Villanova vs. North Carolina matchup
WHO: No. 2 Villanova ( 34- 5) vs. No. 1 North Carolina ( 33- 6) WHAT: NCAA national championship game, Monday, 6: 19 p. m. PDT.
WHERE: NRG Stadium, Houston. TV: TNT, TBS, truTV; Radio:
710.
UPDATE: Saturday’s national semifinals were without drama. For the first time in eight years, both games were decided by double digits. But the blowouts set up a championship game clash between two teams that have rumbled into the national game like two runaway trains. North Carolina has been remarkably consistent in its dominance. Its average margin of victory in the tournament is more than 16 points. The Tar Heels led for almost the entire game in a 17- point win over Syracuse on Saturday. And Villanova? It’s coming off the most lopsided win in Final Four history, a 44- point victory over Oklahoma. The Wildcats shot 71.4% for the game, the second- best mark ever in a Final Four game, and at one point in the second half, they scored 25 points unanswered. North Carolina should have a size advantage inside. Its strength is with big men Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks, who helped the Tar Heels score 50 points in the paint Saturday. And Villanova has only one starter taller than 6 feet 6: Daniel Ochefu, at 6- 11. But the Wildcats can score in a variety of ways. Four starters score in double figures, and a fifth, Jalen Brunson, is nearly there. Villanova is 1- 1 in games against Atlantic Coast Conference teams this season, with an early loss to Virginia and a win over Miami in the tournament. This is North Carolina’s 10th appearance in a national championship game. Villanova is its third. The last time, in 1985, it upset Georgetown. Its shooting percentage that day ( 78.6%) was the only mark in a Final Four that beat Villanova’s mark Saturday.