Bracket Busters Galore, We Now Have A Final Four

A Ram, Bulldog, Husky and Wildcat are all that remain to challenge for this years National Championship.  It's been quite a ride since the selection committee gave us our field of 68 way back on March 13.  I look at my own bracket now without much pride or satisfaction as it resembles my high school math tests with all the red x's.  Regardless, the Final Four is now set and I can take solace in the fact that there is no way anyone else's bracket contained Kentucky, UCONN, VCU and Butler as the cream of the crop in college basketball (I mean at least I got UCONN right, Obama went 0 for 4).  Here's a look at how each one of these darlings made it to the ball and the Cinderella nature surrounding this entire Final Four.

UCONN Huskies

Alright, if you don't know by now the name Kemba Walker then this article really has no bearing in your life whatsoever (but I still thank you for reading it).  Walker has cemented himself as one of the big game threats in all college basketball, providing incredible leadership on a young Husky team and leading the way on the court in every facet of the game.  When this guy touches the ball, good things seem to happen for UCONN.  So it should come as no surprise then that the Huskies have rattled off 9 straight wins since the Big East tournament started and are now 2 wins away from college basketball supremacy.  What people forget is that this is a team that lost 7 of 11 games between January 29 and March 5 and were deemed by many as an afterthought in a crowded and talented Big East.  Enter Kemba.  Walker has taken this team on his back and with the coming of age of freshman Jeremy Lamb the duo recently disposed of a very talented San Diego St team and an Arizona team that blew out Duke two nights earlier.  Impressed yet?  I think in most years UCONN, even being a number 3 seed, may be seen as somewhat of a Cinderella story or a team of destiny.  Unfortunately, with this field of 4 teams UCONN becomes a favourite to cut down the nets next Monday.  I became a believer when Walker broke Pittsburgh's heart in the Big East tournament and I'd have to assume there aren't many people who aren't on the Kemba train now.  Can the Huskies finish off this magical run?  Time will tell I guess.

Kentucky Wildcats

If there is one other name I need to mention besides Kemba Walker, it has to be Brandon Knight.  This freshman is proving to be the real deal on the biggest stage in college basketball.  Knight is beginning to garner the reputation of a being clutch player, a guy you want to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line.  His teammates call it "Knight Time", as Knight ended Ohio St's season in dramatic fashion on Friday with his running jumper at the end of the game.  He then poured in 22 points against North Carolina to knock off the Tar Heels and help Kentucky advance to the Final Four.  The Wildcats were able to hold down two of the top scoring teams in the country to 60 and 69 points respectively.  With the secondary scoring from freshman Terrence Jones the Wildcats are a young and enthusiastic bunch playing with a purpose.  The biggest surprise coming out of Kentucky would have to be senior Josh Harrellson who put the clamps on Jared Sullinger in the game against Ohio St.  Harrellson played all of 82 minutes last year for Kentucky, but has proven to be a key factor in the Wildcats March run.  John Calipari has this team firing on all cylinders at the right time of the year and Kentucky looks primed and ready to fight for a National Championship.

Butler Bulldogs

These guys again?  Here is a lesson to all mid-major schools in the country; the impossible is possible.  The Butler Bulldogs have returned to the Final Four just 1 year after losing to Duke in the championship game last year.  A school with less then 5000 enrolled students, who came in ranked as an 8 seed, has proceeded to knock off Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and Florida, and is now rewarded by having to play an 11 seed in the Final Four.  After losing their best player in Gordon Hayward last year to the Utah Jazz, most people felt like Butler would struggle to regain the Cinderella story they provided throughout last years tournament.  Well, think again.  Brad Stevens is pushing all the right buttons and senior Matt Howard alongside junior Shelvin Mack are proving why experience at the big dance is invaluable.  The Bulldogs smothered a solid Wisconsin team before showing their true grit and grinding out a 74 - 71 overtime win against number 2 ranked Florida.  The Bulldogs epitomize the term composed as they've won 2 games on last second shots and a third in overtime.  This team may just have enough to equal the 1985 Villanova Wildcats and the 1980 UCLA Bruins as the only 8 seeds ever to make the National Championship game.  All they have to do is beat the true Cinderella story of the 2011 tournament, the VCU Rams.

VCU Rams

Ok, so here is how this is going to work, I'm not going to tell you about how Jay Bilas embarrassed himself on national television by berating the selection committee for even putting the Rams in the field.  I'm not going to tell you how there is no way a team from the Colonial Athletic Association is able to beat powerhouses from the Big 12, Big 10, Big East, Pac-10 and ACC in consecutive games.  All I want you to know is that the Virginia Commonwealth Rams are 1 win away from becoming the lowest seed in NCAA history to reach the National Championship game.  If anyone thought this team had somehow fluked their way into the elite 8 with smoke and mirrors, they were sorely mistaken.  One only needed to watch the suffocating defense, half court pressure and unconscious outside shooting display the Rams put on against arguably the best team in the nation in Kansas to understand that the Rams have just as much a shot at college hoops glory as Butler, UCONN or Kentucky.  Shaka Smart is quietly becoming the most talked about coach in college basketball as his preparation and intensity have fuelled this Rams train that seems headed for a historical finish.  The play of senior guard Joey Rodriguez has been phenomenal and the inside-outside presence of Jamie Skeen and Bradford Burgess has allowed VCU to frustrate opponents on the defensive end and embarrass them on the offensive end.  I don't know about anyone else, but this is one bandwagon I've jumped all over.  Let's see if history can be made on Saturday when VCU and Butler clash.


Well, there it is, a Final Four for the books.  A headlining matchup featuring two of the best players in the country in Knight and Walker, and a battle of Cinderella's looking for their own slipper to dance with at the ball.  This tournament has been nothing short of fantastic and I expect this weekend to deliver 2 more phenomenal games.