NCAA Basketball: Mock 2020 NCAA Tournament national title predictions
Connor Hope – @CondorianFM
The battle between Kansas and Gonzaga has the potential to the best matchup of the entire tournament, and the National Championship on the line makes it even better. Both teams have incredible frontcourts and experienced backcourts which means that there is very little weakness to exploit on either team.
For Gonzaga, the bigs will need to figure out ways to defend against Udoka Azubuike without getting into foul trouble. Killian Tillie and Drew Timme may need to play increased minutes early on to draw Doke away from the paint on defense and put him into uncomfortable positions. Ryan Woolridge, Admon Gilder and Joel Ayayi will be playing against one of the best defensive backcourts in the country, and their ability to share the ball and find the open man will be crucial.
The Jayhawks, on the other hand, will need to play tough physical defense between Devon Dotson and Marcus Garrett to slow the Zags down and force them into a battle in the paint. Getting Doke as many touches in the paint as possible will help to put Filip Petrusev, Tillie and Timme into foul trouble early.
Ultimately, this game could come down to the wire, and the big shot makers making shots. I trust one man on the floor to make the important jump shots down the stretch, Corey Kispert. Unless Kansas can put itself up by more than two scores heading into the closing stretch, Kispert will make three shots from deep in the final four minutes to push the Bulldogs to victory.