“What team has the best chance to win the National Championship from the Elite Eight?”
Editor:
The obvious pick here would be North Carolina because of the way they have played against Mount St. Mary’s, Arkansas and defensive-minded Washington State last week. I am going to go a different route and say the Texas Longhorns. They have beaten two of the four #1 seeds in UCLA and Kansas in the regular season, and many people thought that this team would struggle with Kevin Durant going to the NBA, but the team still looks dominant. The Longhorns will be at home for the rest of their region, and will hopefully push #1 seed Memphis, who showed that they can hit free-throws in their defeat of Michigan State.
Led by guard D.J. Augustine, who averages 19.3 points per game, to go along with six assists (as well as shooting close to 40% from 3-pt range), the Longhorns outside game is phenomenal. But they also have that much-needed balance attack, as evident by sophomore forward Damion James who averages 13 points and 10 rebounds. In the end, they have the home-field advantage. They already played their bad-game of the tournament against Miami. They may not be the best team on the right-side of the bracket, but with UCLA and Memphis not playing perfect basketball, it may be time for the Longhorns to take advantage. The Longhorns have the second most wins in NCAA Tournament History (32) without winning a championship, and I think if Rick Barnes keeps his team focused, they could be a team to win those final games needed to cut down the nets.
Guru:
The team that I feel has the best chance to win is Kansas. There are many reasons why people might say North Carolina, yet Kansas is more of the total package to win this tournament. They average 81.2 points per game, shooting 50.9% from the field and 69.8% from the charity stripe. The thing that impresses me about Kansas is the fact that there is not one big star like North Carolina. Four players on the team average right around 12 points per game, lending support to the fact that Kansas plays unselfish basketball, and if one players struggles, the team won’t suffer.
The best part of Kansas’s game is their guard work with Rush and Chalmers, which is evident by their 40.2% from behind the arc. The way Kansas plays I do not think that North Carolina can stop them. Most likely they will face UCLA in the National Championship on April 7, which I think they have the upper hand.