The NCAA Tournament has it all.
Magic. Mayhem. Buzzer-beaters. Busted brackets. Cinderellas. Legends. Triumph. Heartbreak.
There is nothing like the Big Dance — but even it has never seen the likes of Zion Williamson.
As a running, jumping, shoe-exploding YouTube clip, Duke’s 6-foot-7, 285-pound superstar freshman accomplished the rare feat of turning regular-season games into must-see events. Now, the soon-to-be No. 1 pick in the NBA draft brings his historically unique blend of strength, speed, athleticism and finesse to college basketball’s biggest stage for the first and only time, making the No. 1 overall seed Blue Devils the clear favorite — and biggest favorite since Kentucky entered undefeated in 2015 — to cut down the nets at the Final Four in Minneapolis.
Following his infamous late-season knee sprain and six-game absence — during which Duke went 3-3 — Williamson erased any concern with his electric, record-setting return in the Blue Devils’ (29-5) run to the ACC Tournament title, and managed to create even more anticipation for the NCAA Tournament’s main attraction.
When Williamson went down, some argued the imminent multi-millionaire should sit until NBA commissioner Adam Silver calls his name. Clearly, some forgot that there is nothing like the NCAA Tournament.
“When you’re a little kid watching Duke on TV cut down championship nets, and you say you want to be a part of it, you say it as a little kid, but when you actually grow up and get to be a part of it, I mean that’s why we come to Duke, win championships and try to get banners,” Williamson said Saturday night. “Why would I pass up on this experience?”
Why would anyone pass up playing on the most talented team in the nation, part of a phenomenal freshmen-led group — also featuring the projected No. 2 pick (RJ Barrett), plus another top-five prospect (Cam Reddish) — and perhaps the best defense Mike Krzyzewski has sported in four decades at Duke?
Should the Blue Devils win their sixth national championship — and first since 2015 — Krzyzewski, 72, would become the oldest coach in history to win the title, besting Jim Calhoun’s 2011 run, at 68.
If Duke falls short — like 11 of the past 14 top overall seeds, and each of the past five — the ACC could still be kings of college basketball again. Virginia (29-3) and North Carolina (27-6) also earned 1-seeds, marking the second time in the NCAA Tournament history that one conference claimed three top seeds. The Big East previously did it in 2009, with a trio of teams no longer part of the league (UConn, Pittsburgh and Louisville), none of which advanced to the national title game.
While Roy Williams hopes to take the high-powered Tar Heels offense to a third national championship game in four years — setting up a potential first-ever NCAA Tournament meeting between Duke and North Carolina — the Cavaliers will attempt to avenge the biggest upset the event has ever witnessed, and reach the Final Four for the first time since 1984.
Backed again by the nation’s top defense — and the best offense of the unbelievably successful, and unbelievably disappointing Tony Bennett era — Virginia is a top-seed for the fourth time in six years, but forever stained with the humiliation of being the first 1-seed ever to lose to a 16-seed (UMBC) last year.
“I think we know what we have to do to be successful,” Bennett said this weekend. “But we also realize that we’re susceptible as every team is in this tournament and sometimes that’s as valuable to know instead of thinking you’re invincible.”
Top-seed Gonzaga (30-3) — the lone team to beat Duke at full strength — learned it wasn’t invincible, entering with its 21-game win streak snapped. No. 2 seed Michigan State (28-6) is looks the part after winning the Big Ten regular-season and postseason titles, while fellow 2-seed Kentucky (27-6) is a contender again. Houston (31-3), a 3-seed and AAC regular-season champ, has to prove it isn’t a pretender.
And after losing four stars to the NBA, defending national champion and 6-seed, Villanova (25-9) follows its latest Big East title, and could become the first back-to-back champion in a dozen years. A third title in four years would also make the Wildcats the first to do so since John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty.
Crazier things have happened. UMBC and Loyola-Chicago — the sixth straight year a seven-seed or lower reached the Final Four — are reminders.
No matter that neither is back. The NCAA Tournament has it all.
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