2018 NCAA Tournament: Column
SAN ANTONIO The Final Four amplifies position matchups, and when Kansas meets Villanova in tonights national semifinal, all eyes will be on the point guards.
The Wildcats Jalen Brunson against the Jayhawks Devonté Graham is the games biggest storyline.
They are exceptional players, unanimous All-America teammates. Brunson has started to accumulate top individual hardware, including The Associated Press player of the year awarded Thursday. Villanovas Jay Wright calls Graham the nations best combination of scorer and distributor.
Others have played starring roles throughout the NCAA Tournament, like Kansas Malik Newman and the Wildcats Mikal Bridges. But the path to Mondays national championship game starts with Brunson and Graham, although Brunson quibbles with the notion.
The outside thinks about this one-on-one matchup between me and Devonté, Brunson said. I just really focus on Villanova versus Kansas.
Really?
Hes a great player and obviously there are going to be times when were guarding each other, Brunson said. Hes done so much for that program.
When the teams met in the region final two years ago, a Villanova victory on the way to the national championship, Brunson thought Graham was good enough to take the next step then.
He was a guy I thought could possibly enter the draft, he was that good, Brunson said.
Graham returned the friendly volley.
Theres a reason why hes national player of the year, Graham said.
Theyre the leaders of the NCAA Tournaments remaining top-seeded teams. Brunson leads Villanova with 19.2 points and 4.6 assists per game. Graham tops the Jayhawks with averages of 17.2 points and 7.3 assists.
I think Devonté clearly is the best combination of scorer and distributor of any point guards, he and Jalen are the two best in the country, Wright said. They both have the ability to take over a game scoring, and they both have the ability to set up their teammates and distribute to win a game.
With the Wildcats run through the East Region last week, points of comparison through common opponents are available.
Villanova defeated West Virginia and Texas Tech from the Big 12. The Mountaineers Jevon Carter and the Red Raiders Keenan Evans also made All-America teams. How did the point guards match up in Boston?
Brunson finished with 27 Brunson finished with 27 points against West Virginia and 15 against Tech, team highs on both occasions.
Carter and Evans each finished with 12 points and went a combined 1-for-9 on 3-pointers. Suffice to say, if Graham has similar production against Villanova, it likely will be a long night for the Jay-hawks.
But Graham also had success against West Virginia and Texas Tech, with Kansas winning three of four games. He averaged 21 points in those games.
