March Madness Storylines To Watch Heading Into The Final Four
March Madness Storylines To Watch Heading Into The Final Four
By now, you know that this is the first NCAA Tournament since 2008 in which all No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four.
That's easily the most significant storyline heading into the Final Four.
We didn't have any major Cinderella runs, but we did have many super competitive and exciting games in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. That won't change with the four best teams slated to play in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four.
Take a look at some of the other intriguing storylines and players to watch heading into Saturday's Final Four.
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March Madness Storylines: Final Four
1. Houston Has An Advantage Over Duke
The Duke faithful travel anywhere to support the Blue Devils. However, the Final Four will be played at the Alamodome, which is only 201 miles from Houston's campus—about a three-hour drive.
This could be the first game in the tournament where Duke doesn't have the crowd advantage.
But hey, Houston had their fair share of disadvantages earlier in the tournament. The Cougars battled the Purdue Boilermakers in Indianapolis in the Sweet 16.
2. Is Cooper Flagg One Of The Best Freshmen Ever?
Remember the hype over Zion Williamson?
Cooper Flagg has been ten times better. He's also lifted the Blue Devils into the Final Four, which is truly a challenging feat for a freshman.
Take a look at Auburn's starting lineup and realize how amazing Flagg has been this season as an 18-year-old kid. He's competing against 22-year-olds regularly and putting up near double-doubles every game.
That said, Flagg has missed more shots the harder the competition is in the NCAA Tournament. Houston is the best defense in the nation and could end Flagg's success.
3. Walter Clayton Jr. or Johni Broome?
If you were building a team and had to choose between Walter Clayton Jr. and Johni Broome, who would you pick?
Clayton Jr. is a senior guard who scored 18.1 points per game. He also hit some clutch shots to help Florida advance into the Final Four.
In the NCAA Tournament, he scored at least 23 points in three of four games and shot nearly 46% from the field.
On the other hand, Johni Broome averaged 17.3 points per game in the NCAA Tournament but scored 18.7 points per game throughout the season. He's been more efficient but also takes far more shots inside the arc.
In addition, Broome hauled in nearly 11 rebounds per game and has added at least 11 rebounds in all NCAA Tournament games.
Clayton Jr. and the Gators outplayed Broome and the Tigers in a regular season game in February. Let's see which college athlete can help his team win the game when it matters the most.
4. Is 70 The Magic Number?
The Auburn Tigers have held all four NCAA Tournament teams to no more than 70 points. Meanwhile, Florida has scored at least 77 points in all of those games.
The Gators struggled offensively in the Round of 32 game against the UConn Huskies but still managed 77 points and the win.
If Florida scores below 70 points, the Gators will likely lose. But after scoring 90 in an earlier game against Auburn, that seems unlikely.
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Jason grew up an avid sports fan. His passion for sports writing grew in high school and he developed a blog that was strictly for New York Sports. From his work, you will quickly realize that he loves looking at games from an analytical and numbers perspective and hopes to provide you with that same perspective in his articles.