The 2 seeded Duke Blue Devils beat the 15th seeded CSU Fullerton Tigers, the 7th seeded Michigan State Spartans, the 3rd seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders and the 4th seeded Arkansas Razorbacks to win the west region of the NCAA tournament and advance to the final four. The 8 seeded North Carolina Tar Heels beat the 9th seeded Marquette Golden Eagles, the number 1 seeded Baylor Bears, the 4 seeded UCLA Bruins and the 15th seeded Saint Peter’s Peacocks. The Duke Blue Devils have a lot on the line as legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is retiring after 42 years with Duke. Coach K has made 13 final fours, and won 5 NCAA championships at Duke. In the 99 times Duke has played North Carolina in coach Kyzyzewski’s 42 years, they have never played in March Madness against each other. On the other side the legendary program of North Carolina basketball is led by first year head coach Hubert Davis. Duke is led by Paolo Banchero, averaging 18.5 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.0% from the field in the NCAA tournament, Banchero has cemented himself as a top 5 draft pick in the upcoming NBA draft with his performance in the NCAA tournament. Duke is also led by Mark Willams who is averaging 14.5 points per game, 8.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 80.6% from the field. North Carolina is led by the forward duo of Brady Manek and Armando Bacot. Manek is averaging 21.5 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 57.7% from the field in the NCAA tournament. Bacot is averaging 16.5 points per game, and 15.8 rebounds per game in the NCAA tournament. Both offenses have been amazing this NCAA tournament, as Duke is averaging 79.75 points per game in the NCAA tournament. North Carolina is averaging 82.5 points per game in the NCAA tournament. The Duke Blue Devils have beat opponents by an average of 10 points per game in the NCAA tournament. North Carolina has beaten opponents by an average of 16.5 points per game in the NCAA tournament. The main focus of the Duke versus North Carolina is how will Duke stop the rebounding of North Carolina, as the Tar Heels have averaged 47.75 rebounds per game in the NCAA tournament. Duke averages 34 rebounds per game in the NCAA tournament. Both teams want to win this game more than anything as it is the biggest rivalry in college basketball in the final four.
Prediction: North Carolina wins 87-84 in overtime