A preview of Saturday’s 2011 NCAA tournament Final Four matchups:
| Southeast Region winner vs. Southwest Region winner 6:09 p.m., Saturday, CBS |
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| No. 8 Butler Bulldogs | vs. | No. 11 VCU Rams |
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Path to the Final Four Recommended StoriesNo. 9 Old Dominion 60-58 » Against the nation’s top rebounding team, Butler had the edge on the backboards 27-26 and on the scoreboard as Matt Howard scored off a deflection with less than a second left. No. 1 Pittsburgh 71-70 » After Butler’s Shelvin Mack committed an unpardonable foul, Pitt’s Nasir Robinson one-upped him with even a worse mistake, allowing Howard to win it with a free throw with 0.8 seconds left. No. 3 Wisconsin 61-54 » This one wasn’t as close as the final score. Butler led by 20 in the second half as Howard (20 points, 12 rebounds) dominated Jon Leuer (1-for-12 shooting, three points). No. 2 Florida 74-71 (OT) » Butler rallied from 11 down in the final 10 minutes to get an overtime reprieve. Then Mack (27 points) scored five of the game’s last six points in the closing 80 seconds. Strengths » Brad Stevens is just 34 years old, but no one doubts his credentials, especially as a bench coach. He has guided the Bulldogs to nine NCAA tournament wins the last two years, including eight by seven or fewer points. After losing three straight games, Butler (27-9) has won 13 in a row behind a physical defense and the veteran leadership of Howard and Mack. Butler is on an inspired run, fueled by its runner-up finish a year ago, when it fell to Duke in the title game 61-59. Weaknesses » Butler is the least athletic team in the Final Four. That could pose problems against Virginia Commonwealth, which presses relentlessly and is loaded with perimeter quickness. The Bulldogs play solid, fundamental defense but have little ability to be disruptive or intimidating. Butler was seventh in the 10-team Horizon League in steals (6.0 pg) and ninth in blocked shots (1.8 pg). Mack, the only Bulldogs player capable of getting his own shot, is having a stellar tournament, averaging 21.3 points, but his shot selection (40.1 percent) is sometimes questionable. Player to watch » Matt Howard. The 6-foot-8 senior averages 16.7 points and 7.8 rebounds, but numbers can’t describe his impact as an inspirational force. “Everything that kid does, he makes Butler better,” Stevens said last weekend in Washington. “How many guys can say that? He has made the whole university better.” |
Path to the Final Four No. 6 Georgetown 74-56 » Two days after a first-round win over USC in Dayton — and five after not even gathering to watch the selection show — the Rams showed up in Chicago and easily knocked out the slumping Hoyas. No. 3 Purdue 94-76 » Playing their third game in five days, VCU was nearly flawless against the Boilermakers, committing just four turnovers in its second-highest scoring game of the year. No. 10 Florida State 72-71 » Bradford Burgess (26 points) was 6-for-7 from 3-point range, but his sneaky, game-winning layup off an inbounds pass symbolized how VCU hung tough and outlasted the Seminoles. No. 1 Kansas 71-61 » The Rams started quickly, hitting 12 3-pointers for the third time in four games and getting a dominant game inside and out from Jamie Skeen (26 points). Strengths » Whatever the Rams were a month ago — when they lost four out of five and seemingly had no hope or argument to get into the tournament — they are no longer. Coach Shaka Smart has masterfully rallied his team to defy those who said it didn’t belong. The Rams believe in themselves and have imposed their pressure and tempo on opponents. Senior Joey Rodriguez (10.6 ppg, 5.1 apg) is the perfect point guard to orchestrate the offense: crafty, clutch and unfazed by the big stage. But what makes VCU even more difficult to defend is its overall balance and feisty determination. Weaknesses » In their most challenging game of the tournament, the Rams were never able to run away from the Seminoles, who dominated them on the glass 45-28, including a 20-5 advantage in offensive rebounds that resulted in 18 more field goal attempts. That storyline repeated itself again in the Elite Eight against Kansas but mattered less because the Jayhawks played from behind the entire game. The biggest risk for VCU as it heads to Houston is losing the rhythm and swagger it has established over the last two weeks. If the Rams don’t start hot, they might realize how far they’ve already come. Player to watch » Jamie Skeen. The senior and former Wake Forest transfer’s 26 points in the Southwest regional final were the second most of his career. At 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds, Skeen (15.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg) is a tough customer inside, but he’s also shooting 50 percent (8-for-16) from beyond the arc in the NCAA tournament. |
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| East Region winner vs. West Region winner 8:49 p.m., Saturday, CBS |
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| No. 3 UConn Huskies | vs. | No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats |
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Path to the Final Four No. 14 Bucknell 81-52 » After winning five games in five days in the Big East tournament, would UConn be weary? Kemba Walker (18 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds) showed no fatigue. No. 6 Cincinnati 69-58 » Walker (33 points) scored 16 of his points in the final 10 minutes as UConn overcame lackluster play and pulled away against its Big East foe. No. 2 San Diego State 74-67 » Playing in nearby Anaheim, the Aztecs led in the second half, but Walker (36 points) and freshman Jeremy Lamb (24 points) rose to the challenge. No. 5 Arizona 65-63 » UConn withstood a pair of 3-point attempts in the final 10 seconds to win behind Walker (20 points) and Lamb (19 points) and advance to the Final Four. Strengths » No team brings a better backcourt to the Final Four. Junior Kemba Walker is having one of the greatest postseasons of any player in NCAA history, averaging 26.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists in nine victories in 19 days. In each of the wins, Walker has been the Huskies’ scoring leader. Freshman guard Jeremy Lamb has blossomed as Walker’s sidekick, averaging 16.0 points on 54.6 percent shooting in the postseason. UConn (30-9) brings quickness, athleticism, size and a wealth of coaching experience to the Final Four as Jim Calhoun seeks his third NCAA title in the last 13 years. Weaknesses » In closing the regular season with seven losses in 11 games, UConn was plagued by poor ball movement, spotty outside shooting and a lack of scoring punch from its frontcourt. UConn ranked 13th in the Big East with 12.7 assists a game and ninth in 3-point shooting (33.9 percent). The only consistent scoring threat in the frontcourt in the regular season, sophomore Alex Oriakhi (9.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg), has not had a double-digit scoring game in the NCAA tournament, but UConn has survived behind Walker and Lamb. If either of the guards is cold, the Huskies will be in trouble. Player to watch » Roscoe Smith. The 6-foot-8 freshman might be the quickest player of his size in the Final Four. He gives UConn great flexibility, teaming with the 6-5 Lamb to give the Huskies a pair of long perimeter defenders. He can also guard inside if UConn wants to go with a smaller unit. |
Path to the Final Four No. 13 Princeton 59-57 » After going scoreless in the first 39:58, Brandon Knight’s driving layup with two seconds remaining prevented overtime and a potential first-round upset. No. 5 West Virginia 71-63 » Knight bounced back with 30 points, leading an 11-0 run after halftime to help the Wildcats avenge their 2010 loss in the Elite Eight to the Mountaineers. No. 1 Ohio State 62-60 » Surprise: Knight was the hero again, hitting the game-winner. But the Wildcats’ lockdown defense was the difference, never allowing the Buckeyes into a rhythm. No. 2 North Carolina 76-69 » Kentucky never let the Tar Heels speed things up and led nearly the entire way. Knight and DeAndre Liggins were clutch again down the stretch. Strengths » Don’t get distracted by the flash of simply having super-talented freshmen on the roster. The Wildcats were the best team at the East regional in Newark, N.J., because they played supremely focused defense, hardly allowing an open perimeter look to the Buckeyes or Tar Heels, who were a combined 9-for-32 (28 percent) from 3-point range. Freshmen Knight, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb, who combined for eight of Kentucky’s 12 3-pointers against North Carolina, give the Wildcats firepower on the perimeter, but the poise and presence of Liggins, a junior, and senior forward Josh Harrellson are why the Wildcats won’t get overwhelmed and won’t back down. Weaknesses » With a rotation that is barely six players, the Wildcats have to avoid foul trouble, particularly with the 6-foot-8 Jones and 6-10 Harrellson, neither of whom coach John Calipari has an adequate reserve for on his bench. Knight has shaken off his slow start to the tournament, but Kentucky can’t get over reliant on the 19-year-old. In Kentucky’s third-round win over West Virginia, Knight scored 14 of the Wildcats’ first 22 points, but the rest of his teammates struggled, in part leading to an eight-point deficit they had to overcome after halftime. Player to watch » Josh Harrellson. Knight is the Wildcats’ headliner, but Harrellson has become their heart and soul, battling for loose balls and big buckets in the paint. The senior forward is making the most of his last NCAA tournament, putting up 14.8 points — nearly double his season scoring average — and 9.0 rebounds a contest. |
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