The Final Four of the 2011 NCAA Tournament has now been set, and as Eric’s mini-post highlighted, this year’s remaining teams make for an interesting assortment. Four teams, one each from the SEC, Big East, Horizon League, and Colonial Athletic Association will take their hopes and dreams to Houston next weekend to see who will come out on top. With the differing characteristics of these teams, it should be an entertaining weekend of basketball.
Of course, an Ohio State fan choosing to watch the Final Four games will have to decide which team warrants his or her support. With the Buckeyes knocked out, and seemingly no clear-cut alternative of which team to root for given the lack of Big Ten teams, who rises to the top? Unless you’ve got a significant other’s alma mater still in the running, tBBC is here to help. Let’s take a look at each remaining team going into next weekend and try to figure out who is deserving of a little Buckeye love…
Candidate #1: Kentucky
As we all know, Kentucky was the team fortunate enough to be in position to take advantage of Ohio State’s worst shooting night of the season and eke out the win last Friday (yea yea, Scarlet-tinted glasses and all that, blah blah). Given that the Wildcats were the team to “beat” Ohio State, one could argue that a Buckeye fan would actually want to see them go on to win the championship. You know, given that your team got knocked out, you could at least then say “Well, we lost to the eventual champion.” Kentucky did play hard and played a good game against the Bucks, they are an exciting young team, and they’re from a Midwest state. So how ’bout them ‘Cats?
Um…no. I can’t admit that Kentucky was truly the better team than Ohio State, so saying that Kentucky’s performance the rest of the way reflects positively on us is no real consolation. They’re young and from a Midwest state, but this is no Cinderella team. No, this is basketball royalty. Kentucky is playing with a great deal of confidence right now, and their young guns are thinking that it’s their time to make a mark on the program’s history.
Is Kentucky at least a likable team? From my perspective (as an outsider to the school, obviously), the answer is no. It seemed like they did their share of talking against Ohio State, and Coach Cal doesn’t really prompt the same kind of enthusiastic response that a Josh Pastner (Cal’s replacement at Memphis) does or the same respectful consideration that a Roy Williams does. In my mind, Kentucky falls to the bottom of this list of Four in terms of who I’d like to see winning it all.
Candidate #2: Connecticut
The Huskies are riding a great wave right now, blasting through the Big East Tournament and now the NCAA’s en route to Jim Calhoun’s fourth Final Four appearance. Although they only finished mid-pack in the Big East at the conclusion of the regular season, the Huskies have been anything but an underdog to their opponents. They are a high-profile program with two national championships (1999, 2004) under Calhoun, and rose higher in the Top 25 rankings this season than any of the other final four contenders.
UConn is different from the other teams remaining in that they rely heavily on one star player: Kemba Walker. While the other teams have some balance, the Huskies largely rise and fall with Walker. Fortunately for them, Walker almost always responds to the call, and UConn fans have enjoyed the results. Walker is likely to be a top pick in the NBA Draft after the Tournament is over, but he’ll actually be leaving with degree in hand, having earned it earlier in the season.
So how about UConn? Yes? No? Well, the Huskies are a likable enough team, they play hard, and they’re having an epic run right now. Much like Thad has said this year’s Ohio State squad was the most fun group he’s coached at Ohio State, Calhoun has commented on the way this year’s team at Connecticut has energized him. In most years the Huskies would be a great team to root for, especially at a #3 seed coming into the Final Four.
But this year’s possibilities are just too intriguing otherwise…
Candidate #3: Virginia Commonwealth
While UConn can rightfully say they’re having an epic run, the Virginia Commonwealth Rams can claim an equally exciting finish to their season. VCU has gone from being one of the final four teams getting in by virtue of the play-in games to being one of the Final Four (with the capital letters). Knocking off USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, and then punctuating it all with a victory over Kansas is quite an accomplishment for the Rams, who are making their first appearance at the Final Four this year.
Coached by Shaka Smart (5 bonus points for the name), who is only 33 years of age, VCU has really adopted an “us against the world” mindset. Smart has cultivated an attitude that believes everyone is doubting his team, and so they just have to go out and prove everyone wrong. To be honest, he’s probably right about everyone doubting them (certainly against mighty Kansas), so you can’t look at that as a negative aspect of the team.
The Rams play an exciting brand of basketball, utilizing a full-court press often and running the break. They are a senior-led squad (highlighted by leading scorer/rebounder Jamie Skeen), so you’ve got to pull for the upperclassmen who have been through the battles of college basketball for several years now. Although you may not be familiar with the school, VCU is a fairly large university with over 30,000 students.
What’s not to like about the Rams? Nothing really. But…but…
But…ler….
Candidate #4: Butler
Like VCU, Butler just barely made it into the NCAA Tournament, winning their conference tournament to earn the bid. Also like VCU, Butler has knocked off a #1 seed (Pittsburgh) on their way to the Final Four. Unlike VCU, this year represents a return appearance to the Final Four for the Bulldogs.
Most college basketball fans will look back fondly on Butler’s tournament run last year that saw them defeating the likes of Syracuse, Kansas State, and Michigan State before finally falling to Duke in the national championship game. Butler beat Ohio State last year during regular season play (while Evan Turner was injured), and after an undefeated conference season earned a #5 seed in the NCAA’s.
Just as the Buckeyes lost Evan Turner to the pro’s, Butler lost their best player (Gordon Heyward) to the NBA Draft. However, the Bulldogs didn’t have a recruiting class with Sullinger, Craft and Co. to easily fill the gap. Instead, they’ve had to rely on the senior leadership of Matt Howard and the play of junior Shelvin Mack, who’s having a stellar tournament.
Butler struggled a bit this season, losing five games in-conference before finishing the season with nine straight wins and getting through the Horizon League Tournament. A big reason for Butler’s success is the coaching of Brad Stevens, who is only one year older than Shaka Smart at 34. Stevens takes a very calm approach to coaching, perhaps even more than Coach K, who probably comes to mind most quickly when talking about coaches with a reserved style. Whatever Stevens’ approach may be, he gets the most out of his team. You’re unlikely to find a harder working group, and when watching Butler play it’s clear that these guys simply love to play basketball.
It’s probably also clear at this point that Butler is my preferred choice to win it all. While VCU would be a great story, and it’s a bit unfortunate that the 8 vs. 11 matchup isn’t a possibility for the final, my hope is that Stevens and the Bulldogs finish the job they started last year. In case you’ve forgotten, Thad got his start in Indianapolis, so there’s a good chance our coach will be pulling for the Bulldogs as well.
And come on, really…How can you not love the team that knocked Wisconsin out of the tournament?
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