North Carolina or Gonzaga, who ya got?

[chicolby]

When it's all said and done, two number one seeds made the championship game. Gonzaga nearly went the entire season without a blemish until their last regular season home game vs. BYU. They have been tested in the tournament but have come out as winners in their first 5 NCAA tournament games.

North Carolina seems to have NBA talent and length, but they've also been tested a few times in the tournament. Both teams facing minor injuries and should be a fairly evenly matched game.

Vegas has North Carolina as a slight 1.5 point favorite.

 

[bigboxes]

Rooting for Gonzaga. Hard to not take Carolina. Hope for a good game tonight!

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

As of this typing, 624K people have voted on an MSN poll, and Gonzaga leads 50-42%, with the rest voting "I don't know". Weird, I thought Carolina would be a runaway on that poll. Must be a fake poll, it's prolly aimed at Gonzaga residents to tilt the prediction in their favor.

 

[chicolby]

As of this typing, 624K people have voted on an MSN poll, and Gonzaga leads 50-42%, with the rest voting "I don't know". Weird, I thought Carolina would be a runaway on that poll. Must be a fake poll, it's prolly aimed at Gonzaga residents to tilt the prediction in their favor.

I think Gonzaga has a lot of fans who supported the strange name mid-major team when they started making noise in the tournament. They also are seeing a legit team with real size and play-making guards. This isn't your Gonzaga of 5-10 years ago. Gamblers are putting their money on the Zags too with bets approximately split 50-50 according to VegasInsider.com.

I think this one is going to go down to the wire.

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

Carolina, and it won't be as close as the score makes it look, and I'm in the top 84% of all ESPN brackets, so I know what I'm talking about!! My son is in top 94%. Cheater.

 

[chicolby]

Carolina, and it won't be as close as the score makes it look.

I don't get it. So the score will be close, but it won't really be that close? Not sure how much that applies in basketball as it can in football. In football, a team can be up by 20 and give up a couple late scores to win by 6 - in that case, it is OK to argue that a game wasn't as close as the score appears. But in basketball, if a team gets close with time left, isn't it just close? Maybe I'm not understanding your point.

 

[jeans15]

I don't get it. So the score will be close, but it won't really be that close? Not sure how much that applies in basketball as it can in football. In football, a team can be up by 20 and give up a couple late scores to win by 6 - in that case, it is OK to argue that a game wasn't as close as the score appears. But in basketball, if a team gets close with time left, isn't it just close? Maybe I'm not understanding your point.

Meaning it's a double digit lead all game but the Final score says a 6 point victory.

My head says Gonzaga because of the Berry injury.

But I'm going with UNC.

 

[chicolby]

Meaning it's a double digit lead all game but the Final score says a 6 point victory.

My head says Gonzaga because of the Berry injury.

But I'm going with UNC.

Got it. I think in a championship game, even a 6 point victory is fairly sizable. I think a close game is where a team is a possession away from winning or tying - I think in basketball it is more likely that a score may end up with a wider margin of victory than the game was actually played - most of the time due to a team fouling down the stretch. Of course, it could work in your scenario if a team makes a couple three pointers late.

The Berry injury is a certain concern, but even more than the injury, I saw a story that said he has been in a bit of a slump even late in the regular season. If he can somehow put up 13-15 points, that would almost secure a victory for the Heels.

The concern a Carolina fan should have is that the game against Oregon was mostly won on the inside with Meeks putting up 20+ points and making around 90% of his shots. They won't have the size advantage against Gonzaga that they had against Oregon which means the guards will have to pick up the difference. If I had to make a prediction, I think it's a one possession game late and I think North Carolina pulls it off to redeem last year's loss to Villanova.

 

[scarletred]

For Gonzaga the little Catholic school from Spokane Washington...

NC knocked my Ducks off.

 

[huskerfan66]

Tarheels probably going to win but I am pulling for gonzaga

 

[swissticuffs]

I like UNC 79-75

 

[huskerssalts]

I think most going with and hoping ng for Zoga to pull it off but wont happen. UNC Tarheels will come out firing on all cylinders and get to decent lead early and hold on most of the game. Zoga will pull close towards the end to make a game of it and look to take the lead but thats when UNC gets rolling again and pulls off a 8 point win....

 

[MAG]

Yeah, Carolina winning in a close hard fought game. Hungary team after what happened last year.