It is almost the end of the NCAA Men’s March Madness Tournament and we are now in the Final Four. This is the first time in 17 years all the one seeds made it to the Final Four. The teams competing are The Duke Blue Devils led by freshman Cooper Flag, The Houston Cougars led by senior guard LJ Cryer, The Florida Gators led by senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., and The Auburn Tigers led by senior Johni Broome.
In my opinion,I think the Houston Cougars will win because they are the most well-rounded team. Looking at the stats, Houston may not have the highest points scored per game, but they are outscoring opponents by 11.3 points. Their defense is also ranked number one in the country, only letting teams score 59.3 points per game. Houston this season has only let up 2214 points throughout the entire college season which is the best in the Final Four.
I asked Lowellville students and staff their opinions on who they think is going to win. Junior Josh Pazel said, “I feel like Duke is going to win because they are at a faster pace and they have the one of the best players in the league, Cooper Flag.”
Teacher Nick Ballone said, “Auburn because they have six people that have scored one thousand points and they can move the ball around.”
Mr. Grow said, “Houston because they are underdogs and can play good defense.”
Freshman Kosta Klimis said, “Florida because I like their mascot and I have family in Florida.”
Nick Likens said, “I don’t really watch it but I want to say Duke because I know they are a good basketball school.”
Duke is favored to win, but March Madness is all about the underdogs and this year all the underdogs have underperformed, so the only one left is Houston. On Saturday April 5, the Florida Gators and the Houston Cougars went head to head in an intense game. The Gators took home the win with a final score of 65-63.
