Duke Blue Devils vs. Gonzaga vs. North Carolina - Where the Cards Lie

Duke, UNC and Gonzaga are March Madness Favorites

Long before the 2019 March Madness
tournament kicked off bookies, analysts, and fans had already settled on a
favorite team to not only make it to the final four but also take the trophy
home: the Duke Blue Devils. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering
the team’s performance during the regular season. However, that doesn’t mean
that it doesn’t have challengers.

In line to take Duke’s position are Gonzaga and North Carolina. Here is a review of each team’s strengths and weaknesses.

The Duke Blue Devils

Duke is banking on its best player, Zion Williamson, to bring the
trophy home now that he is well and back in the game. It seems ridiculous that
a whole team can peg its hopes on a single player but this is the case.

Duke has been playing the regular
season without Williamson, and it has not performed as well as it does with him
onboard. The team went 3-3 in the last six games on the regular season and scored
more than 80 points only once against the little-known Miami Hurricanes – this
is a stark comparison to when the Blue Devils scored more than 80 points six
times with Williamson onboard. This all changed when Williamson rejoined the
team. He took charge on all three games and averaged 27 points on 76.7% percent
shooting. 

Considering these statistics it is understandable why Duke is banking on Williamson. His presence has ruffled some feathers, including in North Carolina’s Tar Heels. If he performs as expected he will be well on his way to being named the tournament’s MVP.

Gonzaga

Gonzaga stands a pretty high
chance of making it to the final four: 62% to be exact, according to BPI. The
team has been ranked among the top 25 by the Associated Press for three weeks
running now. They have also proven formidable against the Blue Devils having
beaten them back in December during the regular season.

Gonzaga has several things going
for it. For starters, it is considered the most balanced team for the 2019 season.
It has four players that have scored in double figures in 22 of 23 games. It
has also outshot 83 opponents out of 96 for the 2016-2017 season alone. It also
ranks well when it comes to consistency, efficiency, and power. Most notably,
however, it leads the nation in several fronts including shooting,
assist-turnover ratio, scoring, and scoring margin.

Gonzaga, however, hasn’t been spotless as it lost two of three of its biggest games this season, one of them against another top contender: North Carolina.  

North Carolina

North Carolina has been making headlines for all the right seasons,
leading some to speculate that it will definitely make it to the final four and
perhaps even beat the Blue Devils.

North Carolina has accomplished
seven spotless wins for the 2019 regular season with an average of 72.9 points.
It went head-to-head against Duke in the ACC semifinals and came out on top. It
also has impressive statistics: it has an efficiency rating of 95.5 points per
100 possessions. It also doesn’t rely on one single player to bring the trophy
home as is the case with Duke. However, it is lacking in defense as it ranks 42^nd
nationwide.

North Carolina seems pretty
confident in its capabilities against the Duke Blue Devils so much so that head
coach Roy Williams likened the Duke’s top player, Zion, to his 6-year-old son.
This game will be definitely one to look out for.

Conclusion

If everything goes as expected the
Duke Blue Devils will likely be taking home their sixth national title with
Zion Williamson at the helm. However, Gonzaga and North Carolina will not be
sitting by idly watching this happen, and North Carolina has already made moves
against the Blue Devils. It is too early to tell and, besides, the best way to
find out which team comes out on top is to stream March Madness 2019 live from anywhere in the world.