Previously on Steve Believes, I made predictions for the 2019 Final Four. And as to how I did with those predictions, well I once again went 1-1, with an incorrect prediction for Michigan State.
And now that they’re settled, it’s time to make my prediction for the granddaddy of them all, the 2019 NCAA Men’s National Championship.
The matchup is listed via the bullet point below and is accompanied by a brief yet detailed description:
- #3 Texas Tech Red Raiders Vs. #1 Virginia Cavaliers-While it does suck that my pick (Michigan State) to win it all got eliminated on Saturday, I’m very impressed with Texas Tech. And I’m very impressed with them for three reasons, with the first being that their defense plays that suffocating style that both the New York Knicks and Miami Heat played under Pat Riley. As for the second reason, well they have two players who can get hot at any time in Jarrett Culver and Matt Mooney, the latter of whom caused Michigan State to play catch-up during the second half, while the former of the two scored nine points late in the second half to put that game away. And as the third reason, well I admire how they rose to the occasion against some legit championship contenders in Michigan, Gonzaga and the aforementioned Michigan State. As for Virginia, a 12-seed in Oregon gave them all that they could handle in the Sweet 16. Plus, they were bailed out by Mamadi Diakete’s buzzer-beater against Purdue in the Elite 8, along with both being the beneficiary of the missed double dribble call and being awarded three free throws on a controversial defensive foul call against Auburn. Virginia’s path to get to this game has been eerily similar to how Duke beat both UCF and Virginia Tech, in terms of how close that they were to being eliminated. And just like Duke, Virginia won’t luck out this time around. I have Texas Tech winning this game, by the score of 65-58 and the game’s Most Outstanding Player will be Matt “Mad Dog” Mooney.
Well, that’s it for today’s edition of Steve Believes: The 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Tune in on Friday, as I will make my predictions for the First Round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs. So until then, so long everybody!