Duke is the favorite for good reason, but every team is very capable of winning the title.
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Editor’s note: This article is part of the Bracket Central series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s & women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.
One of the chalkiest NCAA Tournaments in history has reached its logical conclusion: All four No. 1 seeds are headed to the Final Four for the first time since 2008. That tournament gave us an all-timer of a championship, with Mario Chalmers’ miracle sending the title game to overtime as part of a Kansas victory over Memphis. And just like this Final Four, that tournament ended in San Antonio.
The burning question for this year, though: Will having these four superpowers actually lead to great games akin to that classic? Only one of the Elite Eight’s four games had much drama down the stretch, and Duke’s demolition of nearly every challenger could mean the Blue Devils end up blitzing their way through the last two games like UConn did last season.
Their Final Four opponent, Houston, is not an easy team to blow out, though. In fact, the Cougars have not lost by more than five points all season (and three of their four losses were in overtime). Plus, Houston has the added incentive of exacting revenge for an NCAA Tournament loss to Duke just one year ago in the Sweet 16. And on the other side, Auburn has revenge on its mind, as well: The Tigers lost to Florida and Duke this season.
Below, our final power rankings of the last teams standing, along with one reason for optimism for each of the four heavyweights as they descend on San Antonio.
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(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: Jared C. Tilton, James Gilbert / Getty Images)
