Oh, goodness -- here it comes. North Carolina vs. Kansas. You know what that means. Roy Williams coaches the school that made him a champion (UNC, 2005) against the school that made him a legend (KU, 1988-2003). It'll be a miracle if somewhere in the midst of all that existential angst we actually get the chance to talk a little basketball. Hey -- what do you know? That's what we're here for. Pure hoops. And there will be some serious hooping in this game, for sure.
North Carolina game plan: The Tar Heels have no choice but to push the pace at every opportunity. It's what they do best. Although they've improved dramatically as a halfcourt team, to the point where they're now close to excellence, they're always more comfortable when attacking a defense that hasn't yet had the opportunity to set itself. Watch out for star Tyler Hansbrough as a trailer. Kansas' bigs might not have the defensive discipline to be waiting for him when he arrives at the 3-point line. On defense the Tar Heels might learn a lot this week by watching how Davidson kept its frontcourt defenders in a triangle around the basket, allowing Darrell Arthur, Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson to make post catches and daring them to shoot over the top. The Heels could get away with that more readily because it's harder to shoot over a 6-10 defender than somebody a few inches shorter.
Kansas game plan: When the Jayhawks are most comfortable, they have two post threats, multiple perimeter shooters and a variety of ballhandlers who can penetrate and make plays. They like to do a lot of penetrate-and-pitch action to create open shots from the wing, particularly for Brandon Rush. They will isolate any of their top three bigs on the right block. Darnell Jackson, Darrell Arthur and Sasha Kaun have become reliable post scorers, although Jackson has faded a bit recently as a threat on offense (only one double-figure game in the past five). On defense, they are excellent at trapping off ball screens, which could challenge UNC's Ty Lawson, and Mario Chalmers and Rush can take turns chasing shooter Wayne Ellington through the halfcourt.
X-factor: One of the nation's most balanced teams has an answer for almost any opponent's tactics. But the close Davidson game revealed a surprising dearth of players eager to make plays under pressure -- and there's certainly plenty of pressure at the Final Four level. Center Sasha Kaun and point guard Sherron Collins, neither a fulltime starter, attacked most aggressively down the stretch of the regional final. If KU plays with fear, the Tar Heels will consume that fear like a ham sandwich.
Bottom line: If you had to rely on Hansbrough or on any one of KU's players -- take your pick -- who would you choose? Kansas has multiple bigs, and several have extremely quick feet, but it's unlikely that will be a great distraction to him. He has faced that sort of defender before. It seems risky at this point to bet against Hansbrough without a good reason.
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Final Four: April 5 and 7, 2008
Alamodome
San Antonio, Texas
Host: University of Texas-San Antonio Final Four Ticket Prices: $220/$190/$170/$140
Final Four Tickets Info: SOLD OUT
Official Packages: www.ncaa.com/hospitality
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