The Final Four gets underway with a couple of teams that are very familiar with being on this stage. The one-seed Kansas Jayhawks have struggled through the March Madness tournament, but find themselves in the Final Four for the 16th time in school history.
Final Four: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 2 Villanova
How to watch
Gametime: 6:09pm EST
TV: TBS
Live Stream: CBS Sports App, fuboTV, Sling, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV
Villanova (+4.5) over Kansas
Historically, Bill Self’s biggest struggles in the NCAA Tournament have come in the Elite Eight. After clearing that hurdle, he’ll have a tougher time getting past another familiar roadblock. Jay Wright’s Villanova squad is one of the biggest reasons Self has been unable to earn a second national championship for Kansas in the past 14 years. (Self would still probably be looking for his first ring if Memphis could hit free throws or if John Calipari instructed his players to foul long before Mario Chalmers could shoot, but I digress.) The Jayhawks were the top-overall seed in 2016 and saw their 17-game win streak end in the Elite Eight against Villanova. The 2018 semifinal matchup between the 1-seeds was over in minutes, with the Wildcats rolling to a win and another national title.
Villanova’s defense will be the difference against Kansas. APIn eight career meetings against Self, Wright’s team has covered the spread seven times. During this year’s NCAA Tournament, Villanova is perfect against the spread, improving to 19-4 in the NCAA Tournament against the number since 2016. The loss of Justin Moore hurts a team whose bench was already short, but Villanova’s defense remains elite and experienced, capable of slowing Kansas to a less-preferred pace and having held each of its past seven opponents to an average of 56.1 points per game. The Wildcats are the best free throw shooting team in the nation (Kansas ranks 146th) and average single-digit turnovers, led by a back-to-back Big East Player of the Year (Collin Gillespie) with a national championship ring.
Kansas hasn’t looked like a 1-seed for much of this tournament — barely scraping by 9-seed Creighton and 4-seed Providence, and trailing 10-seed Miami at halftime — and Villanova’s uncompromising defense won’t make it any easier for the Jayhawks to find the rhythm which has eluded them for much of this tournament.
