2010 Final Four Features Unexpected Underdogs

After several surprising upsets in each round of games, the teams in this year’s NCAA men’s Division I basketball semifinals showcase the unpredictability of this tournament. Top-seeded Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse teams fell to Northern Iowa, West Virginia and Butler, respectively. Northern Iowa, the underdog ninth seed, could not maintain its momentum and lost to Michigan State; MSU now joins West Virginia, Butler and Duke in the final push for the national championship.
The first of two semifinal games features the Butler Bulldogs against the Michigan State Spartans. It’s safe to say that few people expected Butler to make it past both Syracuse and Kansas State, but this young team’s talent and endurance have landed them in the Final Four.
Not surprisingly, none of ESPN’s analysts picked Butler to make it this far, but when half of the nation’s brackets (including President Obama’s) were busted thanks to Northern Iowa, it became apparent that this year’s tournament would certainly be different.
Michigan State boasts experience over Butler’s youth; the Spartans have made it to the Final Four in six out of the last twelve seasons. This is thanks, in part, to the strong presence of Coach Tom Izzo, who has led the team to every one of those Final Four appearances.
The only problem the Spartans seem to have is following through and winning the title itself. Only one of those six appearances resulted in a championship, which the team claimed in 2000. Last year, in their most recent bid to claim a championship, the Spartans fell to North Carolina, but now they look to spoil Butler’s Cinderella run in order to get another shot at the title.
The second game will feature a popular matchup between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Duke Blue Devils. Although West Virginia has never won a championship, this year’s team rose above the other talented teams in the Big East to win the conference title, and now they hope to add another trophy to this season’s collection.
Da’Sean Butler, Joe Mazzulla and Devin Ebanks have played amazingly well for the Mountaineers. It was the dominant performances from these three players that resulted in West Virginia’s victory over number one-seeded Kentucky. Now only Duke stands in the way of West Virginia’s first championship game appearance since 1959.
Duke is a formidable opponent. Like Michigan State, the Blue Devils are also familiar with the Final Four, and they own three NCAA titles (1991, 1992 and 2001). Coach Mike Krzyzewski (pronounced sha-chef-ski, and yes, it is a ridiculous last name) is now regarded as one of the best college basketball coaches in the sport’s history, and he is also known for coaching the USA men’s basketball team to a gold medal in Beijing almost two years ago.
Coach K’s star players this season have been Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and Kyle Singler. While Scheyer and Singler have taken care of the offensive end of the game, Zoubek has been the defensive and emotional leader of this Blue Devil team. If Zoubek and his teammates can hold off West Virginia’s powerful offense, they will be responsible for Duke’s seventh appearance in the national championship over the past twenty years.
As for my bracket, it died a painful death when Kentucky lost to West Virginia. Although it would be foolish of me to make another prediction after such failure, I will anyway. I believe West Virginia has what it takes to win a national championship, and I predict that they will defeat Michigan State to claim the NCAA title.