B/R Expert NCAA Bracket Picks 2016: Predicting Who Wins the National Title Game

Despite a pair of blowouts in Saturday's Final Four, we're expecting an incredible national championship game between North Carolina and Villanova. After all, the last time both Final Four games were decided by a double-digit margin (2008), Kansas and Memphis gave us one of the most memorable games in NCAA championship history.

If nothing else, it's the KenPom.com dream championship game, as No. 2 seed Villanova is No. 1 on that site while No. 1 seed North Carolina is rated as the second-best team in the country. The Tar Heels and Wildcats were No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, before the tournament began, but winning their 10 games by a combined margin of 202 points was plenty to elevate them to the top of the mountain.

But which elite team actually wins the title?

For one final time this season, the Bleacher Report college basketball experts convened to make their predictions. And after unanimous agreement on most of the games to this point in the tournament, they submitted two votes for North Carolina and one for Villanova. See how the predictions shook out below.

North Carolina vs. Villanova

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

When: Monday, 9:19 p.m. ET

Watch: TBS

Jason King

I wasn't a big believer in Villanova entering the tournament. But at this point, how could I not be sold on the Wildcats? In the last two games, Jay Wright's defense has shut down the NCAA tournament's No. 1 overall seed (Kansas) and the country's best player (Buddy Hield). And when it comes to offense, I'm not sure we'll ever see a more efficient performance than Saturday's effort against Oklahoma, when Villanova shot 71.4 percent from the field.

That being said, I'm going with North Carolina in Monday's championship game.

Much like their opponent, the Tar Heels have made quick work of their postseason foes. They also won the ACC regular-season title and tournament championship in what is easily the nation's best league. (Sorry, Big 12, but it's true.)

I love Villanova's physicality and aggression on defense, but it is not big enough or deep enough to match up with North Carolina down low. Whether it's All-American Brice Johnson, Isaiah Hicks, Joel James or Kennedy Meeks, the Tar Heels simply have too much size.

That's not to say UNC isn't vulnerable. Roy Williams' squad struggles from three-point range, and its defense comes and goes. Still, I said early on this season that North Carolina—when it plays at a high level—is the most dangerous team in college basketball. I expect the Tar Heels to be at their best Monday, when Williams will become the sixth coach in history to win three NCAA titles.

C.J. Moore

Villanova's defense will face its greatest challenge of the season on Monday night.

This is the team that just shut down Buddy Hield, but focusing primarily on one player is a lot easier than five.

The Tar Heels have turned into a machine in the NCAA tournament, scoring at a 1.32 points-per-possession clip and getting contributions from every spot on the floor.

Villanova has smacked everyone around with its defense by applying relentless ball pressure while staying fundamentally sound. The Tar Heels embrace pressure and have the guards, particularly Joel Berry, who can handle it and use it against Villanova.

The Wildcats are also balanced and hard to guard, but when you match up these teams, the one big advantage that UNC has is Brice Johnson. Villanova plays small—6'6" Kris Jenkins starts at power forward—and Johnson has feasted on smaller defenders during the NCAA tournament. Both Notre Dame and Indiana tried to guard him with shorter guys, and Johnson averaged 22.5 points in those two games.

The Heels also have the beef and length to match up with Daniel Ochefu inside.

This could be a great title game, and we deserve as much after those snoozer semifinals. But in the end, the Heels will have too much inside for the Cats to handle.

Kerry Miller

If you've looked at my B/R bio any time in the past four years, you know it's no secret that I'm from Pennsylvania and that I grew up as a Duke fan. There's no point in trying to hide that I would love to see Villanova stomp the Tar Heels.

Chris Steppig/Associated Press

But it's much more than just a childhood rooting interest that's leading me to pick the Wildcats.

North Carolina's offense is on fire, but the Tar Heels have had the luxury of facing weak opponents with weaker defenses. For both Indiana and Notre Dame, their best defense was more offense. And while Providence and Syracuse did a fine job of defending the three-point arc this season, those teams were routinely abused in the paint and on the glass—otherwise known as North Carolina's specialty.

The last time North Carolina faced a legitimate threat to win the national championship, it scored 61 points against Virginia. Though it feels like the Tar Heels can't be stopped right now—88.0 points per tournament game is pretty dadgum impressive—they aren't infallible on offense, and they are far from impenetrable on defense.

But rather than asking whether Villanova's defense can stop North Carolina's offense, shouldn't we be wondering how in the world North Carolina's defense is going to stop Villanova's offense? Villanova has scored at least 86 points in four of its five games, and UNC's three-point defense is not equipped to deal with a team shooting 49.0 percent from downtown in the tournament.

Yes, it's completely hypocritical for me to buy stock in Villanova's long-range attack after spending the entire past week spouting stats about how hard it is for teams to shoot at NRG Stadium, but the Wildcats did just shoot 61.1 percent from three-point range there Saturday night. If they can shoot 10-of-25 (40 percent) or better against North Carolina, they'll win their first national championship since 1985.