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2011-2012 College Basketball Preview – Part IV

In the final part of my 4-part preview on the upcoming college basketball season, I look at five seniors that could create a buzz for their squads this season.

The most underrated college basketball players are often those that have been around the longest and have experienced the greatest variety of situations on the floor. The senior basketball player receives less and less attention from the national media as fabulous freshmen continue to enter the college basketball landscape and set it ablaze. Since the days of Carmelo Anthony, everybody looks for that one guy that will have the greatest combination of skill, maturity, and star power to take his team to the national championship. But this article examines some seniors that could help take their teams to the highest level in March. Two seniors I will not examine are Wisconsin’s Jordan Taylor and North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller, whom I evaluated in my Naismith Award Watch list.

Ashton Gibbs – Guard, Pittsburgh
Jamie Dixon’s Pittsburgh Panthers do not often rely on freshmen, or any underclassmen for that matter, but rather rely on their experienced seniors and juniors to lead them to the top of the Big East. Gibbs enters his senior year having averaged over 16 points per game the last two years, and it is rare to see a Pittsburgh senior (especially a guard) take a step back in his senior year. Gibbs will get a lot of looks this year, especially from beyond the arc, where he hit nearly 50% (!)  a year ago. If he can carry over his hot shooting to 2012, Pitt will be in good shape in a Big East conference that has many talented yet raw guards.

Tyshawn Taylor – Guard, Kansas
Kansas is not getting the usual love from experts this year, and a big part of it is the departure of the Morris twins and oft-troubled guard Josh Selby. With all of them gone, the team’s leadership rests on the shoulders of Taylor, who is the top returning scorer and assist man from a year ago. Between him and Thomas Robinson, Kansas should contend for a Big 12 title in a very down year for the conference. Taylor has started the majority of his four years in Lawrence, but has often been overshadowed by players like Sherron Collins and NBA darling Selby. This is now Taylor’s team, and his performance will largely dictate the success of the Jayhawks.

Robbie Hummel – Forward, Purdue
The high school class of 2007 provided the Big Ten with arguably it’s strongest recruiting class in the last 20 years, and Hummel is the lone remaining player from that year. He had a phenomenal first three years with the Boilermakers, and all signs pointed to them contending for the national championship a year ago. But Hummel’s entire season was lost to knee surgery and he returns this season with a team lacking all-conference performers E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson. The offense will rely more on Hummel and his stellar shooting this season, and he has a great point guard in Lewis Jackson to help facilitate.

Kyle Kuric – Forward, Louisville
On a team with only one other senior, Kyle Kuric has the task of steadying an erratic roster while living up to big expectations. He may not have the star power of Peyton Siva or Jared Swopshire, but he is their most dependable player beyond the arc and was their top scorer overall down the stretch in 2011. A team that fell in a first round shocker to Morehead State in last season’s tournament, Louisville is often considered a raw team that runs a lot of full-court press and quick offensive sets. Kuric will get more looks this year and can slide over to the 2-guard spot, as well. He should see a ton of minutes and will really be given every chance to succeed his senior year.

Festus Ezeli – Center, Vanderbilt
I profiled Ezeli’s teammate, John Jenkins, in an earlier post, and he will be responsible for most of Vandy’s scoring down the stretch in 2012. But Festus Ezeli is the motor and main post presence. Despite already missing the first month of the season due to injury, Ezeli will be needed as soon as possible to shore up a frontcourt that lacks shotblocking and toughness without him. He is primed for a big year, with the Commodores coach Kevin Stallings already saying that Ezeli is going to be a huge part of their success. That comment can be taken several ways, but I see it as Stallings saying that Ezeli will get plenty of looks in the post. If Ezeli can take advantage of the extra opportunities, he will be just as feared as Jenkins.

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2011 College Basketball Preview – Part III

In Part 3 of my college basketball preview, I examine 5 players who will contend for the Naismith National Player of the Year award. These players are all part of my All-American First Team, as well.
The season is set to begin, and there is as much star power in college basketball as there has been in the last decade. A slew of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors have all returned to school, and as a result there are a ton of players that will make a case for themselves as All-Americans and National Player of the Year. Here are my five players that I believe have the best chance at winning the prestigious award.
Harrison Barnes – Forward, North Carolina
Expectations are higher for Barnes than probably any other player in the nation, and rightfully so. His silky smooth overall game and uncanny ability to take over games is amazing. Unlike 99% of college basketball, Barnes combines polished skills with phenomenal athleticism. He has great body control, can knock down an array of shots, and has an affinity for clutch moments. He is an average defender, which is one of the few parts of his game that does not fall under the “great” category.
How he wins the National Player of the Year:
On a loaded North Carolina team, Barnes will be the catalyst of any success. If they win a national title, he will be deemed the superstar on a roster of former high school All-Americans.
Jared Sullinger – Forward, Ohio State
Sullinger is an old-school power forward with the post skills and physicality that most big men lack in today’s game. While many big men are beginning to wander the perimeter and shoot the 3-pointer, Sullinger makes a living in the paint and scored just about all of his points in the paint. He has a vast arsenal of post moves including the baby hook, drop step, and the up-and-other, to name a few. Rumblings out of Columbus are that he has added the occasional long ball to his skill set, which will be a great addition as long as he doesn’t fall in love with it in the way Rasheed Wallace did after being drafted into the NBA.
How he wins the National Player of the Year:
The Big Ten is one of the more physical conferences, and Sullinger is the poster boy of physical play. As long as he builds on last season’s success and the Buckeyes win the Big Ten with ease, he has a great chance. There are few big men that can match Sullinger’s abilities, especially in the Big Ten. Total domination will equal national recognition.
Jordan Taylor – Guard, Wisconsin
He sometimes get lost among the talk of more flashy players, but I firmly believe Taylor to be the best guard in the country. With the strength of a bull and a variety of skills, Taylor is the reason Wisconsin is ranked in the pre-season Top 25. He never turns the ball over, has great body control, and is a reliable defender. On a team that lacks athleticism, Taylor will be called upon to defend the best player on the other team, whether that player is under six feet tall or 6’6″. Bo Ryan is a great coach and will run a bevy of offensive sets designed to give Taylor a great chance to score the ball.
How he wins the National Player of the Year:
Wisconsin is not expected to dominate the nation like North Carolina or Ohio State, but if they can stay competitive and Taylor maintains his high assist-to-turnover ratio while increasing his scoring average to 20 points per game, he will have a great chance.
John Jenkins – Guard, Vanderbilt
With Jimmer Fredette and Jon Diebler gone to the NBA, Jenkins is the best 3-point shooter in the nation. He can create his own shot and hits it at a nice clip (over 40% last season). Most of Vanderbilt’s team returns from last season, so there is no reason to expect any drop off from last year’s great performance. He has always been a big time 3-point shooter, scoring ungodly amounts of points in high school. While he has not scored at a heavenly level in college, his junior year might be the time that he breaks out with numbers comparable to Jimmer Fredette last season. He certainly has the range and intangibles – it’s just a matter of going out there and doing it now.
How he wins the National Player of the Year:
The nation loves high-volume shooters on squads that lack a ton of talent. And while Vanderbilt will be among the top SEC teams with Kentucky and Florida, several players besides Jenkins need to break out for the Commodores to make noise. If Jenkins puts up numbers that remind people of Fredette, he will be on the same course as the former BYU sharpshooter. And if anybody can duplicate The Jimmer’s numbers, it’s Jenkins.
Tyler Zeller – Center, North Carolina
A true center, Zeller put up astronomical numbers in the NCAA tournament last season (26 points per game) while emerging as the Tar Heels’ offensive post threat. He saw inconsistent minutes at times last year because of his soft play, but he has become more physical and mentally tough. With injuries a thing of the past, Zeller can now become the focal point of the North Carolina post game, since he is the only true post threat on a team that has athletic but raw big men. He runs the floor well, has great fundamentals, and can hit the short corner jumper with consistency – if he continues to do all of those things, Roy Williams will have to keep him on the floor.
How he wins the National Player of the Year:
I’m going to be completely honest – he probably will not win it. If he does, it is because Harrison Barnes disappears for the majority of the season while North Carolina continues to dominate. If that happens, Zeller will be the focal point of the offense and his numbers will spike.
All-American Second Team:
These players could all dominate college basketball, as well.

Tu Holloway – Guard, Xaiver
Jeremy Lamb – Guard, Connecticut
Anthony Davis – Forward, Kentucky
Terrence Jones – Forward, Kentucky
Perry Jones III – Forward, Baylor

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2011 College Basketball Preview – Part II

In Part 2 of my 2011 College Basketball Preview, I examine four mid-major teams that have a great chance at becoming the Butler or VCU of this upcoming season.

Over the past decade, a number of schools have come to define the term “mid-major” in college basketball. Gonzaga is always a threat to play deep into March and had dominated the WCC every year. Butler played in the past two national championship games. And VCU and George Mason have made the CAA a noteworthy conference by making improbable Final Four runs in the past five years. But this season will almost certainly bring rise to at least one mid-major that America is not yet familar with. Here are the teams I think can capture and break hearts in 2012.

Detroit Titans (Horizon)
Butler has always been the class of the Horizon League, but Detroit has a great chance to not only win the conference tournament, but also make a run in the Big Dance. The Titans have arguably the two most talented players in the conference in forward Eli Holman and point guard Ray McCallum Jr. McCallum was the newcomer of the year last season, and Holman averaged nearly a double-double. Don’t forget about senior wing Chase Simon, who averaged 13.5 points per game last season. With such a diverse and talented core, Detroit has all the tools to do damage late in the season.

But the Horizon League is not weak, by any stretch. Butler and Wisconsin-Milwaukee will both be competitive, though they each lost substantial pieces to graduation. The Bulldogs will depend heavily on big man Andrew Smith and wing Ronald Nored, as well as highly-touted freshman Roosevelt Jones. Milwaukee, on the other hand, returns guard Kaylon Willams and forward Tony Meier but, similar to Butler, has many holes to plug.

Wichita State Shockers (Missouri Valley)
The Missouri Valley Conference is barely a mid-major anymore, but if the Shockers advance beyond the second round of the NCAA Tournament, it will be considered a… shock. Great things were expected last season, but Wichita State had to settle for an NIT championship. Every NIT matchup was a blowout, including an uneventful final against Alabama. Big man Garret Stutz will be counted on to patrol the paint for a team that lost a huge chunk of their interior scoring and rebounding. Ben Smith should see an increased role, as well – the 6’5″ forward won the conference’s Sixth Man Award last season. But the team will go as far as guard Toure’ Murry takes them – he has won the past two conference Defensive Player of the Year awards, and is the team’s returning leader in all major statistical categories.

The rest of the Valley is going to be incredibly tough: Creigton, Indiana State, and Northern Iowa will all be fighting for the conference title, but none appear as complete as the Shockers, which have all of the intangibles. Charles Koch Arena yields the greatest home court advantage in the MVC, and the team has a large chip on it’s shoulder after getting snubbed by the NCAA Selection Committee in March. If Wichita State plays anything like they did in the NIT last season, they will be incredibly difficult to beat, especially at home.

UCF Knights (Conference USA)
The average college basketball fan only knows about Central Florida because of the breakout season by Marcus Jordan in 2011. But the team’s strengths go far beyond Air Jordan’s son. In fact, people seem to overlook Keith Clanton, who was an all-conference performer last season. At 6’8″ and almost 250lbs, Clanton is one of the most overlooked big men in the country. He shot 53% from the field last season, and improved over the course of the season. In fact, in the 2011 CBI Semifinal, Clanton was 9-12 from the field and 7-8 from the line in 34 minutes. Look for more of the same this season. Plus, sophomore Isaiah Sykes should provide a solid second scoring threat from the wing – he is super quick and not afraid to shoot the ball. And look out for transfers Tristan Spurlock and Josh Crittle;  both stand 6’8″ and will bang inside with the best of the them.

Conference USA will be a difficult conference to win, however. Memphis is the perennial favorite, and Marshall has emerged as a dark horse contender. But UCF finally has the talent to compete with the Tigers. Three transfers from major schools (Spurlock, Crittle, and Marcus’s brother Jeff) bring a swagger to Orlando that has been missing for years. Even if Memphis runs away with C-USA, UCF will have talent and probably the resume to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they will be a very dangerous opponent.

Akron Zips (MAC)
Few remember that the Zips actually played in two of the past three NCAA Tournaments. The reason is because of the low seeding and subsequent matchup problems posed by teams like Notre Dame, who won by 13 points in the second round of last season’s tournament. But the six upperclassmen on this Akron roster have been there, done that, and are ready to play deeper into March. Skinny but agile 7-footer Zeke Marshall stands alone in the big man department, but will have a ton of help on the perimeter. Nikola Cvetinovic will need to score and help Marshall on the glass, and freshman Nick Harney is expected to help shoulder the load at forward, as well. In the backcourt, UMBC transfer Chauncey Gilliam joins 5’9″ point guard Alex Abreu and Brett McClanahan as they attempt to dominate a conference that is often dictated by guard play. But Marshall is the X-factor for this team, as he has performed below expectations in his first two years in Akron. If he can show the ability that made him a high-caliber recruit in high school, then Akron will be in the driver seat in the MAC.

Don’t count out the rest of the MAC, however. Western and Central Michigan each return several strong pieces and will give Akron all they can handle. Kent State may be the early conference favorite, having shown well in the NIT last season before losing to Colorado in a tight quarterfinals contest. Yet, it was Akron that played in the Big Dance in March, and they seem to always peak at the right time of the year. With a grueling non-conference schedule ahead of them, the Zips may look lackluster early on, but they should once again surge through the MAC. As long as they don’t find themselves as a #15 seed again, Akron will be extremely competitive in the NCAA Tournament.

Other teams to watch: Long Island Blackbirds (NEC), Harvard Crimson (Ivy League), and Florida Atlantic Owls (Sun Belt)

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2011 College Basketball Preview – Part I

In Part 1 of my 4-part 2o11 college basketball preview, I exam four teams that have a great chance to play in New Orleans at the end of March.
This is my first post since my review of the 2011 National Championship game where Connecticut took down Butler in a boring finale to an otherwise thrilling NCAA Tournament. Upsets were plentiful, two mid-majors played their way to the Final Four, and the star power of King Kemba Walker led the Huskies to the national crown. Overall, the tournament was the most intense I have seen in the last decade.
Yet now is a new year – players like Walker have departed for the NBA (insert your best lockout joke here) and others like Harrison Barnes have returned to school to bring a national title to campus. Barnes and the Tar Heels appear to be the preseason favorites to win it all, garnering the top spot in all major preseason polls. And that’s where I begin my list:
North Carolina Tar Heels

Biggest Strength: Scoring
There is no denying this team can put up a lot of points. Whether it’s Barnes doing everything, Tyler Zeller on the block, or freshman P.J. Hairston shooting the 3-ball, there are so many ways this team can score the basketball. Don’t forget freshman Kendall Marshall, who came on strong towards the end of the season when he was inserted into the starting lineup. And freshman James McAdoo will provide depth at the 4-spot.
Biggest Weakness: 3-point Shooting/Defense
For a team full of superstars and NBA-caliber players, UNC really does not shoot the ball well from beyond the arc (or defend it, for that matter). Last season, they finished near the bottom of the ACC in 3-point shooting, and both Marshall and Barnes are susceptible to defensive lapses. Two players can provide help in those departments, though: Dexter Strickland and Reggie Bullock. Strickland is a lockdown defender who will undoubtedly be called on to defend the quickest and most talented opposing guards. Bullock, on the other hand, is returning from a knee injury and should provide the long range shooting that the Tar Heels need. Don’t be surprised if both of those players see big minutes down the stretch in close games, as they both add dimensions to the UNC game that is otherwise absent.
X-Factor: John Henson
Standing 6’10″, 210lbs, Henson is not the most intimidating defensive presence at first glance. But with a 7’4″ wingspan and freakish athleticism, the junior big man is the best shot blocker in the ACC. His interior defense and rebounding skills are undeniable, but in order for the Heels to truly dominate the country and win a national title, he will need to shed the “soft” label that has stuck with him for the last two years. On a team that lacks physical strength (Zeller is the only player who weighs more than 220lbs, while Duke has seven) Henson must become a force on the block at both ends of the floor. He showed flashes of greatness last season with a nifty hook and solid 15-foot corner jump shot, but he must be able to finish inside… and with authority. If he can do that, it will take pressure off Zeller, who is the only true center on the roster.
Overall: UNC is not a perfect team, and they shouldn’t be compared to past teams like Tyler Hansbrough’s 2009 squad. Instead, they should be seen as an athletic, deep team that will fight with Duke for the top spot in a weak ACC. I expect them to drop a few early games, but then roll through conference play and peak at the perfect time – the postseason.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Biggest Strength: Defense
It’s difficult for me to pinpoint an aspect of Ohio State’s defense that stands out (same goes for UNC’s offense) because of it’s overall strength and the stranglehold it puts on the opposition. Starting on the perimeter, Aaron Craft and William Buford are pesky defenders who give opposing guards fits. Craft is truly a defensive menace, and his ability to play hard-nosed defense for 40 minutes is a true rarity in modern day college basketball. Moving inside, Jared Sullinger is a super-physical post defender who will wear down other big men, and freshman Amir Williams is a terrific shot blocker and should compliment Sullinger well.
Biggest Weakness: Depth
Anybody that knows college basketball knows Sullinger, Craft, Buford, and Deshaun Thomas. But after that, the Buckeyes will need to rely on unproven freshmen and perennial bench players. Losing leaders such as Jon Diebler, Dallas Lauderdale, and David Lighty will hurt a good deal – it’s impossible to replace three seniors who all carved out their niches and excelled in their roles. Freshmen Shannon Scott, LaQuinton Ross, Sam Thompson, Trey McDonald, and Williams are all highly touted, but none of them come in with the abilities that last year’s freshmen had. All of them will get a shot to prove their worth, but the Big Ten is a physical and grinding conference that will require an adjustment period for finesse players such as Williams, Scott, and Thompson.
X-Factor
Jordan Sibert
A consensus top-50 recruit, Sibert was lost in the Year of Jared Sullinger. It also didn’t help that he saw limited minutes because of the sharpshooting Diebler and Buford. But Sibert should get a great chance to make an impact this season, and he has the tools to do so. If Sibert can excel early on, a backcourt of Craft, Sibert, and Buford can be lethal and a true terror for the other 11 Big Ten teams.
Overall: Like the Tar Heels, Ohio State has the luxury of sitting atop a weak conference. They will be tested early with games against Florida and Duke, but it will be interesting to see how their untested freshmen perform towards the end of the conference season. Four of their final five conference games are against the top Big Ten squads, including the always-tough Wisconsin Badgers. If they can win most of those, they will have a lot of momentum going into the conference tournament.
Kentucky Wildcats
Biggest Strength: Depth
Everybody talks about Terrence Jones and Anthony Davis as leading the Wildcats this season, but they seem to forget about the rest of the 9-man rotation that will be called upon to take this team back to the Final Four. Michael Gilchrist and Marquise Teague are top-10 recruits that will provide a huge scoring boost both beyond the arc and in transition. Darius Miller is a glue guy that has played a ton of minutes over the course of the last three seasons. And Eloy Vargas, Stacey Poole, Jon Hood, and Doron Lamb all had specific roles last season that were key to Kentucky’s tournament success. No other SEC team has the talent to compete with Kentucky – it is more of a question of if John Calipari can bring everybody together to play team defense and score the ball. And if history is any indication, that is a resounding “yes”.
Biggest Weakness: Toughness
All three former UK players that were drafted into the NBA last summer had an immense amount of toughness, both physically and mentally. Brandon Knight, DeAndre Liggins, and Josh Harrelson made UK a tough team, and that is now a question mark as the 2011-2012 season begins. Darius Miller and Doron Lamb will both be counted on to provide that toughness throughout the season; Miller is the seasoned veteran of the team, and Lamb was the one reliable player for Kentucky in their Final Four matchup with Connecticut. Terrence Jones, one of the most talented players in the nation, needs to expand his game and become a physical presence. His tendencies to float out to the perimeter and play the role of a guard was acceptable with Harrelson patrolling the paint last season, but Davis will need a strong counterpart to help in defending the post.
X-Factor: Doron Lamb
As mentioned before, Lamb had a great game against Connecticut in the Final Four last March. That flash of greatness must become the norm for the sophomore if he is going to hold off Teague for the starting shooting guard spot. While UK will not live and die with Lamb, the offense will run a lot more smoothly with him manning the 2-spot. He is the team’s greatest deep threat and, unlike Jones, appeared to understand and thrive in his role. If he and Miller can lead this team both on and off the court, the season will start much better than last season, when they struggled early.
Overall: If any one player falters or does not meet expectations, it won’t be a total loss for Kentucky because of the immense depth they possess. But with players like Lamb, Miller, and Vargas improving upon last season and freshmen Davis, Gilchrist, and Teague performing up to their top-10 abilities, UK will be a very, very difficult team to defeat. The SEC has some stellar and experienced teams, and they will all pose legitimate threats to the Wildcats. But if UK can gain momentum early and defeat teams like Florid and Vanderbilt, they will be in great shape for a lengthy postseason run.
Syracuse Orange
Biggest Strength: Leadership
Upperclassmen Scoop Jardine, Kris Joseph, and Brandon Triche lead the Orange through another season filled with both expectations and questions. Expectations are high because of the sheer amount of talent on this Orange roster. Jardine proved to be one of the best point guards in the conference as he averaged nearly 6 assists per game. Joseph showed a versatile skill set, hitting 3-pointers and leading the team in rebounding. And while Triche had a sophomore slump from beyond the arc, he is expected to return to form his junior year. Expectations are also high for sophomore big men Fab Melo and Baye Mousse Keita, even though both had disappointing freshmen seasons. And don’t forget freshmen Rakeem Christmas and Michael Carter-Williams. Christmas can play both post positions and anchor the center of the Syracuse 2-3 zone defense.
Biggest Weakness: Post Play
Christmas may see a lot of time at the center of the 2-3 zone out of necessity, however. Keita and Melo are huge question marks for this team, and their ability to score in the post is definitely a concern. Christmas may be the saving grace in this situation, but he does not have the size or shot blocking ability of the two sophomores. The 2-3 zone defense is only as good as the big man in the middle, and that remains the single biggest question mark for Jim Boeheim’s squad.
X-Factor: Fab Melo
He’s been the focal point of my entire Syracuse analysis, and he’s certainly the X-Factor, as well. Expectations were so high last season it seemed impossible for the former All-American to live up to the hype. Instead, he struggled mightily, and now he has legal problems on top of his poor freshman year performance. If Melo can put his past season behind him and start fresh, he can still become a cog in the middle for the Orange. But if he continues to struggle, look for the other young big men to get chances to shine. On a purely talent basis, Melo seems to have the most ability, but mentally, he is a step behind the rest of his teammates. The leadership of seniors Joseph and Jardine should help alleviate these problems, but that remains to be seen.
Overall: The amount of talent in Syracuse this year is not as great as you will find in places like Chapel Hill or Lexington, but the leadership and skill sets of those players returning pose fewer question marks than those other high-profile teams. If the largest question mark, Fab Melo, can become a strength, Syracuse will be one of the toughest outs in the postseason. The Big East is so stacked year-in and year-out that it is impossible to pick one team to dominate, but Syracuse has just as good a chance as any.

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Huskies Are Top Dogs!

It was dull, ugly, and overall just a weak ending to what was otherwise a fantastic NCAA tournament. The team that everybody thought would flame out after winning five games in the Big East tournament showed the resilience and hunger that champions must rely on to win.

And for the second year in a row, the Butler Bulldogs fell just short.

The theme that bounced around national sports outlets was Butler’s horrendous shooting, and it is well-deserved; no team is going to win a title by making three baskets inside the arc. 18% shooting? I don’t think anybody has ever won a game shooting that poorly.

But Connecticut deserves a ton of credit – they shut down big man Matt Howard and contained heady point guard Shelvin Mack. The big man combination of Alex Oriakhi and Charles Okwandu wore down and frustrated Howard for 40 minutes, using their superior size and athleticism to completely take him out of the game. Mack, on the other hand, had a decent first half but tired quickly in the second half as he was contained by the quicker UCONN guards. It also didn’t help that he had to chase Kemba Walker and his slew of athletic teammates.

When the game finally ended, I exhaled and realized that this game should have never been in doubt. Where Butler had succeeded in this tournament was where Connecticut had succeeded, too: rebounding and guard play. Against teams like Pittsburgh and Wisconsin, the Bulldogs won with fundamental, versatile big man play; Old Dominion and VCU fell to great play by Mack and his back court teammates. Last night was a different story, though, and every Butler strength was matched and subsequently exploited by the Huskies. On top of that, UCONN had the X-factor that all other teams lacked: Jeremy Lamb. Lamb was the best athlete on the court, and after a rough first half he exploded in the second frame. Every Butler defender struggled against the magnificent freshman, who had no trouble shooting over his smaller and less athletic defenders.

I feel dumb for not expecting Connecticut to win this from the start, but in reality, Butler’s uncharacteristically bad shooting still played a large role in the result. The number of open three-pointers and layups that clanked off the rim was astounding, and it contributed greatly to the demise of the Horizon League champions. It was, in a word, sad. Butler played their hearts out on the defensive end and only surrendered 53 points – 20 points less than their season average. Yet, there was nothing they could do other than hit shots. And the Bulldogs failed to do that.

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Final Four Preview

Four teams remain in what has been one of the most entertaining NCAA tournaments in recent memory. Of the teams that will square off this weekend in the Final Four, none were realistically expected to make it this far. And based on the matchups, it is clear that come Monday night, there will be a basketball powerhouse matched up with a Cinderella.

(4) Kentucky vs. (3) UCONN
These two teams have been basketball powerhouses throughout a good portion of the last decade, and this year has been an opportunity for both to exceed expectations. After Kentucky took the SEC tournament and UCONN the Big East tournament, both entered the big dance fairly “underseeded” according to Dick Vitale, and he was right. Each team has a ton of talent and both are led by guards who are not afraid to take over in crunch time. Brandon Knight has shown his ability to hit clutch shots, as he has already hit two game-winners in this tournament. Kemba Walker may be the most widely-known clutch performer, as he has consistently taken over late in games. If this game goes down to the wire, I fully expect the two of them to try and take over the game, and if that happens, look for Kemba to have the upper-hand. Experience is crucial in the big dance, and Knight may have a ton of talent, but he is still a freshman and extremely inexperienced when pitted against Walker, a senior who has been here before.
A matchup that I am looking forward to is in paint, where rebounding terror Josh Harrellson will look to out-muscle Alex Oriakhi. While neither is extremely talented on the offensive end, look for the two big men to battle non-stop in the paint. Harrellson will have a slight advantage, as Terrence Jones can step in and body up Oriakhi, as well. Connecticut’s X-factor for this game will be Jeremy Lamb, who is extremely talented but will be hounded by Darius Miler or DeAndre Liggins throughout the entire game. If Kentucky has any experience in their rotation, it is between Miller and Liggins, who both are seasoned veterans compared to the younger rotation players that surround them. If they can take Lamb out of his game, Connecticut will have trouble scoring points, and Kentucky will be at an advantage with their plethora of pure scorers. If I had to bet on a team to win, it would be the Wildcats. They can score in so many different ways and their interior defense is good enough where Kemba Walker will not be able to score as much in the paint as he usually does.

(11) VCU vs. (8) Butler
Considered by some to be the mid-major’s championship game, I no longer consider Butler to be a mid-major program. If you can make it to the Final Four in back-to-back seasons, you are no mid-major. VCU, on the other hand, may not have the postseason resume of their opponent, but they definitely have the talent to matchup with anybody, as was evident by their shellacking of Kansas in the Elite Eight. Some combination of Shaka Smart’s coaching and the emergence of VCU’s once-underperforming players has led to a well-rounded Final Four team. Jamie Skeen is my favorite player in the tournament, and can do everything on the floor. He can take his man off the dribble, knock down a three-pointer, and post up smaller defenders. Wake Forest must be kicking themselves for letting him transfer. Of course, he has not faced a player like Matt Howard, who can do everything that I just mentioned for Skeen. When teams like VCU and Butler have these multi-dimensional big men, they pose huge problems for defenders (see the Morris twins from Kansas and Florida’s Vernon Macklin/Alex Tyus). But now that those multi-dimensional players are playing against each other, it will be interesting to see how they adjust their games.
Despite my attention focused on Skeen and Howard, the player that has garnered the most media attention, at least during the Elite Eight, was undoubtedly Joey Rodriguez. The Rams point guard was constantly shown anytime his team did anything remotely good or bad – even when he was on the bench. Sure, he deserves a lot of the attention, but his team is so talented that the other players like Bradford Burgess or Brandon Rozzell deserve some credit, as well. Defending Rodriguez will most likely be Shelvin Mack, a heady point guard who is strong with the ball and poses a difficult matchup for all opponents. But the Bulldogs’ X-factor to me is Shawn Vanzant, who has logged a ton of minutes in the tournament. He will likely be responsible for guarding either Burgess or Rozzell (or both) and if he can provide some baskets to help out Mack, Howard, and Andrew Smith, the Bulldogs will be in good shape. Despite all of the talent and experience those players have for Butler, I still think VCU will come out on top. They have more talent, and unlike Butler’s earlier opponents, they have come out and played 40 minutes of tough basketball in every game. This game will be won or lost in the final seconds, and while both teams know how to win in the postseason, I think Shaka Smart and his team are a little bit hungrier.

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