It was already a wild NCAA Tournament. It lived up to its hype as March Madness. And it was a basket away from being a huge upset. Duke has won its fourth national title by beating the underdog Butler Bulldogs 61-59. For highlights, go here.
The Final Four wittled down to two over the weekend, setting the stage for a David vs. Goliath battle between the powerhouse Duke Blue Devils and the hometown Butler Bulldogs. The Bulldogs dispatched banged-up Michigan State 52-50 in their hometown of Indianapolis.
But the heart-breaking moment happened in the West Virginia-Duke game. West Virginia's Da'Sean Butler, a four-year senior, tore his ACL while driving to the basket, trying to get the Mountaineers back into the game, down 63-48. What followed can't be said as anything but sad and touching (video courtesy CBS)...
While the Mountaineers went on to lose the game, West Virginia showed teamwork at its finest, helping its best player off the court. Butler's NBA career is in serious jeopardy and could have been a first-round talent, but now, it's anyone's guess if or where he'll go in June's NBA Draft. For Bob Huggins' (West Virginia coach) part, he has a reputation for being a crusty type but his players' biggest supporter, so his display of affection on the court is very out-of-character for Huggins compared to how he usually is on the sideline. Anyway you slice it, it was the saddest moment in the tourney.
The Elite Eight continued this past weekend, and it didn't disappoint. Another 1 seed fell, two legendary coaches return to the final four, and an underdog returns home playing for the national championship. On Saturday, it was upset central with two major surprises: 5-seed Butler defeated heavily-favored 2-seed Kansas State 63-56 and West Virginia, a 2-seed defeated 1-seed Kentucky, considered by many to be a national title contender, 73-66. On Sunday, it was Michigan State over Tennessee and Duke defeating Baylor, 78-71.
The Butler Bulldogs have had an impressive run in the tourney. First, many considered them ripe for a first-round exit against 12-seed UTEP, but Butler smashed the Miners 77-59. Next, they survived Murray State then pulled off the double upset against the Syracuse Orange and K-State Wildcats. Syracuse was a banged-up 1-seed, so one can make the argument that it was inevitable the Orange would lose, but the K-State win was more of a surprise given the Wildcats' guard tandem of Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. The duo only shot 11 for 30 combined against the Bulldogs after lighting up Xavier for 53 combined points. Now, the Bulldogs head home to Indianapolis and are set to play powerhouse Michigan State in the Final Four. Butler, led by sophomore stud Gordon Hayward, isn't a surprise to anyone anymore and could give the depleted Spartans of MSU a run for their money. Then again, Tom Izzo isn't a Final Four novice, and he knows hot to motivate his team, even when their best player is injured on the bench. This is Butler's first-ever trip to the Final Four, quite the achievement to have your first be the one on your home court. Here is the recap from the West Regional Final (courtesy CBS):
On a side note, CBS commentator Gus Johnson is a favorite's worst nightmare. He called most of the West Regional for CBS this year, which had a multitude of upsets (Xavier beat Pitt, Butler's upsets). He's called tons of other upsets and his signature calls of "Bam!" and "Oh my goodness!" have earned him some notoriety amongst fans. The website Gus Johnson Gets Buckets provides a fun soundboard of some of Gus' famous calls.
The team that Butler plays in the Final Four, Michigan State, had a thrilling game against the Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday that came down to the last shot. Both the Spartans and the Vols have fought through lots of adversity during the season to reach this point, so kudos to both teams, but they don't call it the Final Four for nothing. Here was the recap of the Midwest Regional Final, courtesy of the Eye Network:
The Kentucky-West Virginia game was intense from start to finish. West Virginia couldn't get a 2-point basket to save its life for most of the first half. 3-point shooting is what saved the Mountaineers, and what killed the Wildcats, as WVU was 10-23 while UK was only 4-32 from behind the arc. West Virginia's Joe Mazzulla and Da'Sean Butler led the team with crucial shots when it counted and the Mountaineers overall had a balanced effort while Kentucky's John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins were the only real offensive options for UK. WVU had four starters with 12 points or more, while UK only had two. This is West Virginia's first Final Four trip since '59, back when they had a player named Jerry West. Here are the highlights, courtesy CBS:
The Duke Blue Devils never seem to have a down season, especially with Coach K at the helm. In recent years, they've been tourney busts, but this year, they're in the Final Four. Baylor gave Duke a hard time for most of the game, but with three minutes to go, the Blue Devils pulled ahead for good. Despite not being in the Final Four, Baylor has had a year of tremendous accomplishment under coach Scott Drew, considering how broken the Baylor basketball program was just a few years ago. The game itself was simply a matter of who would outlast whom and Baylor's shots didn't fall when it counted. Here are the highlights, once again courtesy CBS:
So the Final Four looks like this:
5 Butler vs. 5 Michigan State, Saturday April 3, 6:07pm ET on CBS 1 Duke vs. 2 West Virginia, Saturday April 3, 8:47 ET on CBS
The Big Dance known as March Madness rolled on Friday night, but the clock has struck midnight for several Cinderellas. 10-seed St. Mary's, the little school that surprised Villanova, was steamrolled by 3-seed Baylor, 72-49. It wasn't even close at halftime when the Gaels only scored 17 to the Bears' 46 points. St. Mary's has completed its deepest run in the modern tournament era while Baylor is going to its first Elite Eight. Baylor is a compelling story in this tournament and one of the few underdogs remaining. Seven years ago, the Baylor basketball program was a shambles after Carlton Dotson murdered teammate Patrick Dennehy and the coach at the time was caught in a scandal of his own. Quite the mess for a university that is backed by the Baptist church. The current coach, Scott Drew, has led this team to the regional final when they were the preseason pick for 10th place in their conference. Instead, they'll be one of two teams representing the Big 12 Conference (the other is Kansas State) in the Elite Eight.
The other Cinderella sent packing was Northern Iowa. After having beaten the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, Northern Iowa gave perennial power Michigan State a run for its money, but in the end, the banged-up Spartans prevailed, 59-52. The difference-makers were point guard Korie Lucious and head coach Tom Izzo. Lucious hit a key turnaround jumper with 91 seconds left and Izzo proved why he's one of the game's best coaches. Working with a depleted lineup, Izzo is making his seventh Elite Eight appearance, fifth most amongst active coaches. Northern Iowa's Ali Farokhmanesh, whose clutch 3-pointers were key in UNI's tournament wins over UNLV and Kansas, shot 1 for 6 from 3 point range. He also missed some key free throws at the end of the game, but his Panthers will be remembered for stunning Kansas. Here are the highlights (courtesy CBS):
While Izzo's team was battling Northern Iowa in St. Louis, college basketball coaching icon Mike Krzyzewski led his Duke Blue Devils over the injured Purdue Boilermakers, 70-57 in Houston. Purdue kept the game close at halftime, but Duke pulled away in the second half. One can say it wasn't a fair fight as Purdue was without star Robbie Hummel, who tore his ACL in February. Duke's trio of Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer, and Nolan Smith was too hot to handle in the second half. Highlights below (courtesy CBS):
But the game of the night was in St. Louis, as the sixth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers upset the second-seed Ohio State Buckeyes. The game was close to the very end, but Bruce Pearl and the Volunteers will finally go to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history and got payback after OSU knocked Tennessee out of the tournament in 2007. Ohio State stud Evan Turner scored 31 points, which was as many points as OSU put up in the entire second half. For the Buckeyes to have won, it needed somebody other than Turner to step up. Tennessee had four players with 10+ points compared to Ohio State's two. Tennessee has had a rocky season, rife with academic and legal issues, but as ESPN analyst Steve Lavin put it, "Bruce Pearl is a crisis-management expert". Tennessee has been a "giant killer" of sorts this season, beating Kansas and Kentucky during the regular season, then Ohio State last night. Highlights a plenty below (courtesy CBS):
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Today's games should be excellent. First, the Butler Bulldogs try to make the Final Four a homecoming but they have to beat a very good Kansas State Wildcats team (4:30 ET, CBS). This game is the West Regional Final in Salt Lake City, so crowd advantage is slightly favoring K-State. Then, what may be the game of the tournament, the Kentucky Wildcats take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in the East Regional Final in Syracuse (7:05 ET, CBS). The Mountaineers were viewed by many as 1-seeds, even though they were slotted as a 2-seed while Kentucky has dominated during its tournament run while other 1-seeds have fallen.
March Madness (aka the NCAA Tournament) begins tomorrow and it seems like everyone's got a bracket. President Obama filled his out today. Last year, he correctly predicted the North Carolina Tar Heels to win, but then again, so did most people, myself included. This year, most people are picking the Kansas Jayhawks, and with good reason. The Jayhawks' guard tandem of Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry is one of the best in the country. Add in center Cole Aldrich as the defensive stopper in the middle plus the tournament's number 1 overall seed, and Kansas has the makings of a championship run.
So who else could take the title, if not Kansas? Kentucky is the runner-up in most people's brackets. The Wildcats, led by freshmen sensations John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, have been near the top of the polls all season, but will the lack of tournament experience hurt Wall, Cousins, and Co.? Of the other number 1 seeds, Syracuse, and Duke, I'd give the edge to Duke, due to the experience of guard duo Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith.
Here are the teams I'm watching for in this year's tournament:
West Virginia (No. 2 East seed): WV probably should have been the number 1 seed in place of Syracuse, but they're the 2 seed instead. The Mountaineers won their first Big East title this season and are riding the clutch shooting of Da'Sean Butler. Second, West Virginia is not a traditional power like Duke, Syracuse, Kansas, and Kentucky are, so it'd be nice to see a team win the national title for the first time, and WV has the tools to do it. For more on WV, here's a good article by ESPN's Dana O'Neil.
Florida (No. 10 West seed): Gators coach Billy Donovan returns to the tournament after a 2-year absence. Donovan was previously covered here on FTRS. While I doubt the Gators will get by BYU in the first round, it's interesting to see Donovan return to March Madness.
Tennessee (No. 6 Midwest seed): Coach Bruce Pearl is one of the best in the country, but the Volunteers haven't been able to put together a deep run. Full disclosure: a good friend of mine is from Tennessee.
San Diego State (No. 11 Midwest seed): The Aztecs are looking for their first-ever tournament win. SDSU is one of the few bright spots in what was an atrocious year for West Coast basketball. They'll play Tennessee in the first round. It doesn't hurt that a few friends have or are currently attending SDSU.
To see my bracket, click here. My Final Four are: Kansas, West Virginia, Baylor, and Kansas State.
Photo courtesy the NY Daily News.
Photo courtesy the Bleacher Report.
Photo courtesy the Bradenton Herald/Associated Press
The notorious Cameron Crazies at Duke University basketball games. Photo courtesy the LA Times / Getty Images.
The Mountaineers' DaSean Butler holding the Big East trophy. Photo courtesy of NY Daily News.
Tennessee senior Wayne Chism. Photo courtesy of "The House that Bandy Built" blog.