UConn vs. Florida

UConn:

Seed wise, Connecticut and Kentucky have had the most difficult path to reach the final four in Dallas, so its easy to conclude the Huskies are battle tested. Where Kentucky and Connecticut are different is that Kentucky relies heavily on a starting line up of five freshmen, while Connecticut is lead by senior guard Shabazz Napier.

In the round of 64, UConn grinded out an eight point overtime win over St. Joes, behind Napier’s 24 points, nine of which came in overtime. The round of 32 presented a familiar opponent, former Big East foe and Two-Seed of the East region, Villanova. Napier was limited to eight minutes and four points in the first half due to foul trouble, but he contributed 21 second half points for a game high total of 25. The Huskies eliminated a second Philadelphia school, 77-65.

The Sweet Sixteen matched Connecticut up with Iowa State of the Big 12, who had disposed of North Carolina Central and North Carolina in the first weekend. Connecticut led by 10 points at halftime, and eventually went on to win the game 81-76. This time, UConn’s scoring efforts were led by DeAndre Daniels, who had 27 points.

In the Elite Eight, UConn would meet four seed Michigan State, a team fresh off of beating the number one seed in the East region, Virginia. The Huskies were slow out of the gates, and were down by as much as nine points in the second half. Again led by Napier, UConn rallied and won 60-54 behind Napier’s 25.

Florida:

Florida comes into the Final Four on a 30-game winning streak as the number one overall seed. The Gators have a 36-2 record, with their only losses coming before conference play against fellow Final Four teams Wisconsin and Connecticut. The Gators are a senior heavy squad lead by senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin.

In the round of 64, Florida was matched up with 16 seed Albany. Albany trailed by just two at the 14:04 mark in the second half, but the Gators pulled away and defeated Albany 67-55. The Gators met Pittsburgh in the round of 32, who had disposed of Colorado 77-48. Florida managed Pittsburgh 61-45. Wilbekin led the scoring attack with 21 points. Florida would advance to the south region semifinal, in Memphis, where the UCLA Bruins waited for them. Again, Florida started slow, and led by only by six at the half. UCLA fought back in the second, and cut the lead to one midway through the half. However, sophomore Michael Frazier II continued his tournament theme of 3-point shooting, hitting five three-balls and helping the Gators finish off the Bruins, 79-68.

Florida would meet 11 seed cinderella Dayton in the South Regional Championship. Dayton’s wins had come against Ohio State, Syracuse and Stanford. Florida appeared in the Elite Eight the past three tournaments, and they were knocked out each time, failing to reach the Final 4. Dayton and coach Archie Miller were attempting to land Dayton in its second ever Final Four, and first since 1967. Only four 11 seeds had ever reached the Final Four, and Dayton would not be one of them. The teams were deadlocked at 23 at the 4:22 mark in the first half, but Florida then ripped off a 15-1 run to end the half, capped of by a Wilbekin three-pointer to end the first half. Although Dayton hung around in the second half, Florida was in control of the second half, and won 62-52, punching their ticket to North Texas.

Adam’s Pick: The Huskies account for one of Florida’s two losses this year, beating Florida at home 65-64 Dec. 2, on a buzzer-beating shot by Shabazz Napier, who had 26 points. Saturday will be a different story. Although Napier has achieved baller status, one player will not be enough to defeat the well-oiled machine that is Florida. Unless Napier can get ample help from DeAndre Daniels, the Gators should be able to be stout defensively thanks to their extreme athleticism. The Gators will continue to score with a balanced attack and will move on to the National Championship.

Kentucky vs. Wisconsin

Wisconsin:

A two seed, Wisconsin was not immediately challenged during their trip to North Texas. In the round of 64 they took on an American University team that gave them trouble early on but eventually conceded to a 75-35 thrashing by Wisconsin. This now holds the NCAA record for the largest margin of victory in a tournament game. After a blowout against American, the Badgers were up against the number 7 seeded Ducks of Oregon, who had just come off an easy, breezy, beautiful 87-68 win over BYU. After being down 49-37 at halftime to U of O, the Badgers clawed their way back with forward Frank Kaminsky leading the way. Kaminsky finished with 19 points as Wisconsin pulled away to win 85-77, outscoring the Ducks 48-28 in the second half.

In the Sweet Sixteen, Baylor’s uniforms were hot, but their shooting percentage early on was not. The Bears began ice cold, missing nineteen of twenty-four free throws in the first half. On the other hand, Wisconsin was having little trouble picking apart Baylor’s defense. Senior guard, Ben Brust, who had set Wisconsin’s career three point record (228) against Oregon the previous game, led the Badgers to a 69-52 win over Baylor to advance them to the Elite Eight to face number one seed Arizona. The Bearcats were menacing, but every time Wisconsin needed a clutch shot, Frank Kaminsky delivered. The 7-footer carried the Badgers with 28 points, including six in overtime. With less than a handful of seconds left in OT, an offensive foul was called on Pac 12 Player of the Year Nick Johnson. On the ensuing inbound the ball was deflected out of bounds, leading to an extensive replay look by the officials. Arizona got the ball back and fed Johnson with 2.3 remaining, down by one, but Johnson failed to get the shot off in time, thus ending a 64-63 overtime thriller in Wisconsin’s favor. Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan had made it to the Final Four for the first time since his illustrious career began in 1984.

Kentucky:

Kentucky did not have an easy road to the final four whatsoever. The eight seed Wildcats practically went down murderer’s row to get to where they are, beating 3 of last year’s Final Four teams including last year’s champion. Arguably one of the toughest roads in NCAA history, Kentucky faced off against the likes of Kansas State, number one seed and unbeaten Wichita State, reigning champions of Louisville and the number two seed Michigan Wolverines. The starting lineup for the Wildcats includes five, count them, five freshmen, including Julius Randle, a top prospect for the 2014 NBA Draft. Randle wrapped up a relatively low scoring affair with 19 points and 15 rebounds, leading Big Blue to a 56-49 win over the Wildcats from Manhattan, KS.

The next opponent for Kentucky was the top seeded, unbeaten Shockers from a different part of Kansas, Wichita. The game was played at the Scottrade Center right here in St. Louis and fans from both teams arrived through the gates by the hundreds to get a chance to a) see their team one step closer to a perfect season, or b) watch their team upset a program that hadn’t lost since the previous Final Four. The answer was not clear until the buzzer sounded and 40 minutes had been played, for each team seemed to rise and fall like the tide. Neither team exceeded a nine point lead over the other, and with 9.8 seconds, after a series of free throws, the Shockers were down by two. Sophomore guard Fred VanVleet rapidly took the ball down the court and called a timeout in Kentucky’s half with 3.2 on the game clock. After much deliberation, Wichita had their play drawn and proceeded to inbound it back in to VanVleet, who took a few dribbles and fired up a three from downtown. It was wide the whole way, clanking off the rim and ending Wichita State’s perfection. Shocker.

After this upset, it was off to the Regional Semifinal against the previous year’s National Champions, the Louisville Cardinals. The Cardinals were armed with sharpshooting Luke Hancock and playmaker Russ Smith, who together accounted for 42 points. The Wildcats only led for a total of sixty-five seconds. With thirty-nine seconds left, Kentucky’s Aaron Harrison hit a 3-pointer for the go ahead score and Julius Randle made a pair of free throws to lift the fantastic freshmen of Kentucky to a 74-69 victory over the in-state rival Cardinals.

The road to the Final Four would conclude with a matchup against another highly touted team in the Michigan Wolverines. For the second straight regional game, Aaron Harrison put the Wildcats up for good with limited time remaining in a contest that could’ve gone either way. The magic number this game was 2.3, and when Michigan’s desperation heave didn’t convert, Kentucky was on their way to the Final Four. This was the first time an all-freshman starting lineup had made their way to the Final Four since the Fab Five at Michigan in 1992.

Reese’s pick: Both teams have fantastic coaches and solid lineups, but this game I have eight seed Kentucky pulling off the upset over two seed Wisconsin. The Wildcats have faced some of the best teams college basketball has to offer and they’ve played in tight games the whole tournament, beating highly favored opponents like Michigan and Louisville. Where Wisconsin wins is in experience and sound fundamentals. Kentucky’s freshman loaded lineup can pose inconsistency, but John Calipari knows how to fire them up and they are bursting with confidence. Therefore, despite clutch players for Wisconsin such as Brust and Kaminsky, the sheer size, talent and momentum of Big Blue is enough to trump any team right now.