Breaking Down North Carolina-Syracuse and Villanova-Oklahoma in the Final Four

This feature is part of VICE Sports' March Madness coverage.

The Final Four is upon us, and both NCAA men's basketball tournament semifinal games feature intriguing matchups. Oklahoma-Villanova figures to be a shootout, starring some of the best long-range bombers in the country, while North Carolina-Syracuse will be an ACC chess match, with a star-studded Tar Heels frontcourt trying to solve the Orange's paint-clogging trademark 2-3 zone.

Here's a closer look at Saturday's contests, with each team's KenPom.com national ratings on both sides of the ball, was well as what each team needs to do to win.

Villanova (33-5)

Overall rank: 1

Offensive rank: 4

Defensive rank: 7

How the Wildcats can win: Villanova is known for shooting a lot of three-pointers, but the Wildcats are extremely underrated in their ability to score inside the arc. They have the third best two-point-shooting percentage in the country, with wings who are adept at driving into the lane. And if they're fouled, they usually score, too, ranking No. 2 in the nation in free-throw percentage.

The two-point shots will keep Villanova in this game, just like in their Elite Eight upset win against top-seeded Kansas, which saw the Wildcats shoot just 22 percent from three but survive through timely shot-making and stingy defense. In order to beat high-scoring Oklahoma, however, the Wildcats will need to shoot better from outside. They're perfectly capable of doing so: in dominant NCAA tournament wins against Miami and Iowa, Villanova was lights-out and all but unstoppable. The worst-case scenario? The Wildcats repeat their dreadful performance against Oklahoma last December, in which Villanova shot 4-for-32 from behind the arc and lost by 23 points.

Oklahoma (29-7)

Overall rank: 5

Offensive rank: 13

Defensive rank: 13

How the Sooners can win: National Player of the Year frontrunner Buddy Hield gets a lot of the attention, but Oklahoma has a number of outstanding three-point shooters. Hield ranks No. 14 in the country, shooting 46.5 percent from three, but Jordan Woodard ranks No. 20 at 45.9 percent and Isaiah Cousins ranks No. 114 at 42 percent.

The Sooners can hit threes in bunches, and they rarely have off nights, because at least one of their shooters is always on. Still, against a team as good as Villanova, the Sooners will need Hield's best. He is averaging 29.25 points per game, and he single-handedly helped the Sooners beat VCU and Oregon in the NCAA tournament, scoring 36 and 37 points respectively.

VICE Sports Prediction: Oklahoma 88, Villanova 84. Villanova will play well, and Hield will have another outstanding game. Get ready for a barnburner.

North Carolina (28-6)

Overall rank: 2

Offensive rank: 1

Defensive rank: 22

How the Tar Heels can win: The key for North Carolina is simple: attack the Syracuse zone effectively. The Tar Heels are a bad three-point-shooting team, ranking No. 285 nationally; they still have the most efficient offense in the country despite that, thanks to impressive two-point shooting and offensive rebounding. And when they do manage to hit their threes, UNC always wins.

The Tar Heels have already beaten the Syracuse zone twice this year, but never in dominant fashion. They'll need to have crisp passing; get the ball inside to Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, and Justin Jackson; and outwork Orange defenders for putbacks and second-chance points.

Syracuse (23-13)

Overall rank: 22

Offensive rank: 50

Defensive rank: 16

How the Orange can win: Typically, the Syracuse zone is strong against three-pointers and good at collapsing on passing lanes, but it's weak against offensive rebounders. Against Virginia in the Elite Eight against Virginia, however, the Orange let the Cavaliers shoot threes and pulled back their defenders more than normal to keep the ball out of the post. That allowed the Orange frontcourt to be more aggressive on the glass.

The key against UNC? The Virginia plan, only to the extreme. Let North Carolina take threes that it probably won't hit, use the length of the zone to contest mid-range shots, and collapse hard on Johnson and the rest of UNC's frontcourt to contest shots around the hoop and deny offensive rebounds. If all of that happens, Syracuse could steal this game.

VICE Sports prediction: North Carolina 71, Syracuse 64. Syracuse will hang tough, but North Carolina's frontcourt size, strength, and skill will be too much for the Orange to overcome.