March Madness 2016: Updated Bracket and Bold Predictions for Final Four

March Madness is known for its surprising outcomes, something that likely won't change in the 2016 Final Four.

There are just three games remaining before we crown a national champion, but if you think this three-week event is going to end quietly, you clearly don't know the NCAA tournament. Not only could the outcomes turn some heads, but the individual performances as well as team stats could feature plenty of intrigue.

It's important to expect just about anything in Houston, but here is a look at some bold predictions for what could take place in the national semifinals.

Bold Predictions

Buddy Hield Scores Fewer Than 15 Points

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This almost seems like an insane number for someone who averages 25.4 points per game on the season, including 29.3 points in four NCAA tournament rounds. Villanova would either have to force Buddy Hield into an awful shooting day or simply not let him get shots.

Despite the challenge, the Wildcats have the ability to do both.

Michael DeCourcy of Sporting News explained what helped Villanova beat the Kansas Jayhawks in the Elite Eight:

While Nova is usually known for its offense, the defense has been excellent down the stretch, especially with its ability to clamp down on Kansas and its leading scorer, Perry Ellis, who finished with just four points. While Hield plays more on the perimeter, the aggressive trapping and tight defense will cause the 6'4" guard problems.

Although West Virginia has a much more active defense, the similar style allowed Hield to score just six points in a loss in the Big 12 tournament. When the senior faced Villanova earlier in the year, he had 18 points but shot just 6-of-17 from the field.

A low-scoring effort from Hield won't guarantee a win for the Wildcats, but they have the personnel and style to keep college basketball's best scorer in check.

Villanova Will Struggle Again from Three

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After looking like they couldn't miss for the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament, the Wildcats went cold against Kansas, making just 4-of-18 from beyond the arc. This obviously didn't hurt them too much, as they came out as winners, but it also didn't help.

This type of poor shooting was on display when Villanova faced Oklahoma earlier in the season and the team went just 4-of-32 from outside. That time, the struggles led to an embarrassing 23-point loss.

It's hard to imagine a quality team like this being that bad again, but the Sooners have a lot of quickness on the perimeter and do a good job of closing on shooters. There will be few open looks, and it might take some miracle looks from Ryan Arcidiacono and Kris Jenkins to get anything to fall.

Villanova has surprisingly been better at attacking the basket this season than shooting from three, and the team might need to rely on this skill in order to win against Oklahoma.

North Carolina Has Over 20 Offensive Rebounds

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Twenty would be a whole lot of offensive boards and presumably lead to tons of second-chance points, but Syracuse is the perfect matchup for North Carolina to exploit.

While the 2-3 zone has its benefits, including forcing tough shots that could slow down UNC's offense, the downside is the struggles it creates in rebounding. When you don't have a specific man to box out, it leads to openings on missed shots. As a result, Syracuse ranks 337th in the country out of 351 teams in defensive rebounding percentage, per KenPom.com.

On the other hand, the Tar Heels excel at attacking the glass, with Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks all capable of grabbing the ball and earning second chances. As a team, UNC ranks third in college basketball in offensive rebounding percentage, corralling over 40 percent of missed shots, per KenPom.com.

The last time these teams played, North Carolina shot just 6-of-25 from three-point range, but the team was able to pull out a close win thanks to 19 offensive boards. Look for this loaded frontcourt to be even more aggressive and get over 20 this time around.

Michael Gbinije Leads All Scorers in Semifinals

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With so many elite players on the No. 1- and No. 2-seeded teams, it would be surprising to see a player from the No. 10 seed finish with the most points. Michael Gbinije is Syracuse's leading scorer at 17.6 points per game, but he has been held to under 12 points in two of the four rounds so far this tournament.

Despite the inconsistency as a scorer, he has earned the confidence from his head coach, Jim Boeheim, per Jeff Goodman of ESPN:

Boeheim later explained the difference from when Gbinije first joined the Orange, per Syracuse.com:

Gbinije is now an elite point guard with the size, at 6'7", to be a matchup nightmare for just about any defense. This is especially true against North Carolina, which features a backcourt of 6'0" Joel Berry II and 6'2" Marcus Paige. The Orange guard will be able to overpower these defenders to get into the lane and get just about any shot he wants.

The Tar Heels have especially struggled this year guarding the perimeter, allowing teams to make 36 percent of shots from deep. Demetrius Jackson also just scored 26 on this defense in the Elite Eight, and the athletic Gbinije could do even better on Saturday.

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.

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