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GLENDALE, Ariz. — The computers predict Gonzaga will win, while the betting line has UNC as the favorite. There’s plenty of split out here in Arizona among the writers as well. All signs are pointing to a pretty good championship ending for the 2016-17 season. 

With that in mind, let’s look at what we should expect tonight from a matchup standpoint. The Zags and Heels have a lot in common, which could make for an even better watch. 

“They believe in running,” UNC coach Roy Williams said Sunday of Gonzaga. “They believe in getting the ball inside. They change their defenses a little but not much. They’re mostly a man-to-man team. So we’re very similar.”

The fact both teams have back-to-the-basket post players and multiple big men who can wall up inside is a change from what we’ve seen from national championship-winning teams in recent seasons. Who has the edge? Time to find out. 

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Point guard battle

Joel Berry vs. Nigel Williams-Goss. The ironic thing here is: both will need to play off adrenaline because of ankle concerns. Berry said on Sunday that he was feeling better and looser, while Williams-Goss admitted his right wheel was a little tight after twisting it in Saturday’s semifinal vs. South Carolina. Whomever plays better in this head-to-head matchup will go a long way to deciding the game. Williams-Goss is a master communicator on both ends of the floor. Berry does a little of everything for UNC. Williams-Goss has been the better player and more valuable player on the whole this season.

Edge: Gonzaga

Frontcourt 

Here’s the main attraction. Gonzaga’s got four bigs it will throw out there, but the two that everyone will focus on are Przemek Karnowski and Zach Collins. The way those two played together and helped beat South Carolina brought a dynamic that GU had not used hardly at all this season. We should get some more Shem-and-Zach fun on Monday night. Opposite them: Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks. Karnowski will guard Meeks, Collins will guard Hicks. It’s a fantastic low-post matchup, but it won’t be held only to the key because of how Hicks and Collins are capable of drifting. 

“They have more size than anybody we played all year long,” Roy Williams said of Gonzaga.

Karnowski and Meeks will no doubt camp out in the key and have their little wars. Should be terrific. Meeks is the best rebounder of the group, Karnowski is the best passer, Collins the best projected pro. Hicks could be a tough matchup for Collins as well. Then, when going to the bench, Tony Bradley is a better option for UNC than Killian Tillie is for Gonzaga.

Edge: North Carolina

Shooting

UNC has a better points-per-possession offense than Gonzaga, but from 3-point land, only Justin Jackson and Joel Berry shoot 38 percent or better among all UNC players who’ve taken at least 50 3-point attempts this season. In terms of pure shooting, Gonzaga is the better team. It shoots 57 percent from 2-point range (UNC is 51.1) and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc (UNC is 36.2). 

Gonzaga can look to Williams-Goss, Jordan Mathews, Josh Perkins and Silas Melson for a 3 if needed. There are simply more options, and more reliable options, for first-shot success with the Zags than the Heels. The balance here is that UNC gets more second- and third-chance opportunities than anyone else in the country because it’s the best offensive-rebounding unit in America. But Gonzaga has seven guys capable of dropping 15-plus on Monday night. 

Edge: Gonzaga

Defense

Gonzaga allows teams to score 86.6 points per 100 possessions, according to KenPom’s metrics. That’s No. 1 in the country. North Carolina’s 93.2 clip ranks 16th. Obviously still good, but a level below what Gonzaga has proven this season. Gonzaga is so good because of its ability to wall up in the paint, first of all. Karnowski and Collins are simply stellar at staying vertical, owning the space they have a right to own, and not fouling by keeping their arms straight when they jump to contest a shot. They’re the best rim-protecting duo in America. 

Additionally, Gonzaga gets out and defends the 3-point line with consistency. Opponents are shooting 29.5 percent from 3 against the Bulldogs this season. This Gonzaga team is very tough and, I think, plenty athletic. They no longer have to double the post, meaning that frees up Collins and Williams to aggressively pursue in man-to-man. In fact, Williams can guard every ball screen and is able to defend every position on the floor. This is Gonzaga’s best team ever in good portion because it is, by far, Gonzaga’s best defensive team ever. 

The Heels have won two straight despite shooting less than 40 percent. They can’t afford to let that happen a third time. The worrisome stat for Roy Williams: Gonzaga has held opponents to 37-percent shooting this season. Nineteen times in the past 23 games, Gonzaga’s opponents haven’t cracked the 40-percent threshold. 

Edge: Gonzaga

Bench

The Tar Heels now have a bench player as a starter in Theo Pinson, which works to their advantage. Thy also have the best bench player in this game in Tony Bradley (a likely future NBA pick). UNC uses its bench a bit more than Gonzaga, but it’s not like GU is incapable of having guys come off the pine to contribute. Remember that Killian Tillie appeared from nowhere on Saturday night to hit those huge free throws and seal the game for the Zags against South Carolina. 

But given the fact that UNC has Luke Maye, who came off the bench to win the South Regional’s MOP, yeah, that’s a trump card. 

Edge: North Carolina 

Coaching

On Sunday, Few was asked about his biggest concern about the game, and what he thought the biggest mismatch might be. Humbly, he responded: “Coaching.” Now, I don’t think the coaching mismatch is all that big, really. In fact, I think it’s about even. These are both top-10 coaches in the sport. But Few has learned from Williams over the years. He explains:

“I’ve always followed Roy’s teams. My first five, gosh, all the way into (Ronny) Turiaf years, maybe, you’ve got to help me on that saying, you wordsmiths out there -- imitation is the greatest form of flattery or whatever. Is that right or wrong or backwards or something? But it’s meant the same way.

“We called it the Kansas break. I ran the Kansas break for my first seven years. Their whole transition deal. I just copied it, boom. And that’s all we did through our early years, just because I had so much respect for Roy. And it fit with what we’re doing and our philosophies were the same as far as playing fast and just running the secondary break.

“And so I watch them a lot. I’ve probably watched them 15 times this year just because I’m a fan of his and a fan of theirs and root for him. I don’t really have a first impression. I have about 100 impressions of them that are built in over the years.”

Williams, like-wise, has big admiration for Few. They’ve done it in different ways, of course. Williams has made nine Final Fours while at Kansas and North Carolina, two of the top four programs in college basketball history. Few has built Gonzaga, a school that didn’t make its first NCAA Tournament until 1995, into a top-20 program. From an X-and-O standpoint, I can’t say that one guy is going to outwit the other. They’ll probably have their moments on both ends, but the brilliance of Roy is his trust to let his guys run the stuff they want to run. I’m very intrigued to see how Gonzaga adapts to that, given its defensive abilities. 

Edge: Neither

Biggest mismatch 

This has been the talk in Phoenix about this game over the past 24 hours. If UNC wins, I think the game’s going to be decided by the fact that Gonzaga can’t match up with Justin Jackson. GU’s best chance might be to put Johnathan Williams on Jackson, but that could create defensive issues elsewhere on the floor. If not Williams on Jackson, then perhaps Silas Melson goes to work? If that’s the case, he’s giving up three inches. 

Jackson is the best pro prospect on the floor in this game. He can get his shot off the dribble or score off the catch. He can make plays in transition. He was one of the five best/most important players in college basketball this season. There’s going to be a lot of talent on the floor tonight, but no one player is more set up to thrive, given what he’ll encounter one-on-one, than Jackson. 

Edge: North Carolina