NYU Reacts: March Madness Final Predictions

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The Michigan Wolverines and Villanova Wildcats will face off in the NCAA Final on Apr. 2.

March Madness has historically provided fans with numerous exciting games, crazy upsets, epic celebrations and more. The 2018 tournament has been no different and no perfect brackets remain after unforeseen events, such as the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s biggest upset in the history of the tournament against No. 1 overall seed University of Virginia, or Loyola University Chicago’s run to the Final Four. NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament final will be played on April 2 between the University of Michigan and Villanova University. Can the Wolverines get their first national title since 1989 — unless you count Louisville’s vacated win in 2013 — or will Villanova win its second title in three years? We asked NYU students for their predictions:

“As for who will win the championship, I think it’s pretty clear who the favorites are. However, nobody expected Loyola to make it all the way to the Final Four, so anything can still happen. I think that if Michigan can somehow play solid defense and close out on those 3-pointers, they could make the game close. I still think that Villanova will probably run away with it, and it may end up being one of the least entertaining national championship games I will have seen. Of course, that could be because my team is sitting at home.” — Kishan Desai, CAS junior

“Michigan has played great throughout the whole tournament, and they’ve shown flashes of dominance defensively and shooting from the perimeter. However, there have been times when they have had trouble shooting the basketball, and I don’t see them being able to match Villanova shot for shot. I don’t think ‘Nova will match what they did against Kansas, but they will most likely beat Michigan through pace of play and shooting.” — Neil Ragavan, CAS junior

“Villanova. They’re absolutely lethal from 3-point range, and they’ve been on the national stage more recently than Michigan! Absolutely banzangers! I made 15 brackets and all were trashed in the first round.” — Dimitri Henry, CAS and Wagner junior

 

A version of this article was published in the Monday, April 2 print edition. Email the Sports Desk at [email protected]