Butler Looks To Take Down Another Goliath

Once again Butler will have to prove mostly everyone wrong tonight as they take on Duke for the National Championship.

There's no secret to why Butler has made it this far in the tournament. They've done it with their defense, and they leaned on that defense more than ever to get by Michigan State on Saturday.

In case you didn't realize this, Butler shot 30 percent from the field. They didn't score a single point for over seven minutes of the second half. It didn't matter because their defense never let up.

The problem is that now you have a Duke team that is coming off their best offensive performance of the season. The big three ( Scheyer, Smith, and Singler) all scored 19 points or more against West Virginia.

Furthermore, Zoubek looked unstoppable on the boards down low. If Matt Howard can't go tonight, then Butler will have virtually no big man to contend with Zoubek down low. That spells disaster for Butler.

It seems almost unbelievable, but Butler has held all five of its tournament opponents under 60 points. I don't see that happening against Duke. They've got too many weapons.

Basically, Butler is going to have to put up a good amout of points itself to win this game. They also can't expect Gordon Hayward to do it all on his own like in the Michigan State game. Not to play devil's advocate here, but Butler was extremely lucky to beat Michigan State.

That kind of performance won't work against a much more potent Blue Devils team tonight. They're capable of pulling it off, but the offense has to start complimenting the defense to beat Duke and complete this great story.

Analyzing the Final Four

There's not a more simple way to put it. This year's NCAA Tournament went anything but according to plan.

Outside of Duke, each one of the Final Four teams had more critics than they did believers going into the NCAA Tournament.

Well that can all be thrown out of the window because each of one of these teams you can make a reasonable argument for winning it all. Let's look at each one:

1. (1) Duke: The Blue Devils were my national championship pick and they're the only team keeping my bracket above water. They play so well as a team and it has shown over the past few weeks. To me Nolan Smith deserves all the credit in the world for keeping Duke from becoming yet another upset victim. If they lose to West Virginia, it'll be anything but an upset loss. They've got all the right tools to do it, but Kyle Singler has to put up a better performance than he did against Baylor ( 5 points, 0/10 from the field) or Duke has little to no chance. I give them a slight edge over everyone else because they have so many weapons and if they all have a good team then there's not a defensive gameplan in the world that can shut this team down.

Interesting fact: Duke's first Final Four appearance since 2004

2. (2) West Virginia: Much like the Blue Devils, the Mountaineers also bailed me out on my bracket. I had this matchup in my bracket, but with the Mountaineers losing a close one. I very well could be wrong and West Virginia could easily win this game. They're just that good. That was proven against a Kentucky team that was blowing everyone out. The defense of West Virginia is what will give them a great chance against Duke. Duke's offense looked very shaky against Baylor, so we know West Virgnia's defense is capable of doing the same thing. That Mountaineer offense looked pretty solid against Kentucky as well. It should be one of the better games of the tournament.

Interesting fact: First Final Four appearance since 1959

3. (5) Butler: You can't really call a 5-seed a Cinderella team, but I'm certainly going to break that logic and say they are. Despite not having a loss since before Santa Clause came to town, very few people gave Butler a chance against Syracuse or Kansas State. They're shooting the ball extremely well right now and Michigan State will have their hands full if Butler shoots that way again. Remember, Butler will be playing just minutes away from their campus in Indianapolis. This could benefit them or hurt them. They'll either feed of that pressure or implode from it. Either way, this team deserves just as much respect as the other three Final Four teams. Here's a interesting fact for you: Butler has never sent a player to the NBA. That will change after this year with Gordon Hayward.

Interesting fact: Only 4,000 students attend Butler

4. (5) Michigan State: The Spartans have to be thanking the basketball gods for being in the Final Four. They've won their four tournament games by a combined 13 points. That's not to take away from how good this team is. First off, they've got the benefit of being coached by one of the best in the country in Tom Izzo. He'll bring a great gameplan for the Bulldogs. The question is will the Spartan players execute it effectively? Injured point guard Kalin Lucas sure would be helpful in this situation. Korie Lucious has to run the point better than he did against Tennessee. Five turnovers and only two of seven shooting probably won't cut it against a surging Butler team.

Interesting fact: Izzo has now taken MSU to six Final Fours in last 12 years



I'd be a coward to count Duke out now so I have them defeating Michigan State in the National Championship game. However, in no way will I be surprised if both Butler and West Virginia win their games and move on to battle it out.

Are There Enough Cinderella Slippers To Go Around?

I was happily reminded once again today why it's called March Madness.

Three more upsets occurred on the opening day of the 2nd round action, with Northern Iowa (9-seed) taking down the #1 overall seed in Kansas being the obvious major upset.

The other two upsets were St. Mary's (10-seed) defeating Villanova and, to a lesser degree, Washington (11-seed) beating New Mexico.

With all of that laid out, this tournament is now completely wide open in the Midwest and South Regions.

It's important to point out that there's still one more potential Cinderella team in action on Sunday and that's Cornell.

The Big Red take on Wisconsin and they've got a good chance at pulling off yet another upset. They play a similar style to Northern Iowa where they rely heavily on their perimeter offense. If those three's are falling then the Badgers really have no chance.

The Badgers looked extremely sluggish against Wofford in the opening round.

There was one highly favored team who played like they were expected to and that's Kentucky. John Calipari has those freshman playing like they've been there many times before and I'm really impressed with the job he's done.

Not to look over Cornell or Wisconsin, but West Virginia is the only team left in the way of Kentucky from getting to the Final Four. The Mountaineers matchup up really well with the Wildcats and that's a game I would definitely pay a pretty price to see in person if it ends up happening.

My original National Championship pick is still alive for now. That team is Duke and they play a pesky California team in an afternoon game tommorow.

There's really no telling how this tournament is going to end up. With all of these mid-majors playing like they're the best team in the country, something is going to eventually have to give. After all, there's really only one pair of Cinderella slippers to go around.

My Elite Eight Picks Remaining: Kentucky, W. Virginia, Duke, Kansas St., and Syracuse
My Final Four Picks Remaining: W. Virginia, Duke, and Syracuse

Commodores Prove They Never Should've Been Dancing in the First Place

My oh my, Vanderbilt for the second time in three years can't live up to their respective 4-seed that the committee awarded them.

This time it was to a Murray State team that simply out-hustled them on almost every play. Vandy must have snuck through the backdoor of the dance hall to get into this field of 65.

The entire game the Vanderbilt players acted like they were entitled to something and that the school from the much smaller Ohio Valley Conference would just lay down for them.

Sorry kids, but this is the NCAA Tournament and every team comes to play, hence the name March Madness.

As sick as I am right now as a Vandy fan, I'm sure coach Kevin Stallings is in cardiac arrest right now at a hospital somewhere in San Jose. He wins SEC Coach of the Year only to watch his team put up one of the biggest duds I've ever seen by a favored team.

Murray State deserves all of the credit in the world for putting up a huge effort that ended up rewarding them in the end. You see it so many times in these game when the underdog plays harder than the favored team only to come up short.

Even though it came against my team, I'm happy to see the underdog get rewarded for their hard work.

Earlier in the day we almost saw an even bigger upset as 15-seeded Robert Morris came up just short of defeating 2-seeded Villanova. They led almost the entire game before Villanova sent it into overtime.

The Madness has just begun. We are barely to the halfway point of Day 1 and we've already seen two games go to overtime and a huge upset. This is why there's not a better time of the year in the world of sports!

The Committee Has Spoken!

Another pool of 65 teams have been entered to compete for the college basketball national championship.

The four #1 seeds are: Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, and Kansas.

This might be another year where all four #1 seeds make the Final Four. However, Kentucky continues to barely squeak out wins against sub-par SEC teams and won't work against some of the better teams in their bracket like West Virginia or even Wisconsin. They do have an easier road to the Final Four then any of the other #1 seeds.

Not to keep coming down on Kentucky because they are a very talented team, but their youth will come back to haunt them in the Elite Eight against West Virginia.

As boring as this sounds, I like the other #1 seeds to hold serve and make the Final Four.

In the end I think we're set up for a great NCAA Tournament because there is so much parody in this year's field.

You've got plenty of possible Cinderella teams, with 13-seeded Cornell being the most likely to make a big run.

When it's all said and done I like Duke to shock Kansas for the national title. This team's basketball IQ is through the roof and they play so well together.

On paper Kansas looks like the best team in the country but their loss to Tennessee makes me think that they're going to slip up against the Blue Devils.