NCAA Tournament Final Four predictions: Houston not getting much love from experts
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Entering the NCAA Tournament, Houston was ranked No. 2 in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches’ polls.
The team ranked ahead of the Cougars in both? None other than Duke.
Houston will take on Duke Saturday night in the second national semifinal at the Final Four in San Antonio, following the Florida-Auburn contest. But even though it’s a matchup of No. 1 against No. 2, several college basketball experts are going with the top-ranked team.
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Several ESPN experts pick Duke
On Thursday, ESPN.com released its predictions for the Final Four, and of the four experts making the picks, all but one are going with Duke.
Jeff Borzello picks the Blue Devils to win, 70-68; Myron Medcalf picks Duke by a 74-70 score; and Neil Paine thinks the Blue Devils will prevail, 65-64.
The one ESPN expert going with Houston is the site’s chief bracketologist, Joe Lunardi, who has the Cougars winning, 75-70.
Borzello, although he picked Duke, did note that a key to Houston prevailing will be dependent upon the Cougars’ physical play.
“They will look to throw Duke off its game from the opening tip,” Borzello wrote. “They are physical defensively, they are physical offensively, they pressure the ball and they attack the offensive glass. Everything is designed to make opponents uncomfortable.
“Duke hasn’t seen anything like it in the NCAA tournament - or all season. The Blue Devils have been able to play with so much freedom on the offensive end in their last few games; can Houston rattle them early?”
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Another key to Houston winning, Borzello points out, will be the team’s experience.
“Houston is one of the oldest teams in the country, filled with players who have played a lot of NCAA tournament games,” Borzello said. “LJ Cryer won a national championship while (J’Wan) Roberts has been to a Final Four.
“And (coach Kelvin) Sampson has coached in the semifinals before. Could that make a difference at some point Saturday?”
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Florida also a heavy favorite
In the other Final Four semifinal on Saturday, three of the four ESPN experts also pick Florida to beat Auburn, which entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.
Borzello has the Gators winning, 82-79; Medcalf has Florida to win, 88-84; and Lunardi picks the Gators, 85-80. Paine was the lone expert to pick Auburn, 80-78.
