1. North Carolina (33-6) vs. 2. Villanova (34-5): Villanova played a perfect game in beating Oklahoma; the Wildcats can’t repeat that effort, but overall they’ve been the best team in the tournament. North Carolina looked good in beating Syracuse fairly easily. Villanova’s strength is on perimeter; no one has been able to handle the Wildcat guards. Carolina has a bruising, aggressive front line led by All-American Brice Johnson. Carolina’s guards can be erratic, and Villanova has multiple tricky defenses that can cause problems. If Carolina’s guards can deal with Villanova’s defense and get the ball to the big guys, and defend reasonably well, the Tar Heels will win.
Joe Sullivan
Joe Sullivan can be reached at jtsullivan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeSullivan
