The 2010-2011 college basketball season
has come down to one final weekend, and an epic Monday night conclusion
that will surely be epic. For the first time in the history of the
tournament, the Final Four does not contain a 1-seed or a 2-seed. Two
mid-major programs broke through as regional champions, and the highest
remaining seed entered the postseason as an 11-seed in their own
conference tournament three weeks ago. Now four teams stand two games
away from being the most improbable champion that this tournament has
ever seen. Here are the contests that will decide the NCAA National
Championship.
(8)BUTLER VS (11)VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH
The only thing more amazing than the Butler Bulldogs returning to the
Final Four for a second consecutive year is that they will be returning
as the home team in the National Semifinal. Butler’s run through the
Southeast Region was somewhat upstaged by VCU’s run from being one of
the field’s most controversial inclusions to being the tournament’s
biggest surprise. Not enough attention has been given to the fact that
VCU has actually played one more tournament game than the other
remaining participants. VCU was a victim of the horrible “First Four”
gimmick that forced the Rams to play a play-in game as an 11-seed, but
they have somehow found a reservoir of energy that has them flying the
highest of any team going into the weekend. The Rams have gotten two of
their best three-point shooting performances of the season during the
tournament, and have seemingly peaked at a dangerous time for their
competition. Butler has simply found the magic that brought them inches
away from a championship last year. Butler’s role players returned to
the otherworldly level that they played on last year while two things
changed in the lineup. Shelvin Mack took the place of Gordon Heyward as
the team’s unquestioned star player/future NBA draft pick, and Andrew
Smith stepped in as a true center moving foul-prone Matt Howard to the
four-spot in the process. Now that Smith has began to embrace his role
as a major contributor, Butler has started to role.
(3)CONNECTICUT VS (4)KENTUCKY
On the other end of the Final Four bracket, the blue bloods await.
Connecticut has rode their prized stallion to the brink of topping some
of the great championship performances in history. Where would Kemba
Walker leading UConn to a national championship stand among the great
individual championship seasons by the likes of Danny Manning and
Carmelo Anthony. At the beginning of the year, Walker led a one-man team
into the top ten of both polls, willing his team to upset victories
with incredible scoring efforts. Later, after sputtering to a 9-9 record
in the Big East, Kemba led a more mature group of Huskies to an
unprecedented five-game run to the Big East Championship. Now, the
Huskies find themselves in the Final Four, after the entire country has
watched the full emergence of Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, and Alex
Oriakhi. The Huskies are no longer a one-man show. They have now proven
to be one of the country’s best teams, instead of being an average team
showcasing one of the country’s best players. Kentucky finally found the
right mix of youth and experience to get to them to the final weekend.
Much ado will be made about the freshman contributors such as Brandon
Knight, Doron Lamb, and Terrence Jones. However, what separates this
team from Calipari’s previous pro-laden teams is the presence of veteran
leadership that has been absent in the past. Juniors Darius Miller and
DeAndre Liggins give the Wildcats a sense of maturity that Calipari’s
teams often lack. Josh Harrellson, the team’s only senior, has been one
of the quietest difference-makers in the country. Harrellson went from
barely touching the floor to being a starter and the ultimate glue guy
for a team that usually is a role player or two short in March.
(8)BUTLER VS (11)VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH
The only thing more amazing than the Butler Bulldogs returning to the
Final Four for a second consecutive year is that they will be returning
as the home team in the National Semifinal. Butler’s run through the
Southeast Region was somewhat upstaged by VCU’s run from being one of
the field’s most controversial inclusions to being the tournament’s
biggest surprise. Not enough attention has been given to the fact that
VCU has actually played one more tournament game than the other
remaining participants. VCU was a victim of the horrible “First Four”
gimmick that forced the Rams to play a play-in game as an 11-seed, but
they have somehow found a reservoir of energy that has them flying the
highest of any team going into the weekend. The Rams have gotten two of
their best three-point shooting performances of the season during the
tournament, and have seemingly peaked at a dangerous time for their
competition. Butler has simply found the magic that brought them inches
away from a championship last year. Butler’s role players returned to
the otherworldly level that they played on last year while two things
changed in the lineup. Shelvin Mack took the place of Gordon Heyward as
the team’s unquestioned star player/future NBA draft pick, and Andrew
Smith stepped in as a true center moving foul-prone Matt Howard to the
four-spot in the process. Now that Smith has began to embrace his role
as a major contributor, Butler has started to role. (3)CONNECTICUT VS (4)KENTUCKY
On the other end of the Final Four bracket, the blue bloods await.
Connecticut has rode their prized stallion to the brink of topping some
of the great championship performances in history. Where would Kemba
Walker leading UConn to a national championship stand among the great
individual championship seasons by the likes of Danny Manning and
Carmelo Anthony. At the beginning of the year, Walker led a one-man team
into the top ten of both polls, willing his team to upset victories
with incredible scoring efforts. Later, after sputtering to a 9-9 record
in the Big East, Kemba led a more mature group of Huskies to an
unprecedented five-game run to the Big East Championship. Now, the
Huskies find themselves in the Final Four, after the entire country has
watched the full emergence of Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, and Alex
Oriakhi. The Huskies are no longer a one-man show. They have now proven
to be one of the country’s best teams, instead of being an average team
showcasing one of the country’s best players. Kentucky finally found the
right mix of youth and experience to get to them to the final weekend.
Much ado will be made about the freshman contributors such as Brandon
Knight, Doron Lamb, and Terrence Jones. However, what separates this
team from Calipari’s previous pro-laden teams is the presence of veteran
leadership that has been absent in the past. Juniors Darius Miller and
DeAndre Liggins give the Wildcats a sense of maturity that Calipari’s
teams often lack. Josh Harrellson, the team’s only senior, has been one
of the quietest difference-makers in the country. Harrellson went from
barely touching the floor to being a starter and the ultimate glue guy
for a team that usually is a role player or two short in March. 
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