Who will win the national title? We asked McDonald’s All-Americans for their picks.
Going into Thursday night’s opening Sweet Sixteen matchups in the NCAA Tournament, there was a consensus among the next wave of college basketball stars: Duke is the team to beat for this year’s national championship.
The Herald-Leader asked 10 players at the McDonald’s All-American Game for their predictions heading into the second week of the tournament, and most — but not all — mentioned Duke as a prominent pick to win it all.
“I think Duke’s going to pull away with it,” said Florida signee Scottie Lewis. “I think, since they had a tough one the other day — a tough win — that’s going to help them for the rest of the tournament.”
Duke squeaked by UCF in the round of 32 Sunday, needing a late comeback to avoid what would have been the biggest upset of the tournament.
“I think Duke learned from their close game the other day with UCF,” said U of L signee Samuell Williamson. “I think they’re the favorites to win it at this point.”
Florida signee Tre Mann mentioned Duke and Tennessee as the two favorites. “They have the experience, and they have great coaches,” he said of the Vols.
Uncommitted five-star recruit Trendon Watford has either the Blue Devils or Louisiana State, which had been recruiting him hard before the suspension of head coach Will Wade. “Nobody in the country can guard Tremont Waters,” Watford said of the LSU point guard.
There was a lot of love for the Blue Devils.
“Right now, I got Duke,” said Indiana commitment Trayce Jackson-Davis. “I just think they love playing. You watch them out there — all the guys are really having fun and loving playing for each other. And they really want to win. So, that’s hard to beat. I could see teams with more experience beating them, though.”
Cole Anthony — the top uncommitted guard in the country — threw a bit of a curveball. Two of his five finalists — North Carolina and Oregon — were still alive in the NCAA Tournament, and many recruiting analysts think he’ll end up a Tar Heel, but he’s not going with the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region this season.
“Gonzaga looks pretty good. They look real good,” Anthony said. “There are a lot of really good defensive teams in the tournament right now, but they’re also one of the best offensive teams, too. So they got that going for them.”
Duke commitment Vernon Carey is, of course, picking the Blue Devils.
“Duke, for sure,” he said.
So, who does he think is the biggest threat? “Probably Gonzaga or UNC, both of those two. Gonzaga is a pretty big team, I feel like. And we struggled two times with UNC.”
Carey is hoping for another Duke-UNC rematch in the national title game.
“For the championship? I would love to see that,” he said. “Especially with Zion (Williamson) playing, I’m not afraid.”
UK commitment Kahlil Whitney smiled at the question of who will win it all, then acted like he was thinking hard about it.
“I want to say ... that white and blue school,” his smile growing. “I think UK.”
The Cats’ biggest threat, according to Whitney?
“I want to say UNC,” he said. “UNC has a pretty good team. They’ve got depth. They shoot the ball pretty well. But I think we’ll get the job done. … I want to see that matchup.”
The Cats defeated the Tar Heels back in December, and they could meet again in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four.
Future UK point guard Tyrese Maxey is, naturally, picking the Wildcats. “If it’s not Kentucky, it’s Duke,” he said.
The word on the sidelines at the McDonald’s All-American practices this week was that it’ll be one of those two schools — Duke or Kentucky — that ultimately lands Matthew Hurt, one of the few uncommitted players in this year’s game and a top UK target for more than a year.
Just like his recruitment, Hurt is keeping his national title pick close to the vest. No clues here.
“I have no idea,” he said. “They’re all great teams. Anybody could beat anybody on any day.”
This story was originally published March 28, 2019 at 11:00 AM.