NCAA Championship Game 2016: UNC vs. Villanova Final Score Predictions

After a couple of blowouts in the Final Four, all fans can ask for is an exciting matchup in the national championship game. If both the North Carolina Tar Heels and Villanova Wildcats play to their ability, that is exactly what we should get.

While both sides had a few slip-ups along the way, they have also both been considered among the best in the nation all year long. North Carolina began the year as the preseason No. 1 team in the nation and never fell below No. 11. Villanova dropped as low as No. 17 in December but spent a few weeks as No. 1 in February.

The squads play excellent basketball on both sides of the ball and have tons of balance throughout their rosters. It legitimately wouldn't be a surprise if any of the 10 starters ended up as the leading scorer for the game.

This should lead to a close battle, although only one team can come out on top.

National Championship Game Info

When: Monday, April 4

Where: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

Time: 9:19 p.m. ET

TV: TBS

Preview

While teams are usually able to keep things relatively close against North Carolina early, the squad hasn't had a real challenge in the second half all tournament. The fast pace and depth simply allows the team to wear down opponents before pulling away late.

Brice Johnson has played at an All-American level throughout the season, but players like Joel Berry II, Marcus Paige and Justin Jackson are also dangerous on the offensive end. With the ability to pound the ball inside almost at will, this is one of the toughest offenses in the country to stop.

Meanwhile, the defense should not be overlooked, as it has improved tremendously since the start of the year. Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports noted the team's ability during the win over Syracuse:

While the defense has certainly improved, especially in the interior, Villanova has the type of team that could give UNC trouble on that end of the floor. The Tar Heels have struggled at times defending opponents that can spread the floor and hit threes, something the Wildcats do at a high rate.

Teams like Duke, Texas and Northern Iowa shot well in upset wins over North Carolina, while Indiana and Notre Dame shot a combined 22-of-49 (44.9 percent) from three-point range during the NCAA tournament. If not for the great offense on the other end, UNC would have had a hard time pulling out wins in those games.

The scary part is Villanova has been even better than these squads when it comes to shooting. The team made an incredible 71.4 percent of its shots in the semifinal win over Oklahoma, including 61.1 percent from beyond the arc. Even head coach Jay Wright didn't know what to say after the game, per Nicole Auerbach of USA Today:

"

It was just one of those games that could happen to anybody. I feel bad for Oklahoma that it happened to them in the Final Four. But I'm happy we had one of those games where we just make every shot. We had end-of-shot-clock shots we just threw up and went in.

We'll try to continue to be dialed in and try to get one more on Monday night.

"

Although this is a tough performance to replicate, Villanova has been shooting well all tournament and usually has four above-average shooters on the floor at one time. This could make defending Villanova a tougher challenge than usual.

At the same time, it hasn't been just the offense leading the Wildcats to wins. The shooting is turning the most heads, but the defense has been outstanding. Opponents are averaging just 60.6 points per game against them in March Madness, including both Kansas and Oklahoma failing to reach 60.

As Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports noted, the key has been the ability to take out a team's leading scorer:

Buddy Hield was averaging 29.3 points per game in the tournament before finishing with just nine points against Villanova. There is no one shutdown defender, but instead an entire team working together to keep an opponent off the scoreboard.

North Carolina should be able to get points inside with its size and offensive rebounding ability, but as we have seen over the past couple of weeks, scoring will be tougher against this defense than originally anticipated.

If Villanova can keep Johnson and others in check and make its shots on the other end, it will bring home its first national championship since 1985.

Prediction: Villanova 71, North Carolina 69

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for year-round sports analysis.