We're down to two, as in the number of teams left in the Big Dance. Praise must go to the officials for calling the two semifinal games consistently. Players on both sides were equally bloodied in the loosely called contests. Praise does not go to the smarmy Jim Nantz of CBS, although his assistants were competent. Why doesn't the great Gus Johnson or marginally great Marv Albert get a chance to call the Final Four?
Both games were interesting and even exciting in stretches. In the first, Butler beat down Virginia Commonwealth, 70-62. After a slow start, VCU roared out to an 11-5 lead. In many ways, it was the last roar. Butler, after settling down and reducing its turnovers, gained a 34-28 halftime lead due to stifling defense, hustle for loose balls, and aggressive rebounding.
In the victory, Butler had a 16 rebound advantage. Shelvin Mack again had the hot hand, with 24 points on 8 of 11 shooting. Matt Howard, Mr. Hustle, had a poor shooting night, 3 of 10 from the field, and was in foul trouble, but he did make 11 of 12 free throws. Scrappy guard Shawn Vanzant was only 3 of 11 shooting from the field, but he had floor burns, 4 rebounds, and was 4 of 4 from the foul line. He also hit a clutch three down the stretch, winding up with 11 points.
The other two big contributors for Butler were Khyle Marshall with his 9 rebounds and Zack Hahn with his 4 boards and 8 points, including two huge treys. Center Andrew Smith missed some easy buckets, but he sparred inside, clutching 7 rebounds. Ronald Nored and Chase Stigall were a combined 0 for 8 from the field. The scrappiness and defense were great, but the Bulldogs will have to have better overall shooting if they are to beat Connecticut.
How good was the Butler defense? While Jamie Skeen and Bradford Burgess got their points, Brandon Rozzell, Joey Rodriguez, and Ed Nixon were a combined 3 of 18 from the field, including several questionable three-ball launches. The Bulldogs are quicker than they look.
That's a good thing, for UConn is even quicker. Against Kentucky, the Huskies escaped with a 56-55 win largely because the Wildcats couldn't hit the side of Zenyatta's barn. Credit must go in part to the stifling UConn defense, but Kentucky was also missing a lot of open looks. How bad was it? The Wildcats only made 21 of 62 shots from the field, led by star Brandon Knight's 6 for 23 performance. The most important statistic? Terrence Jones was 0 of 5 from the free throw line.
UConn didn't shoot much better, but Kemba Walker was quicker to the ball and the basket than any Wildcat. Walker finished with 18 points and 6 boards, Jeremy Lamb was 12 and 9, Alex Oriakhi was 8 and 10, and Roscoe Smith was 6 and 8. Kentucky deserves credit for coming back from a 10 point halftime deficit, but UConn was the better team.
Shed no tears for Kentucky or Virginia Commonwealth. Kentucky's coach John Calipari has another monster recruiting class coming in next fall. Meanwhile, VCU's coach Shaka Smart, who also won five games in the tournament having started in the First Four, can write his own ticket out of Richmond to a power conference bottom-rung school. After the riots last night, getting out of town might happen sooner than later.
Now we have Butler and Connecticut in the title game tomorrow night. I predict it will be close. I also predict the power conference officials will make it mighty tough for the Bulldogs to prevail. Why? A Horizon League national champion in basketball would give BCS bashers in football a lot of ammunition. At this time, with what's happening in Phoenix related to the Fiesta Bowl, bowl system bashers do not need more ammunition. Enjoy the last game!
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