One of the most exciting sports weekend's of the year is finally here! In about one hour, 75,000 people will jam into AT&T Stadium to see who will have the right to play for the National Championship on Monday night. It has been a thrilling tournament full of crazy upsets, buzzer beaters, and games that have driven the loyal fans of these teams insane. For most of these players, this will be their biggest basketball moment of their lives. Every bucket, every turnover, every loose ball is so crucial when you get this late in the tournament. All four teams that are still remaining are playing their best basketball at the right time, and it should lead to some great games tonight. So as you get ready to watch the action later, here is some information on the teams playing today and what you need to know.
#7 Connecticut v.s. #1 Florida 6:09 p.m.
The first of the two semi-final games tonight features a rematch from early December. In that game, Connecticut stunned Florida at the buzzer with Shabazz Napier's put back jumper. The Gators haven't looked back, winning 30 straight games with such ease that even the Miami Heat are impressed. However, this will be a totally different game than the one from four months ago. Both teams have improved a lot since that first match-up and it will be interesting to see who asserts their will on the other. The No. 1 seeded Florida Gators (36-2) without a doubt have the most experience out of any of the remaining teams. Billy Donovan is looking for his third National Title in eight seasons. They start four seniors and one sophomore, (Young, Yeguete, Prather, Wilbekin, Frazier) and have been in the last three Elite Eight's so they are used to big games. On the flip side, No. 7 seed UConn (30-8) doesn't have as much experience, but they have a lineup that has come up huge late in the season. It's led by senior guard Shabazz Napier and juniors Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels with Niels Giffey and Phillip Nolan rounding out the starting lineup. This is second-year head coach Kevin Ollie's first trip to the Final Four. UConn is also the first 7 seed to advance to the Final Four since the tournament field expanded in 1985.
How the Huskies handle the full court press of Florida is a big factor in this game along with finding enough scoring outside of Napier. The Boatright-Frazier matchup is huge because the point guards, Wilbekin and Napier, will find a way to put up a lot of points, but which ever off-guard can have the bigger game will be huge for his team. Florida will try to assert its will inside with Young and Yeguete, but UConn has solid bigs of their own to try and match the Gators. Amida Brimah, the 7-foot center for the Huskies gives them a spark defensively and protects the rim. Expect this game to be low scoring with a lot of half court sets. Both teams are very strong defensively so good shots will be hard to come by.
My prediction: Florida 65 Connecticut 60.
#8 Kentucky v.s. #2 Wisconsin 8:49 p.m.
John Calipari's Wildcats were expected to be here since they were ranked in the top five in the preseason but after an array of bad losses that quickly changed. Losses to Arkansas (2x), LSU, and South Carolina lowered those lofty expectations for the tournament. Well, it looks like those young talented freshmen found the magic touch and are playing their best basketball of the season. Their starting lineup includes Aaron and Andrew Harrison, Julius Randle, Dakari Johnson and James Young. Willie Cauley-Stein was their starting center, but he suffered an injury in the Sweet Sixteen that will keep him out of the Final Four. Kentucky (28-10) is probably the most talented team out of the four, but its all about if that talent can come together. It looks as though it has since they had huge upsets over Wichita St., Louisville, and Michigan.
Wisconsin is usually a very defensively oriented team under head coach Bo Ryan, but this is definitely the most talented team he has ever had. This is Ryan's first trip to the Final Four and it is well deserving because he is one of the better coaches in college basketball. They average 73.5 ppg, which feels like about 100 when you play in the Big Ten. The Badgers are led by freshman forward Frank Kaminsky, and sharp shooters Ben Brust and Sam Dekker. Traevon Jackson and Josh Gasser provide stability at the guard position. Wisconsin (30-7), a lot like Kentucky, went through a dry spell in the middle of the season where they had a hard time winning games. The Badgers own the title of the most efficient team in the country shooting 46% as a team and only committing 8 turnovers per game, which is #1 in the country.
When looking at this matchup, the thing that jumps out right away is the battle down low between Kaminsky and Randle. They are the best players on their respective teams and lead them on both offense and defense. Both teams can put up points, but the difference in this game is the Harrison twins. The real reason that Kentucky is still playing today is because of their improvement in March. They have matured beyond their years and look like a team destined to win it all. If we see the Wildcat team we saw against Michigan expect another Kentucky win, if not Wisconsin could definitely lock up defensively and pull out this win.
My prediction: Kentucky 71 Wisconsin 64
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