After four rounds of madness, the Final Four for the NCAA tournament has been set.  Only four teams remain in the tournament: Butler, Michigan State, West Virginia, and Duke.  In the next round of games, we will see Butler face off against Michigan State

in a battle among 5-seeds, while West Virginia and Duke go head to head in their matchup of major conference champions.

The first semifinal game will be a matchup of two five seeds.  Butler will be making trying to make it into the finals for the first time in school history while Michigan State looks to get back to the championship game for the second straight year.

Butler

The Butler Bulldogs are the “Cinderella” of this year’s tournament, after beating both the one and the two seeds already in the tournament.  They came into the postseason as a Cinderella that few dared to pick, despite their 32-4 record, and 20 game win streak.  Now, the Bulldogs have extended that streak to 24 games and are in the Final Four for the first time in school history.

The Bulldogs are led by Gordon Hayward, a versatile guard/forward that scores 15.5 points per game, while also grabbing over eight rebounds.  Hayward is supported by three other players also scoring double figures:  Shelvin Mack (14.2 PPG), Matt Howard (11.8 PPG), and Willie Veasley (10.1 PPG).  These four balance the scoring attack, making it difficult to beat the Bulldogs by just stopping one player.  Butler had played a fairly easy schedule, however, prior to the tournament.  Despite marquee wins against Ohio State and Xavier early in the year, Butler played very few good teams in the Horizon conference.  In the tournament, however, the Bulldogs have beaten Syracuse and Kansas State, both ranked in the top 10 in the final regular season standings.

Michigan State

Michigan State, on the other hand, has played nothing but tough competition this year, leading to their 28-8 record.  The Spartans are looking to reach the finals for the second consecutive year, where they embarrassed last year by a North Carolina team that was one step above the rest throughout the year.  MSU is looking for payback from last year’s ending, and Butler might be the recipient of that anger.

The Spartans will be without their best player, however, as point guard Kalin Lucas ruptured his Achilles Tendon earlier in the tournament.  Kori Luscious has stepped in brilliantly for the Spartans, hitting a huge shot towards the end of the game against both Tennessee and Maryland.

I look for Butler to take advantage of the Spartans’ weakness at the point guard position.  With their balanced scoring attack and team defense, the Bulldogs will be able to come out on top against the Michigan State, and become the first five seed since Indiana in 2002 to reach the finals.

Pick: Butler – 71 Michigan State – 67

In the other semifinal game, the Mountaineers of West Virginia will take on the Duke Devils.  West Virginia comes into the game with a record of 31-6, while Duke is 33-5.

West Virginia

West Virginia, the two seed in the East Region, has won ten games in a row, including wins against Villanova, Notre Dame, Kentucky, and Georgetown twice.  The Mountaineers are a young squad, with a trio of sophomores among the teams scoring leaders.  West Virginia’s leader, however, is senior Da’Sean Butler.  He averages over 17 points and six rebounds per game, and leads the team on the court.

One of the Mountaineers’ sensational sophomores will not be playing in the semifinal, however.  Point guard Darryl Bryant will be out of the game, and it is unlikely that the Mountainers will be able to replace his offensive and defensive presence on the court.  West Virginia faithful hope that the Mountaineers will be able to overcome this obstacle, but it will be rough going for the Mountaineers.

Duke

The Duke Blue Devils have been waiting for the last three years for this tournament to come.  Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith are all seniors this year.  The “Big Three” have led Duke to the Final Four for the first time since 2004, and the Blue Devils look to win a championship for the first time since 2001.  Duke is finally experienced, mature, and ready to get back into the championship.

The Blue Devils are led by the Big Three, all of whom average over 17 points per game.  Scheyer runs point guard, and leads the team on and off of the court.  He is a scorer, totaling over ten points in all but two of the Devils’ games this year.  However, Scheyer also distributes the ball extremely well, with almost five assists per game.

I look for Duke’s guard play to be too much for the Mountaineers, and the Devils will get back to the finals for the first time since 2001.  With a combination of Smith, Scheyer, and Singler, Duke will be tough to stop, especially for a team lacking its point guard.

Pick: Duke – 78  West Virginia – 75

For questions and comments, Jesse Buchsbaum can be reached at jessebu@gmail.com.

Photo courtesy of chicagohd.com.