Duke, WVU, Butler, MSU—who you got?
President Barack Obama may have gained some extra limelight last year for predicting that the North Carolina Tar Heels would become national champions, but this year’s unpredictable tournament has spoiled his brackets.
Number one seeds Kentucky, Syracuse, and Obama’s winner Kansas, have gone down before the Final Four. This is the first time since 2004 that only one top seeded team has advanced to the Final Four, not forgetting 2006, when no top seeds made it thanks to fairy tale George-Mason’s victory over UCONN that shocked the basketball world. Kansas, the odds-on favorite to win the championship when the brackets came out on Selection Sunday, went out the first weekend in an upset by No. 9 seeded Northern Iowa. Tennessee took out No. 2 Ohio State, and No. 3 Georgetown was gone only a few hours into the tournament thanks to an upset by No. 14 Ohio.
The 2010 Final Four is comprised of two teams very familiar to the semi-finals of the NCAA tournament, while the others have a combined appearance total of one prior to this year. The first game features the No. 1 seeded Duke Blue Devils who will try to bounce the No. 2 West Virginia Mountaineers. Led by Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer, Duke defeated Baylor 78-71 on Sunday to win the South region and earn their 15th Final Four appearance.
The Mountaineers made it with the help of Saturday’s 73-66 upset over No. 1 Kentucky in the East region that put them in the Final Four for the first time since 1959 when Jerry West was their biggest star. West Virginia is spearheaded by Da’Sean Butler, a 6-foot-7 senior who does everything well including 78 percent free throw shooting. If Butler plays at his best, the Mountaineers can be unstoppable, but should nonetheless be weary of a Duke team that is looking for their fourth National Championship.
On the other side of the Final Four, two No. 5 seeds face off for the first time in the tournament’s history. The Michigan State Spartans defeated Tennessee 70-69 on Sunday to win the Midwest region despite having lost Kalin Lucas, one of their best players to date, who tore his Achilles tendon early last week. That being said, they plan to win a spot in the final using the same core of players that helped them reach the championship game only one year ago, where they were blown out by North Carolina.
The Spartans have been pitted against the Butler Bulldogs who will have a very generous home court advantage. The game will take place at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, only a stone’s throw away from the Butler campus (about 7 miles). The thousands of fans that Butler is going to have packed into the arena will be like nothing you’ve seen during March Madness and should give the Bulldogs an undeniable advantage. Other undeniable facts about the Bulldogs: they eliminated No. 1 Syracuse and No. 2 Kansas State, and they have not lost a game since December 22nd!
Upsets have been running wild so do not be surprised if No. 1 and 2 seeded Duke or West Virginia lose to a No. 5 in the championship for the same reason that no more than one top seed made it to the Final Four. The gap in skill between the top ranked teams and those much below them has been tightened quite significantly compared to last year, making for a much more interesting tournament; one where any team can win it all. The Final Four play on Saturday, April 3rd and the championship is scheduled for Monday, April 5th. Stay tuned, it promises to be madness.
