Men's NCAA Tournament West Region Elite Eight Breakdown
#4 Louisville versus #7 Florida
Who woulda thunk it? The West Region’s two contenders for the Final Four are a 4-seed and a 7-seed. Based on what happened during the first weekend of the tournament, it should come as no surprise that there are some unexpected results.
Louisville is riding their Big East Tournament Championship wave all the way through Phoenix and possibly beyond. This may be one of Rick Pitino’s better coaching jobs since he’s been in Louisville. Plenty of his teams have had talent, but this one seemed to be lacking true playmakers compared to past seasons. Their matchup against 1-seed Michigan State was all defense. In many circles, viewers would even consider the game boring. Michigan State only had 18 first half points, and both teams were a bit sloppy on their first several possessions. As the pace picked up, Louisville started hitting three-pointers that Michigan State just couldn’t match over the course of the game. It was the Cardinals’ big men that started to take the game over down the stretch. Chane Behanan was a monster on the offensive glass and finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Gorgui Dieng had seven blocks on the interior for Louisville. Michigan State could not get anything going in the paint as a result. The Spartans shot a terrible 28 percent for the game.
Hopefully, that defense will hold for the Cardinals. Florida came out and took it to a very good Marquette team in the late game on Thursday. It was an up-and-down match. Both teams love to run it end to end and keep up a quick pace. Unfortunately for Marquette, Florida was able to match them athletically. Combine that with a frustrating defense and Marquette could not find a way to solve the Gators. Florida coach Billy Donovan was trying to run the Golden Eagles out of the gym and into mistakes. The Gators certainly did that. Marquette never got into an offensive rhythm with only 30 percent shooting. Their best players ran into early foul trouble, which changed the complexion of the game. Jae Crowder ended up with 15 points but only played 32 minutes. Junior Cadougan, Marquette’s established point guard, got his fourth foul early in the second half and that took Marquette out of their comfort zone. Florida didn’t shoot great from three-point range like they have all year, but they got huge rebounds when they needed them. Patric Young had a few big offensive boards to ice it late.
The main intrigue in the regional final will be in the coaching with two guys with Final Four experience squaring off. Not to mention Rick Pitino is Billy Donovan’s mentor and his former coach at Providence. Louisville’s defense will be pitted against the high-volume shooting of Florida. The Cardinals will need to capitalize on rebounding the way Marquette couldn’t. Louisville’s interior play is strong and Florida isn’t terribly deep on the inside. Guarding the perimeter will be key. The question is will Florida become hot from beyond the arc? So far in the tournament they haven’t been. They also haven’t needed to rely on the three-point shot to win. The Gators are going to try and outrun every opponent they face. Louisville will have to match their energy. Both of these squads seem to be playing up to their potential and their early-season rankings. Both hit some snags in the regular season and weren’t really considered a threat to go deep into the tournament. But they both have talent and they both have excellent coaching. Those attributes will keep a team in every game. It will be interesting to see how this game goes. A slower pace favors Louisville. A shoot-out favors Florida. Teacher versus student for a Final Four bid. How will the West be won?
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