NCAA Basketball: Mock 2020 NCAA Tournament national title predictions
Logan Butts – @logan_butts
We find ourselves with the classic unstoppable force vs unmovable object paradox in the Busting Brackets Mock National Championship game. After fighting their final to the final matchup, the Gonzaga Bulldogs and their top-ranked offense face off against Kansas, arguably the strongest defensive team in the country. Something has to give, so let’s work our way through the matchup.
The Zags can throw a number of looks at you offensively. They have a deep roster of capable scorers who can each get a bucket in a variety of ways. They nearly have seven players averaging in double-figures: Filip Petrusev, Killian Tillie, and Drew Timme in the frontcourt, Corey Kispert on the wing, and Ryan Woolridge, Jole Ayayi, and Admon Gilder in the backcourt.
For the Bulldogs to have a strong offensive outing, only a couple of these guys have to show up. If all or most of them put together good games on the same night, it’s over for their opponent. And the Bulldogs aren’t all offense, they can hold their own on defense.
Meanwhile, the Jayhawks have a stellar team defense and a pair of national defensive player of the year winners in Marcus Garrett and Udoka Azubuike. If any team has the combination of individual and team defensive prowess to stop the firepower of the Gonzaga offense, it’s Kansas.
Plus, Azubuike and fellow Second-Team All-American and partner-in-crime Devon Dotson are the best inside-out duo in all of college basketball, so the offense is in good hands as well.
With all of that in mind, I’m taking the unstoppable force over the unmovable object, but just barely…