnover to assist ratio 3.24. Jerome is also very active on the defensive end averaging 1.5 steals a game. All of this has led to Jerome having a very good chance of being drafted in the first round next season. Jerome and Guy may be the best backcourt left in the tournament. DeAndre Hunter is the most talented player on Virginia. Hunter was recently named the NABC (national association of basketball coaches) defensive player of the year. Hunter is one of the most well rounded players in the country which will lead him to being a top 5 pick in next year’s draft. Pictured above: (left to right) Kyle Guy, DeAndre Hunter, Ty Jerome AUBURN TIGERS Auburn’s previous tournament games: (Round of 64) vs. #12 New Mexico State 78-77 (Round of 32) vs. #4 Kansas 89-75 (Sweet 16) vs. #1 North Carolina 97-80 (Elite 8) vs. #2 Kentucky 77-71 Auburn came into this year’s tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country which they turned into a final four run. Auburn was the 5th seed in their own conference tournament. They headed into the postseason 4 game win streak and a big win against 4th ranked Tennessee. In the SEC tournament Auburn started out by taking down Missouri, then South Carolina, then Florida, and lastly Tennessee in the championship. Auburn is known as one of the best offenses in the entire country. They’re the best 3 point shooting team in the country averaging 11.4 makes per game. Auburn played most of the season with talented trio, senior guard Bryce Brown (16 PPG, 1.1 SPG), junior point guard Jared Harper (15.4 PPG, 5.8 APG), and sophomore big man Chuma Okeke (12 PPG, 6.8 RPG). Unfortunately Chuma Okeke suffered a torn ACL against North Carolina, and will be out for the rest of the season. The backcourt duo of Jared Harper and Bryce Brown are one the most underrated in the entire country, which played a large part in Auburn making a run into the Final Four. Both Harper and Brown are incredibly quick and terrific at creating their own shot. Pictured above: (left to right): Bryce Brown, Jared Harper Prediction: Virginia and Auburn’s talented guards will both be able to put up points and play their own game against each other. The X-Factor on Virginia’s side will be DeAndre Hunter. If Hunter is on his game and making shots, I don’t see a way that Virginia loses this game. If Auburn wants to pull the upset in this game they will need to find offensive production after Harper and Brown. I expect Virginia’s defense will slow down Auburn’s prolific offense, Auburn’s insane 3-point shooting streak will finally end. and Virginia will advance to the championship game. SCORE: Virginia: 72 Auburn: 60 April 6th, 2019 7:49 pm. CT. #2 MICHIGAN STATE (32-6) vs. #3 TEXAS TECH (30-6) MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS Michigan State’s previous tournament games: - (Round of 64) vs. #15 Bradley 76-65 - (Round of 32) vs. #10 Minnesota 70-50 - (Sweet 16) vs. #3 LSU 80-63 - (Elite 8) vs. #1 Duke 68-67 This will be Michigan State’s head coach Tom Izzo’s 8th final four appearance during his time in East Lansing. As Michigan State always is, this season they’re a well rounded team led by mostly veteran players. They came into the tournament as winner of the Big 10 regular season and tournament titles. The Spartans have depth at almost every position and if anything their weakness would just be consistency. Junior guard Cassius Winston (18.9 PPG, 7.6 APG) has been the heart and soul of their team all year. They also have great front court depth led by junior Nick Ward (13.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG), sophomore Xavier Tillman (10.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG), and senior Kenny Goins (8.1 PPG, 9 RPG). Point guard Cassius Winston is one the best point guards and players in the entire country. Winston was the Big 10 player of the year, first team all-american, and Wooden Award (player of the year) finalist. Cassius has been tough to stop for opposing point guards all season. The strength of Michigan State’s team is their front court. They have terrific depth led by Nick Ward who has been battling a hand injury in the second half of the season, to go along with great rebounders Xavier Tillman and Kenny Goins. The Spartans are tied for fifth in blocked shots per game, and ninth in rebounds per game. Their front court has been one of the best in the country all season. Pictured above: Cassius Winston TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS Texas Tech’s previous tournament games: - (Round of 64) vs. #14 Northern Kentucky 72-57 - (Round of 32) vs. #6 Buffalo 78-58 - (Sweet 16) vs. #2 Michigan 63-44 - (Elite 8) vs. #1 Gonzaga 75-69 If Virginia is the best defensive team in the country Texas Tech is a close second. They have allowed 59 points per game this season, which is third in the country. They have had one of the best seasons in program history winning the Big 12 regular season title. Texas Tech is a guard led team, starting with sophomore Jarrett Culver (18.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.7 APG), sophomore Davide Moretti (11.6 PPG, 46.3 3P%), and senior Matt Mooney (11 PPG, 3.4 APG). Texas Tech is 7th in the country in scoring margin, winning by an average of 13.9 points per game. The Red Raiders have had a very dominant path coming into the Final Four, only being challenged by Gonzaga in the Elite 8. Winning by 15+ every game before that. If Texas Tech can play at their pace they’re one of the toughest teams to beat in the entire country. The success of Texas Tech has came when their role players after Jarrett Culver have performed well. Davide Moretti is one of the best shooters in the country, Matt Mooney is classic hard-nosed college point guard, lastly Texas Tech’s paint is patrolled by Tariq Owens who has averaged 2.4 blocks per game which is 12th in the country. When this trio plays well Texas Tech has almost been unbeatable this season. Jarrett Culver has been one of the most improved players in the country this season. He was awarded Big 12 player of the year, and second team all-american. He increased his scoring from 11.2 per game last season to 18.9 this season. He has been one of the best shot creators in the country. Culver has played himself into being a probable top 10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Pictured above: Texas Tech celebrating after defeating Gonzaga in the West Regional final. Prediction: The matchup to watch in this game will be Michigan State’s Matt McQuaid vs. Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver. I don’t think McQuaid will be able to slow down Culver which will be tough to come back from for the Spartans. On the other side I think Matt Mooney and Davide Moretti will be able to slow down Cassius Winston enough, for Culver to take over on the other side. Texas Tech’s dominant run will not be slowing down and they will carry it into a National Championship appearance. Score: Texas Tech: 67 Michigan State: 62 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Monday, April 8th, 2019 8:00 pm. CT #1 VIRGINIA vs. #3 TEXAS TECH Prediction: In this game I think Virginia’s high scoring knockdown shooting back court will be very tough to stop for Texas Tech, and too much for their sup-par back court to defend. Jarrett Culver will most likely be guarded by the countries best perimeter defender DeAndre Hunter, and it will take a lot for Culver to be successful. I think Texas Tech will struggle to find offense and Virginia will be cutting down the nets in Minneapolis. Score: Virginia 67 Texas Tech: 60 Pictured above: Virginia head coach Tony Bennett
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