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NCAA Basketball: Evaluating 2017 Final Four teams’ odds of a return trip

By Holden Walter-Warner

CHAPEL HILL, NC - DECEMBER 30: Joel Berry II
CHAPEL HILL, NC - DECEMBER 30: Joel Berry II /
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CHAPEL HILL, NC – DECEMBER 30: Joel Berry II
CHAPEL HILL, NC – DECEMBER 30: Joel Berry II /

Last year brought two debut teams to the mecca of NCAA basketball. A year later, all of last season’s Final Four teams are in a tough place.

The NCAA Tournament is deemed a crap shoot every season. The best teams don’t always make it to the Final Four. A champion is crowned in April, but the debate about which team is worthy of the top spot rages on.

The North Carolina Tar Heels came away as the champions last season after their second straight trip to the National Championship game. Gonzaga fell short in the title game, while the Oregon Ducks and South Carolina Gamecocks seemed content to simply be there.

Fast forward nine months into the future. All four teams were decimated by departures in the offseason. Each has endured struggles since the start of the season. Some are disappointed to be outside of the upper echelon of this season’s NCAA basketball hierarchy. Others are even further down the rankings.

But with conference play just underway, all four teams still have a chance – no matter how slim – to make another run to the Final Four. Magic may be required, but these programs are no stranger to a little luck.

Here are the predictions for last year’s Final Four teams going forward.

North Carolina Tar Heels (12-4)

Confetti just began to fall on the Tar Heels when the reality of the tough slog of 2017-18 set in. North Carolina was losing a host of impact players to graduation, in addition to NBA Draft declarations from Justin Jackson and Tony Bradley.

Still, the team was returning one of the best players in college basketball in Final Four MOP Joel Berry II.

The guard injured himself playing video games during the offseason, but the Tar Heels managed to avoid a slow start, only losing to an elite Michigan State team in the opening stretch. A home upset at the hands of Wofford, however, qualifies as the worst loss of the season.

Back-to-back ACC losses to ranked teams on the road doesn’t kill North Carolina, but it doesn’t inspire their fans. The defense is a major culprit, allowing more points in losses than should be.

North Carolina is still a very good team and one with a favorable schedule ahead; they don’t play a ranked foe outside of Clemson until Feb. 8. But another Final Four trip might be hard to count on.

Prediction: Second weekend