By: Dave Cheng, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer

Throw out the glass slipper.  After an NCAA tournament filled with surprises and upsets, the Final Four is set with Duke, West Virginia, Michigan State and Butler.  None of which are by any means considered Cinderella stories.

Many claimed Duke was given a nearly free ride with the weakest region in the tournament.  Second seeded Villanova was done by the second round, and Duke’s opening game was against Arkansas Pine-Bluff, winner of the 65 versus 64 play in game.  Their only real challenge came in the Elite Eight against third seeded Baylor, where Duke had the upper hand with their height and used it to their advantage by out-rebounding Baylor 41-35. This included 17 offensive boards in the second half alone.  Their final four opponent will be Bob Huggins and his West Virginia Moutaineers.

WVU also had a near cake walk into the final four.  Other than Kentucky, the top seed in the eastern region of the bracket, the team has faced tenth seeded Missouri and 11th seeded Washington beating them by a combined score of 22 points.  Then Daryl Bryant went down with a broken bone in his right foot, and people began doubting how far the team would be able to go without their starting point guard.  The Moutaineers then went on to beat player of the year candidate John Wall and his Kentucky Wildcats in, possibly, the ugliest college basketball game ever.  WVU went the entire first half without making a two-point basket, but drained eight three’s.  UK missed their first 20 three-point attempts and shot just 4 for 32 from beyond the arc, then just 16 of 29 from the free throw line.  It’s hard to imagine a high school team missing that many shots, let alone two major division one basketall programs.  Remember, this game was between a one and a two seed, and filled with NBA talent on both teams. WVU will have to shoot better against a solid defensive team like Duke, but anything goes when it comes down to the final four and this two versus one matchup should be a great one to watch.

If there was any team in the tournament that has shown heart, it’s been the Michigan State Spartans.  Head coach Tom Izzo deserves most of the credit, as he leads his team into the final four without starting point guard Kalin Lucas, a player they struggled without earlier this season.  But Izzo is the real reason for the Spartans success, and has now led his team to the final four in six out of the last 11 years.  Unlike Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, who can sometimes be overshadowed by his players like JJ Redick, Jay Williams and Shane Battier, Izzo is the real star of this team.  He has coached his teams to six regular-season Big Ten championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles and one NCAA national championship.  No disrespect to Coach K, Bob Huggins or Brad Stevens, but Izzo is arguably the best coach left in this tournament and his team will face fellow fifth seed Butler in the semifinals of the March tournament.

If there was a Cinderella story in this tournament (there isn’t), it would be the Butler Bulldogs.  Many picked them to lose to UTEP, who was the 25th seeded team in the country before the tournament started.  Then they squeaked out wins against #13 Murray State (54-52), top seed Syracuse (63-59) and second seed Kansas State (63-56, this game was much closer than the score as KSU had to foul in the final minutes to stop the clock).  However, many also saw Butler as an underrated team and perhaps deserved a higher seed than what they got (5).  This writer (see: March Madness Preview) even stated that Butler and Xavier are almost always two teams to bust brackets every year, and should be closely watched as they could surprise some people.  By the way, Xavier only lost to KSU in the sweet 16 after two overtimes.

Unfortunately, that’s as far as any bragging rights this writer may have when it comes to predictions this year (see: “Duke and Villanova should have no problems finding each other in the Elite Eight.”).  Anything goes in the final four and Butler has as good of a chance as anybody especially considering they’ll be playing five miles away from their campus in Indianapolis.  Butler is, perhaps, “America’s team” right now as the underdog.  If fans have no real favorite out of the final four, Butler is probably the team they’re rooting for.

A new NCAA national champion will be crowned in a few days.  It will either be the team that everybody loves to hate in Duke, whom many claim is still overrated.  A MSU and WVU team playing without their starting point guards, or a Butler team from the lowly touted Horizon league.  The way the tournament has gone so far this year, it certainly seems as if anything is possible.  Madness is sure to ensue one final time this weekend.

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