The four teams left standing, Duke, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Michigan State, are no strangers to being in the final four. This marks the 5th time in history that at least 3 teams in the final four are number one seeds. Its happened in 1993 (North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan, #2 Kansas), 1997 (Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, #4 Arizona), and the only time we have had all four #1 seeds in the tournament in 2008 (Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, UCLA). This is the third straight year one conference has had two teams in the Final Four, with Wisconsin and Michigan State coming from the Big Ten.
So there is some interesting storylines heading into this final four. We have a surprise team here in the seven seed Michigan State. Then there is Kentucky looking to cap off the perfect season. Then you have the matchup of coaching royalty in the Men's College Basketball as Tom Izzo leads the Spartans against Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils. So enough with the fluff already lets get right into the matchups in the final four.
#7 Michigan State Spartans vs. #1 Duke Blue Devils, Saturday, 6:09 p.m. ET
Head coach Tom Izzo leads the 27-11 Spartans to the final four as a seven seed, coming out of the East Region. Michigan got here after victories over Georgia, Virginia, Oklahoma and Louisville. With a talented starting five that boasts Travis Trice, Tum Tum Nairn, Denzel Valentine, Branden Dawson and Gavin Schilling, its a tough group to go up against. Trice was perfect from the free throw line against Oklahoma, which was something that has been a struggle for the Spartans this season. Hell one of the biggest question marks for this team, coming into the tournament, was scoring. Last year, they went to the Elite Eight before losing to UCONN. Three of their top four scorers from last year are gone. Now they had to find role players to step up, and they have. Branden Dawson, Denzel Valentine and Travis Trice have come up big so far in this tournament, Trice being the big star of the three, and the most consistent scorer on this team. His 23 points led an upset of No. 2 Virginia in the Round of 32 followed by team highs of 24 versus Oklahoma and 17 against Louisville. That's stepping up in a big way and making a name for yourself.
But as good as the Spartans have been they are going up against a talented Duke team. Mike Krzyzewski leads the 33-4 Blue Devils out of the East Region as the top seed. Duke comes in after victories over Robert Morris, San Diego State, Utah and Gonzaga. Duke has a pretty good starting lineup of their own, that boasts talent the likes of Quinn Cook, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow, Amile Jefferson and Jahlil Okafor. Leading the charge has been the freshman trio of Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow and headliner Jahlil Okafor. Those three guys have combined for 40 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists in their win over Gonzaga. Pretty impressive, especially considering Okafor had only 9 points. He had been hitting double digits in points for most of the year. Okafor has been especially dominant in this tournament, as he has posted team-high totals of 21, 26 and 28 points against Robert Morris, San Diego State and Notre Dame in the Blue Devils' run. He is proving to be one of the dominant big men in all of college basketball.
The big matchup for me in this basketball game is going to be Trice against Okafor, as they have been two of the top players in this years tournament. Its going to be a very entertaining basketball game, there no doubt about that. Michigan State is going to make it a VERY close basketball game, but they are going to hit the wall in this one.
Winner: DUKE
#1 Kentucky Wildcats vs. #1 Wisconsin Badgers, Saturday, 8:49 p.m. ET
Bo Ryan leads his Badgers, the top seed from the West Region, at 35-3 into the big dance for the four time in school history, and second year in a row. Ironically enough, the team that beat them last year is the team they face this year in Kentucky. In order to face the Wildcats again, Wisconsin had to take down Coastal Carolina, Oregon, North Carolina and Arizona. The impressive starting lineup of Bronson Koenig, Josh Gasser, Sam Dekker, Nigel Hayes and Frank Kaminsky, the Badgers are back in the dance again. Wisconsin is trying to win its first national title since 1941, if they can somehow do it then they earned it in a very big way with wins over powers like North Carolina and Arizona. Frank Kaminsky has been the driving force behind this team, he makes the Badgers go. Kaminsky has hit double figures in scoring in all but one game this season. He has lead the team in scoring, rebounds and assists. After scoring 28 points and pulling down 11 rebounds against Arizona last year, he put up 29 points and six boards in last weekend's victory. He has a supporting cast around him, there no doubt about it, but lets face it Frank is powering this club.
They are facing a rematch from last year with kentucky. It's just the third time in NCAA Tournament history there has been a national semifinal rematch in consecutive seasons. The Wildcats, lead by John Calipari, come out of the Midwest region with a perfect 38-0. Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Trey Lyles, Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein are powering this wildcat boat to where they are right now. In order to get to this point, the Wildcats went through Hampton, Cincinnati, blew out West Virginia and got by the skin of their teeth against Notre Dame. If the Wildcats can get the win in their final two games, they will be the first team since Indiana in 1976 to run the table and the first school to ever win a National Title with a record of 40-0. It'll be a battle of wills between Frank Kaminsky and Willie Cauley-Stein in the battle of the big men.
With as good as the Badgers have been this year, they are going to push the Wildcats to the limit, much like the Fighting Irish did in the last round. Much like the last year, the result will be the same. The Badgers have had a great year but this is where it comes to an end.
Winner: KENTUCKY
So there we have the preview of the Final Four, which tips off this Saturday from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis!
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