Final Four Breakdown
The four number one seeds were strong going into this year’s NCAA Tournament. With a few unpredictable circumstances surfacing, three of the four teams in the number one slot were eliminated by the end of the weekend. Only Kentucky survived on Sunday. The depth of good basketball teams in the tournament was affirmed once all of the bids were determined. Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio State, and Louisville have made it to New Orleans.
Kentucky versus Louisville
How appropriate that a great in-season rivalry is rekindled in final weekend of the college basketball season. In-state rivals Kentucky and Louisville will face each other for Round 2 in 2012. Kentucky won the first game by seven points on New Year’s Eve. On Sunday, Kentucky fell behind to Baylor within the first six minutes of the game. After that, the Wildcats kicked into another gear and never looked back. By the end of the first half, Kentucky had run Baylor out of the building. At the break, the score was 42-22. Baylor had a few runs late, but never really threatened to take the lead at any point. The Bears had no answer for Kentucky on the inside. Baylor couldn’t get a clean look at the basket for most of the game. They shot only 39% while Kentucky shot 53% from the field. Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led the way with 18 and 19 points, respectively.
Louisville continued the success of Big East Tournament winner in the NCAA Tournament. Much like Connecticut did last year, Louisville is making a run no one saw coming. In one of the more improbable victories of the tournament thus far, Louisville came back from a double-digit deficit in the last 10 minutes of the game to win 72-68. But it wasn’t until the last two minutes that Louisville truly seized the lead. Florida’s shooting went cold, and Louisville got hot. Florida missed all nine of their second half shots from behind the 3-point line, which is the crux of their offense. Freshman Chane Behanan had 17 points and seven rebounds to help propel the Cardinals to their roaring comeback.
This is going to be a great semifinal. Pitino will be coaching against the team he won a national championship with in the early 1990s. Kentucky coach John Calipari may finally have the team under him that will win him his first national title after coming close so many times. For Louisville to win, they are going to have to shoot lights out and match the rebounding prowess of Kentucky. Peyton Siva fouled out of the regional final game with about four minutes left to play. He will be vital to the Cardinals late in the game and he will have to be judicious with his fouls on Saturday. Both teams are strong on the defensive end. Louisville was able to slow the game down tremendously against Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen, which helped facilitate their victory in that game. Kentucky’s Anthony Davis leads the nation in blocks. Inside play will not come easily for Pitino’s team. Behanan and Gorgui Dieng, who has really come on as a force himself, will have to battle strong to keep up with Davis and Co. With so many storylines, this matchup is intriguing on many levels. While Kentucky looks poised to roll, Louisville will be ready. The battle for the state of Kentucky commences Saturday.
Ohio State versus Kansas
Another regular season rematch determines who will be in the National Championship game. In early December, Kansas dominated Ohio State in Phog Allen Fieldhouse. However, the Buckeyes were without their stellar center Jared Sullinger. He has been great in the latter part of the season and so far in the tournament. He is averaging 18 points per game since the second round and he had 19 against Syracuse in the Regional Final with over 50 percent shooting from the field. Syracuse had no answer for Sullinger or Ohio State in general. Without Fab Melo, Syracuse couldn’t play an inside out game that they execute so well. Rakeem Christmas played admirably in his stead, but Sullinger, Evan Ravenel, and company were just too much to handle. The Ohio State big men had some key put backs on misses that kept Syracuse at bay.
Kansas beat North Carolina in the most entertaining Regional Final of the weekend. Both teams came out like gangbusters right at the beginning of the game. The game was tied at 47 at the half and both teams were shooting well over 50% in the first half. The difference in the second half was the guard play. North Carolina was without Kendall Marshall, their starting point guard. He is arguably the most important player on any team in the country. Without him, Kansas was able to wear the Tar Heels down. North Carolina did not score a bucket in the final 5:46 of the game. By contrast, Kansas’ Tyshawn Taylor, a star who has somewhat disappeared during the tournament so far, scored 22 points and added six rebounds and five assists. He had some good defensive steals that led to fast break opportunities for the Jayhawks. Player of the Year candidate Thomas Robinson was his usual dominant self, adding 18 points for Kansas and was perfect from the free throw line. No one knows how the game would have ended up had Marshall been in the lineup for North Carolina, but Kansas played some blistering basketball and pulled away when it mattered.
The battle between Sullinger and Robinson should be worth watching by itself. If both enter the NBA draft, they are sure to be lottery picks. Their teams rely on them for their size and toughness and their production makes it easier on their teammates. They attack the glass with fury and embody the spirit of their schools and their coaches. Sullinger and Robinson will likely have big games, so this game may come down to the secondary matchup of Aaron Craft and Tyshawn Taylor. These two are experts at the point guard position. They are quick, agile defenders that make offenses work for their points. Taylor and Craft have excellent court vision. Craft is more of a facilitator than Taylor but Taylor looks to take it to the hoop a little more. Kansas will need Taylor to play well if they want to win and Craft will have to avoid foul trouble to keep the pressure on the Jayhawks. Without Craft, Ohio State loses a bit of pace and defensive tenacity.
It’s really anybody’s game. The Buckeyes have been playing better overall for the duration of the tournament, but Kansas is the Big 12 champion and they’ve played tough competition as well. Bill Self and Thad Matta will have their work cut out for them. They have both been in this position before. Expect a high-energy affair.
