This is not a final four anyone could have imagined, but here we are. The "best" match-up we can hope to see ends up being a 3 v. 8. Rarely does an NCAA tournament consist of the ridiculousness that 2011 has held, but it is for the betterment of all college sports. If anything shouts "PLAYOFF SYSTEM!" to the BCS it is this year's tournament. The reason this season has been beyond special is one of two "mid-major" programs has the opportunity to play for a National Championship. I must admit, VCU should never have garnered this opportunity. I will stand by forever that the Rams had no business being selected into the field of 68, but they certainly have made the most unlike such powerhouse at-large selections as Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Purdue, and Syracuse who decided "the second round is far enough for us."
 |
| I actually never want to make the Final Four |
In the end, everyone has hopped on the VCU bandwagon, including myself even though I hate VCU, but honestly why wouldn't one? VCU has been the most exciting team. They have out Jimmer-ed Jimmer. The only step left for Shaka Smart and the Rams is to out Butler Butler and advance to the National Championship....That's right, they're right back here again. Who though without Gordan Heyward the Bulldogs could return to the Final Four? Now, I think we can all concede the point the Southeast this region was about as good as a high school intramural league. The Southeast had the worst 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 11 seeds in the tournament. When the only viable Final Four team goes down in the second round there's trouble in River City.
 |
| Yes |
Butler pulled a VCU and took advantage of this sub-par region filled with mediocrity worthy of acting in the Phantom Menace (zing!). Now, that we've settle this, how did they do it? Enter patience. Sure, Butler may have been the second best team in it's region from the start, we'll never know. All we do know is Butler is the one team in the tournament who has looked the exact same throughout the tournament, it is really quite annoying. Butler down 5 is the same as Butler up 10. I've never seen a team which looks more comfortable on the court as a team. It was the reason I picked San Diego State to make it to Houston, little did all of you know I actually meant Butler! The team plays smooth, making sure they always play tight defense and run through the offense. It is rare to see Butler have to take a panic three towards the end of the shot clock, they often find a better shot earlier in the possession. This patience could be the difference maker for the bulldogs against the VCU bombardment. When the Rams are 10 for 10 from three and Butler finds themselves down 36-22, they will remain calm and fight back inch by inch the way it looked Kansas was going to...until they panicked and VCU was able to turn the game into a frenzy of shots. As much as I hate Bo Ryan and Wisconsin and everything their offense stands for, this tactic would be efficient against VCU. Limit their possessions so their frenetic shooting of threes goes from shooting fifty percent at 15-30 turns into. Limit VCU's possessions, you limit their scoring abilities because (using my calculator) I checked and 8 < 15. For VCU, they need to do what they've done the entire tournament: (1) believe, (2) make a s**t load of threes. They have outscored their opponents by some ridiculous number that I don't have in my memory or stat book from three point range (I'd guess around 127?) in this tournament. I'd hate to say it Grandpa, but this isn't your Larry Bird-Magic Johnson Final Four. Sorry, Dad, this isn't Duke-Kansas or North Carolina-Kentucky. This is VCU-Butler, welcome to the future/present.
 |
| Watch for those Dukies again next year! They're gonna have a crew of Diaper Dandies to go along with a plethora of PT Peters! And of Course Coach K is back and dammit that's awesome, BABY! |
No comments:
Post a Comment