We made it to “Part 6” of this column, and that’s great news because it means the Tar Heels are in the national championship game! Standing between Carolina and a sixth national championship are Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats. What do you need to know heading into the game? Read on to find out.
National Championship: Villanova
- 34-5 (16-2)
- 1st in the Big East
- Stat Leaders (of contributing players)
- Points: Josh Hart – 15.5
- Assists: Ryan Arcidiacono – 4.3
- FG% (min. 100 attempts): Daniel Ochefu – 62.3
- Rebounds: Daniel Ochefu – 7.6
- Steals: Ryan Arcidiacono – 1.36
- Blocks: Daniel Ochefu – 1.53
- Minutes: Ryan Arcidiacono – 31.9
Previous NCAA Tournament Meetings Games
The 2016 National Championship game will mark the 7th time UNC and Villanova have played in the NCAA Tournament. In the previous 6, Carolina is 5-1, only losing in the 1985 Elite 8. Here are all the previous games, rounds, and results:
- 1982, Elite 8, UNC 70 – Villanova 60
- 1985, Elite 8, Villanova 56 – UNC 44
- 1991, 2nd Round, UNC 84 – Villanova 69
- 2005, Sweet 16, UNC 67 – Villanova 66
- 2009, Final Four, UNC 83 – Villanova 69
- 2013, 1st Round, UNC 78 – Villanova 71
- 2016, National Championship, ???
Though these games are listed in chronological order, upon closer inspection, you might notice an interesting tidbit: UNC has beaten Villanova in every round of the NCAA Tournament. Every round but one. The National Championship. Time to rectify that omission.
Game Notes
- This game has all the makings of an incredible title clash. Villanova and North Carolina come into the game ranked number one and two respectively in the KenPom Rankings. They also are number one and two in adjusted offensive efficiency, with the Tar Heels leading in this category.
- As you mentally prepare for this game, the UNC opponent to most similarly compare Villanova to would have to be Virginia, who was also top 10 this season in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
- Carolina’s overwhelming advantage should be on the backboards where the Tar Heels have a 40.6% offensive rebounding rate and a 69.8% defensive rebounding rate to Villanova’s 28.6% and 29.0%.
- Hard to believe, but Roy Williams would surpass Dean Smith in number of national championships with a win (3 for Roy, 2 for Dean).
- Despite being undersized, Villanova has limited the productivity of their opponent’s big men. Perry Ellis of Kansas, for example, was held to 4 points in the Elite 8. As we know the Tar Heel inside attack should prove a more formidable adversary. It will be interesting to see if and how Villanova can slow down Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, and Isaiah Hicks.
- Kris Jenkins connection. 2 Tar Heels have connections to Villanova 4-man Kris Jenkins. Brice Johnson played on a youth team with Jenkins in a picture that has been circulating this past week:
The other connection is an even deeper level. Nate Britt and Jenkins are legally brothers because the Britt family became Jenkins’ legal guardian in 2007 after some family changes for the Jenkins family. Britt’s parents and sister will be at Monday’s national championship game and have vowed to remain neutral, knowing that, regardless of the outcome, they will have a son who ends the night as national champion and one who ends the night coming up just short.
The Record Book
- Brice Johnson currently has 408 rebounds this season – a Tar Heel single season record. With 5 rebounds in the national championship game he would move into 10th place on the ACC single season rebounds leaderboard. Interestingly, he would be the only player in the 2000s to land on this list. In fact, other than Tim Duncan’s 457 rebounds in 1997, the other most recent entry in the top 10 is from 1974 (Len Elmore with 412).
- With 1 more rebound, Brice Johnson will be the #5 career rebounder in Tar Heel history. He is currently tied with Antawn Jamison.
- Donald Williams holds the current UNC career record for made 3s in the NCAA Tournament with 38. Marcus Paige currently sits at 35.
- Also, on the Marcus Paige made 3 pointers front – he is already #1 in career made 3 pointers for UNC with 295. With a big night in his final college game, Paige could be the first Tar Heel to ever have 300 for his career.
Villanova Starters
| Player | Ht | Wt | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | 3-PT% | FT% | TPG | SPG | BPG |
| Jalen Brunson | 6’2.5” | 199 | 24.0 | 9.7 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 45.5 | 38.1 | 77.9 | 1.85 | 0.72 | 0.0 |
| Ryan Arcidiacono | 6’3” | 195 | 31.9 | 12.4 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 43.9 | 38.9 | 83.3 | 1.51 | 1.36 | 0.03 |
| Josh Hart | 6’5” | 205 | 31.2 | 15.5 | 6.7 | 1.9 | 51.5 | 35.8 | 75.2 | 1.64 | 1.15 | 0.23 |
| Kris Jenkins | 6’6” | 240 | 28.5 | 13.6 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 45.6 | 38.4 | 85.3 | 1.26 | 0.77 | 0.41 |
| Daniel Ochefu | 6’11” | 245 | 23.1 | 10.1 | 7.6 | 1.7 | 62.3 | 0.0 | 68.8 | 1.33 | 0.81 | 1.53 |
Villanova Key Reserves
| Player | Ht | Wt | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | 3-PT% | FT% | TPG | SPG | BPG |
| Phil Booth | 6’3” | 185 | 21.8 | 6.7 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 35.3 | 30.6 | 86.6 | 1.44 | 0.74 | 0.10 |
| Mikal Bridges | 6’7” | 191 | 20.5 | 6.5 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 51.8 | 29.9 | 78.7 | 0.62 | 1.08 | 0.64 |
| Darryl Reynolds | 6’8” | 225 | 17.3 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 0.4 | 64.9 | 0.0 | 72.3 | 0.72 | 0.41 | 0.54 |
The Numbers
| North Carolina | Villanova | |
| KenPom Rank | 2 | 1 |
| Points per game | 83.0 | 70.1 |
| Adj. Offensive Efficiency (Rank) | 123.7 (1st) | 122.0 (2nd) |
| Adj. Defensive Efficiency (Rank) | 95.2 (23rd) | 91.9 (6th) |
| Tempo (Rank) | 71.3 (64th) | 66.7 (284th) |
| Field Goal% | 48.2 | 42.6 |
| 2P FG% | 54.4 | 57.3 |
| 3P FG% | 31.9 | 35.9 |
| 3PA% | 26.7 | 43.0 |
| FT% | 74.8 | 78.2 |
| FT Rate | 32.5% | 34.1% |
| RPG | 40.7 | 35.2 |
| Offensive Reb Rate | 40.6% | 28.6% |
| Defensive Reb Rate | 69.8% | 29.0% |
| APG | 17.8 | 16.2 |
| BPG | 4.5 | 3.3 |
| SPG | 6.8 | 6.7 |
| TPG | 10.8 | 12.2 |
| TO Rate | 15.3% | 16.3% |
3 X-Factors:
- The backcourt (Berry, Paige, Jackson, Pinson, Britt) has done a marvelous job taking care of the ball in the tournament. Can they continue to do so against Villanova’s swarming defense. This will be all-important because the advantage on the interior is not an advantage if the guards can’t make entry passes.
- Isaiah Hicks’ foul trouble. With Villanova employing the use of a stretch 4, Hicks’ mobility will be important. If he can stay out of foul trouble (and therefore on the court), he could have an incredibly productive game.
- UNC’s backcourt & Nova’s frontcourt. All the national media attention for Villanova is on their backcourt and for North Carolina is on their frontcourt. This shapes up very similarly to the sweet 16 against Indiana. While UNC’s 3 point shooting is a statistical weakness, any combination of Paige, Berry, Britt, and Jackson could have a solid night from deep. You might recall Paige’s 3 point barrage to start the Indiana game. Similarly, don’t sleep on Villanova’s Daniel Ochefu (similar to Indiana’s Thomas Bryant). While the lone inside scoring threat, Ochefu could have a big game inside, although he has been hampered by a bum ankle.
Main Key to the Game for the Tar Heels:
You guessed it: exploit the size advantage in the paint. As has been the case all tournament long, UNC will have a decided frontcourt size advantage. On offense this means pounding the ball into the paint and continuing to offensively rebound around 50% of the misses. On the defensive end, this means playing tight defense without fouling and rebounding at the normal clip.
Tar Heel Hoops 