Ladies and gentlemen: we have our Four.
No, really.
After the annual awesomeness known as the NCAA tournament (also nicknamed March Madness) began two weeks ago, with 68 teams alive, spawning workplace and college dorm brackets/betting pools everywhere, these are the four teams left alive: Butler University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Connecticut, and Virginia Commonwealth University. In short, technical, acronym language, that's BU, UK, UCONN and VCU.
Yes, basketball fans, this is what we've got. The defending national runner-up, who lost last year's national championship game by two points (Butler). A resilient big-name squad who lost big-name players to the NBA draft last year but still nipped two of this year's best teams in the tournament(Kentucky). The male counterpart to the ultimate dominant women's basketball franchise (UCONN). And a 15th seed that you've probably never heard of (VCU). That, respectively, is an 8th seed, a 4th seed, a 3rd seed, and an 11th seed.
I didn't make a bracket myself, but I know people at work, at my alma mater, at my church, and at my home (hello, Dad) who did, and almost all of them were way off. Top top seed Ohio State lost to Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen. Defending champion Duke lost to Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen, who lost to Connecticut last night. Number one Pitt was eliminated by Butler a week ago on that shocking last-second foul. And number one Kansas, my dad's pick, lost to VCU in one of the great all-time upsets.
Because of my work schedule and the tournament schedule, I didn't get to make a post about the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight action, but here's what happened:
Sweet Sixteen:
#4 Kentucky beat #1 Ohio State.
#5 Arizona beat #1 Duke.
#1 Kansas beat #12 Richmond.
#3 UCONN beat #2 San Diego State.
#2 Florida beat #3 Brigham Young.
#8 Butler beat #4 Wisconsin.
#11 VCU beat #10 Florida State.
#2 North Carolina beat #11 Marquette
;Then, last night and throughout this afternoon, the Elite Eight burst onto the scene. The matchups: Butler vs. Florida, Arizona vs. UCONN, VCU vs. Kansas, and Kentucky vs. North Carolina.
First, the drama-loving darlings of Butler beat Florida, 74-71, in overtime, becoming the first team to ever make back-to-back Final Fours without being seeded 1 or 2 either time. Their coach, Brad Stevens, 34, is also the youngest man to ever coach in a Final Four twice. Due to their record of success, their gusty play and their constant ability to make late dramatics work, the Bulldogs could be considered a heavyweight going forward.
Then the Arizona Wildcats failed to duplicate the fast and furious magic that won them an impressive double-digit victory over the defending-champion Duke Blue Devils when they fell, 65-63, to UCONN and Kemba Walker to send the Huskies to their second Final Four in three years.
Sunday afternoon, just as people like myself were getting out of church, a David/Goliath matchup for the ages began, with #11 VCU, who had to beat USC just to get into the Round of 64 two weeks ago, facing the last #1 seed, the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas won the 2008 National Championship and, with the superb athletic tandem of identical twins Marcus and Markieff Morris, looked nigh unbeatable. Surprise! The VCU Rams, supported by a small quadrant of fans in a vastly pro-Kansas arena, led Kansas by 14 at the half and withstood a late charge with timely shooting and tough, full-bodied defense, to win, 71-61. They are the official tournament darlings (sorry Butler), a bandwagon people are jumping on by the hundreds, and just the third 11-seed to ever make the Final Four (LSU, 1986; George Mason, 2006). They are reminding us that anything is possible. And they have a coach, Shaka Smart, who is just 33.
Following that stirring story came a classic heavyweight matchup, #4 Kentucky vs #2 North Carolina. They brought a combined 4,085 victories (2,052 for KU, 2,033 for UNC), 12 National Championships (7 for KU, 5 for UNC). And they were playing for a spot (the final spot) in the Final Four, a distinction the schools had earned a combined 31 times coming into the game (13 for KU, a record 18 for UNC). As you might expect with such powers, it was a battle all the way, with big fouls, players chirping at each other (and the refs), thunderous three-pointers and a pair of freshmen (KU's Brandon Knight, UNC's Harrison Barnes) putting their teams on their shoulders for minutes at a time. But, despite their efforts, the Tar Heels never led after the game's opening minutes, even though they tied the second half late. The Wildcats always seemed to have an answer (one with three points attached to it) for each mini-surge, and held off UNC for a 76-69 victory. That made Coach John Calipari the second man to take three programs to the Final Four (University of Massachusets, 1996; University of Memphis, 2008; KU).
The Final Four matchups, set for Saturday, April 2, are Butler-VCU and Kentucky-UConn, to be played in Houston. The winners will, of course, meet in Monday's NCAA National Championship Game. A game Butler lost last season by mere inches.
No comments:
Post a Comment