Zion Williamson is too smart to overhype his Round of 32 matchup against the University of Central Florida, but Sunday evening’s matchup will bring a chance for Duke’s superstar to create his single best highlight.
Zion Williamson vs. Tacko Fall is the NCAA tournament matchup we deserve
The world’s best dunker vs. the tournament’s tallest skyscraper. This is gonna be good.
If you know nothing about UCF basketball, you aren’t alone. The American Athletic Conference’s third-best team went 23-8 entering the tournament with a so-so resume. Their signature win came in early March over Houston, but they lost a couple bad ones to Florida Atlantic and Wichita State. They’re a fine team with one major presence, who could become Zion’s biggest threat at the rim: 7’6 Tacko Fall.
If you haven’t seen Tacko, here’s all of him.
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
And here he is next to basketball reporter Tracy Wolfson:
Tacko is the tallest player in the NCAA tournament, and he has equal chance at becoming Zion’s greatest nightmare as he does Zion’s greatest poster.
Fall already knows he’ll be a Zion target
Fall was asked by the NCAA’s Andy Katz about his matchup with Zion, and Fall said “It’s very hard (to dunk on me).” I mean, I won’t allow it. I won’t allow it. I won’t allow (Zion) putting me on one of his highlight tapes.”
Williamson was asked about those comments at a press conference, to which he responded, “What is (Fall) supposed to say? Is he supposed to say like I’m going to dunk on him? He said the right thing, but I’m not really focused on that. I’m just focused on trying to help my team win the game.”
Neither guy wants to make their team’s matchup into a Tacko vs. Zion one, but that’s the show we’re all really waiting on.
Is Tacko Fall good? Does Zion have something to worry about?
Zion has definitely never faced a presence quite like Fall’s. He’s not only nearly a foot taller than Williamson, who is 6’7, but he weighs 25 pounds more (310). He’s a truly massive rim-protector, and blocks 11.5 percent of shots when he’s on the floor. That’s the No. 14 rate in the country, and totals to 2.6 per night in just 25 minutes per game. If someone can send a Zion dunk backwards, it’s Fall.
On the flip side, if Zion can pull off dunking on the largest player in the tourney, who stands 11 inches taller, it’ll be his signature moment. It’ll prove nobody is safe, as Fall would make the tallest player in the NBA as well.
This is goliath vs. an even bigger goliath.
Can UCF upset Duke?
Anything can happen, but probably not. Duke ranks in KenPom’s top-6 in both offense and defense, whereas UCF is No. 55 and No. 32 respectively. The Blue Devils have multiple first-round NBA draft picks, and UCF doesn’t have one. Fall isn’t mobile enough to hang seriously at the next level.
But we’ve already seen UC Irvine top Kansas State, and Liberty top Mississippi State. We’re just a year removed from UMBC over Virginia.
It’s all possible unless Zion windmills over Tacko. Then it’s time to stop believing anyone can beat Duke with that guy healthy.
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