Hicks has turned himself into the best weapon off the bench in the Final Four this 2018 season. He's averaging 9.1 points per game and 4.7 rebounds in just under 20 minutes per. The 6-foot-8 junior has a real shot next season to be the kind of bust-out player in the frontcourt that Roy Williams has so often had in his career in Chapel Hill (see: Brice Johnson, Ed Davis, John Henson, among others).
That's the kind of talent level we're talking about with Hicks: a tough, athletic big man who has a shot to play a major role running the baseline behind Syracuse's zone and being available to stretch out the backline of the defense with his efficient finishing ability. It's a role he's played well already, as his best game of the season came at the Carrier Dome scoring 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds. If the Tar Heels are to win in the semifinals, Hicks will likely play a big part.
Syracuse -- Tyler Lydon, Forward
Lydon is possibly Syracuse's second-best player, averaging 10.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Really, that almost disqualifies him from X-Factor status. However, his play against North Carolina is going to be ever so critical off the bench for the Orange due to his size ability to stretch the floor against North Carolina's front line.
He can pull the aformentioned Johnson away from the hoop, and render his weak-side shot-blockin ability moot, as well as stand up defensively in the zone with his athleticism. The key for Lydon will be in his rebounding against that tough frontline. If Lydon can at least be a weapon on the defensive glass and limit the Tar Heels' second chance opportunities, the Orange will have a chance to pull the massive upset.
Oklahoma -- Khadeem Lattin, Forward
A lot will be made this week of Lattin's bloodlines, as the 6-9 forward's grandfather was on the Texas Western team that 50 years ago became the first all-black starting five to win the national championship. However, Lattin's play on the floor will be much more important to Oklahoma's chances than his family. With a 7-foot-plus wingspan, Lattin is a superb shot-blocker with terrific instincts and a great motor. He had one of the 30 best block rates in all of college basketball this season at 9.7 percent, but it's defense on the perimeter that will be more important here.
Lattin is mobile and does a good job of using his length to cut off pick-and-rolls, which will be ever so important against a Villanova team that really uses the screen a lot with its two point guards to get some space. Villanova finished nearly 30 percent of its possessions directly off of some sort of ball-screen action. Lattin -- and also Ryan Spangler -- will need to cut off penetration and also be disciplined against outside shooters off of pops. If he can be a defensive weapon, the Sooners should be in better shape to win.
Villanova -- Jalen Brunson, Guard
You could go a variety of directions here. Kris Jenkins will be important in the way that he stretches the floor against Oklahoma's two true bigs. Mikal Bridges has been a defensive dynamo with his wacky-waving-inflatable-arm-flailing-tube-man arms. But call this one a hunch. Throughout his prep career, Brunson has been absolutely terrific in big spots, and I expect much of the same in this round of games.
Brunson was named the MVP of the FIBA U19 tournament last summer, averaging 14 points and 5.6 assists while getting everybody on that ridiculously talented Team USA team involved. He started and dropped 12 points and six dimes in the 2014 U18 FIBA Americas championship in Colorado Springs. Back in 2014 when Brunson was a high school junior, he broke the Illinois state tournament record for points with 56 in a loss. Then, in 2015, he came back and dropped 30 in the state title game next season to win it. Basically, here's the deal: Brunson, despite being the fifth cog in Villanova's starting five, has always stepped up in the biggest spots with massive performances. My guess is that he does that on Saturday night for Villanova, win or lose.