NCAA Championship Game Storylines

This feels like one of the more equal title games in quite some time. We have the two most complete teams in the country, who were top-10 pretty much all year going against each other. It’s rare that happens and it’s awesome when it does. So, we’ll be looking at a bunch of different angles of this game, including individual matchups, advanced numbers and things to watch. 

Pretty simple here for this blog. What are the storylines to keep an eye on during tonight’s game.

1. How serious are injuries on both teams

In the Final Four we saw Gonzaga’s Karnowski and Nigel Williams-Goss both suffer what could have been serious injuries. Karnowski caught a hand to the face and scratched his eyeball, but he’s on the record saying his vision is just fine and had a follow up with a doctor. Williams-Goss on the other hand suffered a pretty nasty ankle turn and said on Sunday that he woke up with the ankle feeling sore. These are obviously two huge pieces to Gonzaga’s team. For UNC Joel Berry’s ankle has been talked about quite a bit and it will again tonight. He struggled shooting the ball against Oregon, but the threes he did make were spot up instead of having to move his feet to get set.

2. Redemption for last year

Yes, it’s somewhat lazy, but it’s true. There’s a redemption factor for most of the guys on this Carolina team. There have been seven times when a team who has lost the national championship returned to the title game the following year. UNC is now the eighth. In those seven games teams are 3-4 with the winning teams being UNC in 1982, Duke in 1991 and Kentucky in 1998. It would put Roy in a whole new tier with three national championships and truly seal the deal on this being the best coaching job he’s done.

3. Who will make themselves more money? 

It happens every year. Someone jumps a couple of spots in draft boards due to a big NCAA Tournament. Guys like Sindarius Thornwell and Jordan Bell raised their stock this tournament and made themselves some extra money. For the title game the guys to watch will be Zach Collins, Justin Jackson and Tony Bradley. Jackson was wildly inconsistent during his first couple years in Chapel Hill but now is as high as No. 12 on some draft boards. He could seal a lottery pick if he has another big game. Collins was always had the potential of being a lottery pick and after the game against South Carolina people are talking about him that way again. Tony Bradley is a border line first round pick.

4. Gonzaga trying to officially silence all the haters and losers

To steal a line from my buddy Uncle Chaps there are a lot of haters and losers out there when it comes to Gonzaga. You know them. You may be one of them. You’re the one who screams they don’t play anyone, they are a mid-major, they haven’t beaten anyone to get to the national championship game. A win against UNC silences all that. They’ll continue to recruit well and grab another McDonald’s All-American. But, we’ll stop referring to Mark Few as the best coach without a title. We’ll stop calling Gonzaga just a mid-major. This is a high-major program stuck in the WCC. They can’t help the conference. A win over one of the five best programs in the history of college basketball to win a national championship just elevates Gonzaga even more.

5. Carolina’s height advantage in the backcourt

This is where Carolina really has an advantage. Justin Jackson is a complete mismatch for Gonzaga. Hell, Theo Pinson is one too for Gonzaga. The Bulldogs play three guys under 6’5″ in the backcourt while Pinson is 6’6″ and Jackson is 6’8″. How does Gonzaga try to guard Jackson? With the fear of giving up offensive rebounds out of their 2-3 zone and only running it for a few possessions, they will be in man-to-man for most of the game. My guess is you’ll see Jordan Matthews start on Jackson with Williams-Goss on Berry, but like we saw in the South Carolina game where NWG switched onto Thornwell for some possessions, don’t be surprised to see NWG switch onto Jackson. Also watch early how aggressive Pinson is at attacking the glass to grab offensive rebounds.

6. Can someone hold the lead

Both of these teams have blown leads in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga gave up a 16-0 run to South Carolina in the second half and trailed after controlling the entire game. They about blew a huge lead to Northwestern. UNC let Kentucky back to tie the game late in game, they let Oregon back in to have a chance. They even let Arkansas back in the game back in the Round of 32. These are kids playing, so it’s entirely possible to think the team with a 7 point lead late in the game has this in the back of their minds.