North Carolina-Gonzaga about firsts, big men and bad ankles

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Gonzaga's and North Carolina's journey to the final night of the 2016-17 season on a hardwood floor in a football stadium in the Phoenix area should surprise few.

The Tar Heels lost in last year's title game on a Kris Jenkins buzzer-beater, and key players from that humbled roster -- Kennedy Meeks, Nate Britt, Justin Jackson, Joel Berry II, Isaiah Hicks and Theo Pinson -- all returned to attempt another trek to Monday's national championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Gonzaga, backed by a fleet of veterans, lost only one game all season and commanded the nation's most efficient defensive operation throughout 2016-17.

The season had to end this way.

Here's what you need to know about the game.

Nothing mid-major about Gonzaga

Yes, Gonzaga will play in its first national title game on Monday. But this is also its 19th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. Go ahead and say the Bulldogs own that streak only because they play in the West Coast Conference. I'll counter with this fact: They've reached the second weekend eight times in that stretch.

Mark Few makes $1.6 million per year. Thirteen former players earned spots in the NBA under Few -- yes, most got only a cup of coffee in the league -- and Zach Collins, Nigel Williams-Goss and Przemek Karnowski could join the list as early as next season. Four of Few's standouts (Williams-Goss, Collins, Josh Perkins and Johnathan Williams) secured spots among the top 60 of their respective classes in ESPN.com's recruiting rankings. Also, Karnowski had a solid chance to be drafted before last year's season-ending back injury. He might still join an NBA roster soon.

This is a small-town program with a revolving high-major talent pool and rich legacy. The Bulldogs compete in a league stocked with mid-major opponents, but Monday's matchup should forever eliminate any reference to Gonzaga as a mid-major.

So this is a powerhouse battle

Please don't feel sorry for Gonzaga against the almighty North Carolina Tar Heels. Offer your sympathy to both programs.

The Bulldogs must stop a Tar Heels train that has Mike Tyson'd the field in the paint with bruiser Meeks and his aggressive teammates, all part of the nation's top offensive rebounding unit. North Carolina bulldozed Kentucky and Oregon in the paint on its way to a second consecutive national championship game.

But Roy Williams & Co. will face a Gonzaga squad ranked first in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Bulldogs didn't reach this stage because of their offense. And they're blessed with the big bodies to challenge North Carolina's forceful frontcourt.

This is an appropriate conclusion to the 2016-17 season.

Meeks vs. Karnowski is the WWE title match college basketball deserves

It's unclear how the referees in Monday's game will regulate the paint tussle between 6-foot-10, 260-pound Meeks and 7-foot-1, 300-pound Karnowski.

There will be fouls -- more like Richter scale-registering collisions between two of the largest bodies in college basketball. This is more than two big men fighting for real estate in the post, though.

Meeks dominated the offensive glass in the Elite Eight and again when North Carolina defeated Oregon on Saturday in the Final Four. Karnowski is Gonzaga's best counter to Meeks as he again tries to muscle to the rim. This matchup could dictate the final result Monday. Plus, it feels like a pairing worthy of Survivor Series.

Roy Williams vying to join the greats

Williams entered the Basketball Hall of Fame nearly a decade ago. But a win Monday would elevate him in debates about the greatest coaches in college basketball history. A third national title would move him past Dean Smith. Only Adolph Rupp, John Wooden and Mike Krzyzewski would have more.

He does not need another ring to seal his legacy. But a third championship would promote him into another exclusive class of elite coaches.

Save the one-and-done hot takes

Some will use this game to back their stance against the one-and-done movement in college basketball.

Yes, the veterans will consume the spotlight on Monday. They've worked hard to reach this point. But using this as the substance of an argument about the value of experience is a bad idea.

Why? Well, freshmen Collins and Tony Bradley could both turn pro after this game. So it isn't as if this game is stripped of potential one-and-done contributors.

What's more, the freshmen who leave after a year do so because they want to capitalize on their value. Every player in Monday's game has the same goal: to one day make money playing basketball. Some legitimate prospects reach their potential when they're upperclassmen. Others decide that the best time to turn pro is after a year of school.

But some of the most impressive rosters of the past decade -- Duke and Kentucky in 2014-15; Kentucky in 2011-12 -- have been anchored by freshmen who entered the NBA draft after one season. So let's all enjoy the game without making unfounded arguments about experienced players versus freshmen stars.

They're all talented. And the benefit of college basketball is that programs can implement diverse approaches to building their rosters.

"Yeah, there's a difference," Roy Williams said in response to a question about John Calipari's pursuit of one-and-done talent prior to his team's win over Kentucky in the Elite Eight. "He got them, and I didn't. I recruit the same guys."

Berry had offensive problems before the ankle injuries

After Saturday's game, the North Carolina point guard said he felt good.

That's good news for the Tar Heels. His struggles over the past month? Not so much.

Berry's ankle problems started in a first-round matchup against Texas Southern. They were extended when he sprained both ankles during the team's trip to Memphis for the Elite Eight.

His stumbles on offense, however, began before the NCAA tournament. Since his team's win over Miami in the ACC tournament on March 9, Berry has made just 20 of 68 shot attempts.

The Tar Heels continue to win despite Berry's injuries and offensive woes. But will the latter impact Monday's final score? We'll see. Now would be a great time for Berry to regain his swagger.

Collins is a monster

Everything you need to know about Gonzaga's depth and talent can be answered by this fact: Collins, a potential lottery pick in this summer's NBA draft, has come off the bench for Few's squad all season. In his impressive performance Saturday (14 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks), Collins became only the third player to record at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in a Final Four game since blocks became an official stat more than 30 years ago, per ESPN Stats & Information.

When Few goes to his bench, this NBA talent from Las Vegas enters the game. The most skilled big man on the floor in Monday's game will be a reserve who plays for a Jesuit school in eastern Washington.

Gonzaga built to stop North Carolina

The Tar Heels comprise a distinctive roster filled with lengthy guards and bigs who penetrate, collect an abundance of buckets off second-chance points and draw opponents into early foul trouble.

But Gonzaga's veteran guards backed one of the nation's strongest defenses all season. In the Final Four, South Carolina finished just 15-for-49 on its contested shots against Gonzaga, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Few's squad also features four big men -- Karnowski, Killian Tillie, Collins and Johnathan Williams -- he can use in a rare rotation with the size and skill to challenge UNC's rugged frontcourt.

On the other end, North Carolina will attempt to suppress a Gonzaga offense that has made 57 percent of its shots inside the arc this year, fifth in the nation.

Gonzaga has the personnel to beat the Tar Heels and win its first national title.

But Gonzaga hasn't faced a team like UNC all season

Jordan Bell apologized to Oregon fans after he missed a pair of offensive rebounds in the final seconds against North Carolina on Saturday. He encountered the same problem past opposing forwards and centers experienced against the Tar Heels.

You can't blink on defense against them because they send everyone to crash the offensive glass and accrue coveted second-chance points.

Meeks is the obvious threat. But 6-foot-8 Jackson (38 percent from the 3-point line) can score over any defender on the floor. And even if Gonzaga corrals Meeks, who will put a body on Hicks, Bradley and Pinson when they fly into the lane for the putbacks?

The Tar Heels pose plenty of dilemmas for any opponent. When Bell lined up for those final free throws Saturday, he was in the 12th round against a North Carolina squad that had bumped him, pushed him, moved him and nudged him all game.

Some North Carolina opponents have looked like serious threats against the squad early. But it's the final minutes of a game against the Tar Heels that usually test the physical limits of opponents.

That's the challenge Gonzaga must overcome.