NCAA Tournament 2023: Teams that most resemble last year’s Final Four squads
This year’s North Carolina – Duke
Before I begin this section, I just want to send a personal note to my family and friends that no, I am neither kidnapped nor in danger, because what I’m about to write would usually be interpreted as a cry for help.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about last season’s Tar Heels. Led by a rookie head coach and former four-year letterman in his first year at the helm, after being elevated from his assistant position following the retirement of a legendary predecessor, Carolina played their best basketball at the end of the year, beating their arch-rival twice.
I’m fighting my gag reflex as I type this, but the easy comparison for this is none other than the team eight miles down the road from Chapel Hill. Yes, heaven help me, I’m talking about the Duke Blue Devils.
Duke spent much of this season underwhelming, but that all changed after back-to-back losses against Miami and Virginia in early February. Since then, the Blue Devils have won nine straight to enter the Big Dance as one of the hottest teams in the country. Two of those victories came against the rival Tar Heels, one of which spoiled UNC’s Senior Night in the Dean Dome. First-year coach Jon Scheyer has pressed all the right buttons after a middling start to the year, giving the Cameron Crazies hope that they’ve found the right successor for Coach K.
Last year’s Tar Heels followed a very similar blueprint. The Heels were led by rookie coach Hubert Davis following the retirement of Roy Williams, and though the team struggled for much of the year, the Heels kicked into gear in late February on their way to a title game appearance, notably beating Duke on Senior Night in Cameron, then again in the Final Four.
Both teams, when playing their best, were led by dominant big men. For UNC, Armando Bacot was the man, racking up double-doubles on his way to a second-place finish in the ACC Player of the Year race. For Duke, freshman Kyle Filipowski has gotten better and better as the year has gone on, earning ACC Rookie of the Year honors and a spot on the All-ACC second team.
Carolina and Duke will never escape constantly being compared to one another, and that will only continue, especially if Scheyer leads the Blue Devils on a deep run these next few weeks. Will he have a sophomore slump next year the way Davis and his Tar Heels did this year? Can Davis bounce back and get the Carolina faithful believing again? Will Carolina take my diploma after they read this article? There are too many questions, and too few answers.
Honorable mention
Last year’s Heels made the title game as an 8-seed, a feat accomplished only three times previously: by 2014 Kentucky, 2011 Butler, and the only team to win it all, 1985 Villanova. So which 8-seed this year has the goods to make a run?
My money is on Memphis. The Tigers, just like the Tar Heels, are led by an alum, Penny Hardaway, and they have the talent to beat anyone, as evidenced by their AAC title game victory over the #1-ranked Houston Cougars.
You could argue that the most important player for last year’s Tar Heels was Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek. The sweet-shooting big man wasn’t the focal point of Carolina’s attack, but his ability to stretch the floor was the biggest thing missing from a team this year that went from preseason #1 to missing the NCAA Tournament. Even more important for Memphis is SMU transfer Kendric Davis. Like Manek, Davis will be essential to any hope Memphis has to make a deep run.
As a bonus link, those Memphis State throwback uniforms are on the top tier along with Carolina’s classic argyle threads.