Camila Sosa
There are just a few days left until the start of the national semi-finals of the March Madness tournament, and this year’s Final Four gathers the top four teams in the nation: the universities of North Carolina, Duke, Villanova, and Kansas. These four teams have been the strongest in the final NCAA tournament and will face off against each other to define the champion of college basketball in the United States. Each and every team is fully talented, so in this list the main figures who have stood out so far in the competition are mentioned and their performance so far is summarized.
The following are the four players from each university to follow this weekend within the Final Four:
Armando Bacot – North Carolina Tar Heels
The Richmond native’s tournament has been impressive in keeping him discreet in terms of description. In each of his games he has achieved a double-double, dropping at least 10 rebounds and scoring 14 points or more in the four games he has played so far at March Madness, including a huge double-double against Saint Peter’s University (20 points and 22 rebounds) during the Elite 8 to advance without a doubt to the Final Four.
North Carolina has been one of the most offensively dominant squads in the entire tournament so far, with great performances from their snipers Brady Manek and Caleb Love, but the dirty work Bacot does on boards and paint is definitely what keeps the Tar Heels in the tournament. We’ll see how he can face Duke center Mark Williams in what will be a game for history.
Jermaine Samuels – Villanova Wildcats
Among the most effective scorers of the entire tournament, Samuels’ name will be at the top having scored 26 of his 41 field attempts (of those 41 shots, 10 were from the three-point line, scoring five in total). In addition to this, he has also dropped a total of 34 rebounds in the four games he has played in this tournament so far.
The forward is one of the reasons why the Wildcats’ offense and defense remain in constant balance, in addition to continuing to take care of the ball at a reasonable level considering that he averages 34.2 minutes per game. Since the loss of Justin Moore, the scoring responsibility falls even more on the forward from Franklin. Besides, when playing against a team as complete as the Jayhawks, it remains to be seen if Samuels has the ability to be chosen to reach the national final with the Wildcats.
Paolo Banchero – Duke Blue Devils
Averaging 18.5 points, 7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1 steal in all four March Madness games, Banchero has arguably been the most consistent contributor to the most effective offense in the entire tournament. His 22-point performance against Texas Tech University’s tricky defense at the Sweet 16 has been the key moment of the season for the Blue Devils.
In Coach K’s scheme, Banchero is poised to succeed and dazzle as the luxury prospect he has shown himself to be since the start of the season, and because of this potential to be the focus of an offense as elaborate as Duke University is that Banchero is undoubtedly considered a top-3 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. When playing against the University of North Carolina he will have to continue demonstrating his fundamentals both attacking and defending.
Remy Martin – Kansas Jayhawks
After having a half-season where he lost the starting job with the Jayhawks, things took a 180-degree turn once the final NCAA tournament began: he registered 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists through four games coming off the bench for the 23-year-old point guard. The senior is bringing all his experience to a team that he helped in the moments they needed it most.
His game against the University of Providence, which has been the most difficult opponent they have faced along the way, tells us everything Martin has brought to the table that he could find again at the end of the campaign: 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and eight free throws made in 13 attempts. Although the Jayhawks have a talented roster with names like Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun and David McCormack, Remy’s experience has been invaluable for the first seed.
