CBS executives are very pleased with the outcome of yesterday’s Regional Finals action. They needed either Michigan State or Duke to win their game - probably moreso Duke - to ensure attracting higher ratings for this upcoming weekend’s Final Four. Though the die-hard casual hoops fan would have tuned in if Tennessee and Baylor had joined West Virginia and Butler, a basketball powerhouse would be absent and leave less intrigue to others. But even with the Spartans and Blue Devils taking care of business yesterday, many feel as if this is one of the weaker Final Fours since 2002 (had to work that in there…cause it’s true). People see two #5 seeds, a #2, and a Duke team that received a #1 seed along with the easiest road to the Championship weekend. However, this Final Four is much stronger than the seedings lead on.
People want to make Butler out to be a Cinderella team. This is their first Final Four in school history, they don’t play in a power 6 conference, and they were given a 5 seed. Once again, I take issue with the seeding this year by the committee. They did a great job of placing teams in the tournament, but a poor job of seeding them. Seemed like they went more based on feel than they did on how good some teams were. Butler deserved a higher seeding than it received. Butler finished 8th in the coaches poll, 11th in the AP poll, and were in the top 15 of both RPI and KemPom. I am not sure if the committee even takes KemPom into consideration, but the RPI ranking of 12th should have had heavier influence than it did. This was a team that deserved a low 3 or the top 4 seed in the tournament. Butler only had one bad loss all season long based on RPI rankings, and that was to Minnesota, another team that made the NCAA Tournament. However, Butler overcame their poor seeding, because they are damn good, and now have an opportunity to win a National Title in front of their home crowd.
Michigan State is actually the closest thing we have to a Cinderella in the Final Four. They were ranked lower and rated lower than any other amongst the remaining teams. A lot of this had to do with their play at the end of the season, especially a 3 game losing streak that they went on in February. This losing streak was preceded by their best start in conference history, at 9-0. However, MSU did end up as co-champions in the Big Ten, and have a great history under Tom Izzo in the tournament. That being said, they did deserve their seeding based on their ratings. But if there was a team that can throw its regular season results out the window when the tournament begins, it happens to be the Spartans as they are now in their 6th Final Four in the last 12 seasons.
I expected West Virginia to win the Big East title when the season began. I am not a Bob Huggins fan, but he can coach basketball. He turned around programs at Cincinnati and Kansas St before arriving in Morgantown. Many believed that West Virginia deserved a #1 seed based on their strong regular season and their Big East Tournament run. They probably would have received it, had Syracuse been more forthcoming with the injury to Arinze Onuaku. However, the Cuse finished with two straight losses to end the season, and WVU should have got it anyway. They didn’t just beat Kentucky in their Elite Eight final, they manhandled them. They showed that some of these guys are not as NBA ready as many of us thought.
Duke Sucks. I hate them. They’ll probably win. Frig them.
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