Auburn vs. Virginia: 2019 NCAA Tournament game preview, TV schedule
By Neil Adler
The first of the two Final Four match-ups on Saturday night features offensive juggernaut Auburn against feisty defensive outfit Virginia.
TV schedule: Saturday, April 6, 6:09 pm ET. CBS.
Arena: U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.
The 2019 Final Four gets underway with an enticing affair between Auburn, which in a bit of a surprise won the Midwest Region, and Virginia, the champion of the South Region. Don’t get me wrong, the fifth-seeded Tigers (30-9) are legit. They found themselves ranked in the top 10 of the AP and Coaches polls early in the 2018-19 campaign, but then Auburn hit a rough patch. The Tigers, however, rolled through the SEC Tournament and dispatched of Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky to advance to the national semi-finals.
The No. 1 seed Cavaliers (33-3), meanwhile, are a darling of this Big Dance, at least from where I’m sitting. As we all know, UVA became the initial No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed, when UMBC crushed the Cavaliers in the 2018 March Madness. Virginia head coach Tony Bennett and his crew handled that adversity with class and humility. Fast-forward to the present, and the Cavaliers survived a scare versus Oregon in the Sweet 16, then they fended off Purdue and its ridiculous scoring machine, Carsen Edwards, in the Elite Eight to reach Minneapolis. That UVA traveled from opening-round futility to the Final Four in a span of 12 months is a tremendous achievement.
This duel encompasses two head coaches, Bennett and Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, who are making their debut in the national semi-finals, which is really cool. The Tigers, as a program, are in the Final Four for the inaugural instance, while Virginia’s absence totaled 35 years. A lot of interesting storylines to dissect, without question.
The dichotomies among this duo of groups is fascinating. Auburn possesses a potent offense, runs up and down the court at a frenetic pace, and turns its foes over at a stellar clip. The Cavaliers rely on a stingy defense, utilize a slow tempo, and commit just nine miscues per contest. The Tigers have a deeper bench, although they will certainly miss sophomore forward Chuma Okeke, who injured his left knee in Auburn’s Sweet 16 triumph against the Tar Heels. Rebounding, second-opportunity points and shooting from beyond the arc are pivotal facets in this encounter.
Ranking the Final Four head coaches. dark. Next
Odds-makers in Las Vegas are currently anointing UVA as a 5.5-point favorite, with ESPN’s Basketball Power Index saying that the Cavaliers have a 79.8 percent chance to prevail. I’m quite impressed with the Tigers’ performance in the NCAA tourney, but my gut tells me that Virginia is destined for the title tilt.
Prediction: Virginia 74 – Auburn 70