Final Four Thoughts...

Who's ready for the Final Four? Despite the fact one's Alma Mater is picking up the Orange pieces of their hearts on a Salt Lake City floor, I'm rejuvenated and ready for the conclusion to the best three weeks of the year-- perhaps for the final time.





Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has gone on record saying tournament expansion is probable... and while I feel that 64 remains the perfect number- understand that there were those who went crazy when the field went from 32 to 40 to 48 to 64 within seven years. Part of what makes this move seem drastic is that it is... you are increasing the tournament field by 50%! Sticker shock scares away many a consumer-- and if the NCAA was smart at all (which they are not) they would incrementally get to 96 by 2020 in little fits and spurts.





I hope that if expansion is inevitable the NCAA doesn't go too far... meaning let's expand to 68 or 72 with the opening round game on the same site as the first/second round games. If that number still finds us wanting more teams in the field... bump it up to 80 in a few years. Rinse and repeat... but slow enough so that the 65 to 96 effect isn't felt as much.



Now to the games-- as four schools that possess a variety of stars, unsung heroes as well as cases for and against their chances for the one shining moment...:





Duke-- the Blue Devils had the easiest road of a #1 seed-- admit it, apologists!-- but coach K's kids made the plays when they had to. And the coach recruited the right mix of shooters and grunt men to make the roster chemistry work. Stars-- the power trio of John Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith combine for roughly two thirds of the Blue Devils scoring. Three options is like the Beatles having three songwriters... and leads to the depth that was Revolver. Unsung heroes-- because Brian Zoubek and the Plumlee pair give the Blue Devils a foundation in the pivot, everybody else is able to work towards their strengths. Case for the Blue Devils: this is what they do. The Blue Devils are in the business of hanging banners, even though this is just the second regional title in nine years. Coach K is the modern John Wooden-- better in my opinion because during the bulk of Wooden's run UCLA had a virtual bye into the Final Four because of strict regionalization and an uneven bracket... almost as uneven as the one that allowed Duke easy access to Indianapolis this year.





West Virginia-- the toughest team in the tourney plays bumper car basketball... and while coach Bob Huggins team won't win any horse contests, defense and rebounding has propelled the Mountaineers into the National Semifinals for the first time since Jerry West. Stars-- Da'Sean Butler was their life-line during the Big East Tournament and although he's shooting just 33 percent in the tournament, he's the man. Unsung hero-- Joe Mazzulla. It takes a big man to replace a truck... and after West Virginia's point guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant broke a bone in his foot, Mazzulla scored 17 points in his first start of the season. Case for the Mountaineers-- defense, rebounding and winning ugly. Two of the last three times Duke has advanced to the Final Four they've been beaten by a Big East team that thugged it up a bit (UConn in 1999 and 2004). Perhaps a national title is all Huggins needs to buy that suit.





Michigan State-- the Spartans are one of two #5 seeds in remaining in the field. How rare is success for a #5? No national titles in the 30+ years of seeding and a smattering of Final Fours. Start with the legendary 5-12 game where upsets have resided for years, followed by usually facing a #4 seed just a little more talented than you. If you get that far, a #1 seed that's had a week to prepare for you is in the way-- and if you pull the upset, there's the natural letdown in the regional finals. Face it, being a #5 is no picnic...and for further information realize the Spartans have won their four tournament games by a combined 13 points. Star-- Durrell Summers is averaging 20 points a game during the tournament, giving MSU star to hitch its wagon on just as Kalin Lucas got banged up. Unsung hero-- Korie Lucious on name value alone gets the nod, but the guard has filled in admirably for the injured Kalin Lucas...up to and including the gamewinning basket against Maryland. Case for the Spartans-- Tom Izzo gets his teams to overperform consistently every March. His run of 6 Final Fours in 12 years isn't the equal of Coach K's 7 of 9 from 1986-94, but Izzo's been able to bring a wide variety of teams built for tournament basketball this far consistently. And Indy's not too far from Lansing, right?




Butler-- okay, Gene Hackman fans... break out the we're winners speech, measure how high the rim is and run the picket fence. Are the Bulldogs a Cinderella team? There's more debate on that than if they can win twice less than ten miles from campus this weekend. They do come from a mid-major league, yet were ranked in the top twenty all season. Compare them not to George Mason, but the UNLV of the 80's (I think they were in the PCAA or WCC at the time-- weak sisters to the WAC). Star-- Gordon Heyward... wasn't that Venus Flytrap's real name?... the 6-9 swingman from Brownsburg, Indiana is a threat anywhere on the floor and has produced bigtime in March. How is he not going to IU? The Kelvin Sampson gift keeps giving. Unsung hero-- Ronald Nored is a more typical Bulldog-- 6 feet tall but with a ton of effort... rebounds very well for his height. Case for Butler-- Don't you just want Jim Nantz to do his "spontaneously planned final call" regarding a Bulldog win? The game is being played in Indianapolis, by the way.