Just how the heck did his UConn Huskies emerge from the most anti-climatic Final Four in recent memory as champions? It certainly wasn't because they put forth the performances worthy of capturing college basketball's crown jewel.
More like they were the "least bad, decent team" in Houston last weekend.
In a semifinal weekend that screamed disappointing, each of the four teams that impressed so heavily in the previous two weeks limped over the finish line, including the squad who left with the hardware.
All three games of March Madness' penultimate weekend reeked of teams who had seemingly reached the end of their road as all underperformed by the standards they set through the first four rounds.
It would be harsh to say VCU choked in their loss to Butler. While they played no where near the level of their other tournament games, they were overachieving from the moment they crushed Georgetown in the first (their second) round. But then again, it's harsh to say they were overachieving. In each of their five tournament wins, the Rams were clearly the better team by a John Daly tee shot. They peaked at the right time, which is what this tournament is all about. Their magical train just ran out of track to run on one game short. The fact that they won one more game than the rest just to get to the Final Four because of these ridiculous new bracket setups strengthens the case that VCU were the real deal and deserved to be there.
However, Kentucky did choke. The Wildcats narrowly escaped an opening round defeat at the hands of Princeton, but quickly moved on to down West Virginia before besting overall number one Ohio State and North Carolina en route to their first Final Four since 1998. Kentucky was beating big-time teams and looked like a national champion. But all that came to screeching halt in the semifinal as the Wildcats put up a whopping 55 points against UConn. Even worse, the last three came on a meaningless, desperation three at the buzzer, so I'll give them 52, hardly worthy of a title game appearance. Fun fact: Kentucky lost this game by one. The Wildcats were 4-12 from the foul line, UConn was 9-11.
Initially, Butler looked like the only team in Houston capable of lifting the trophy. The Bulldogs halted the brake-lacking VCU Rams dead in their tracks in the only enjoyable game of the entire Final Four weekend, prompting many, as well as myself, to crown Butler champions even before their match-up with UConn. Reaching consecutive championship games was a feat in itself, but this was supposed to be a defining moment for the Butler program. Hell, it was supposed to be a defining moment for this decade of college basketball (in its first year no less!). The mid-majors are here. George Mason started it. Butler confirmed it. VCU amplified it. And now, Butler was supposed to cement it. But in the spotlight of the national title game, though they where there just last year, the Bulldogs looked like a team who couldn't handle the pressure. We can expect several more mid-majors to make deep runs in the tournament, but how long will it be until we can expect them to outlast the powers that have laid the groundwork?
The UConn Huskies. Make no mistake, they deserve to have a national title. They were the first team in Big East history to win five conference tournament games in consecutive days. From the start of the Big East tournament, with Kemba Walker playing out of his skull, the Huskies looked like potential title winners. That changed upon first tip in Houston, UConn was simply lucky they were there with three other teams who were blinded by the moment and scared of seizing it. The Huskies scored 56 and 53 points in their Final Four match-ups. Their opponents shot 26.3 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from the foul line. To say UConn wasn't personally handed the national championship on a silver platter by a bikini-clad Brooklyn Decker, just for showing up to the party, is nothing short of heresy.
This Final Four had the potential to be the greatest championship weekend college basketball has ever seen, with two mid-major start-ups pitted against two of the most storied programs who have been there, done that. Instead, it looked like a February trip to Siberia, with seemingly no one wanting to stay til the end.
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