The 2011 Final Four was officially set this past weekend and it quite possibly might be the most surprising final four lineup in NCAA Tournament history.In fact for only the third time since 1979 there will be no #1 seeds among the Final Four participants.
Next Saturday we will have #8 Butler (last year’s National Champion runner-up) taking on #11 Virginia Commonwealth (a first four team this year) in the early game. In the later game there will perhaps be a more likely match-up in #3 Connecticut taking on #4 Kentucky. Some websites and experts out there are already dubbing this Final Four the “Cinderellas” vs. the “Cheaters”. That moniker coming from Jim Calhoun having his program at UConn heavily sanctioned back in February while John Calipari is a walking STD in terms of college basketball coaching since every program he touches he infects with NCAA sanctions (i.e. UMass, Memphis)
However, can you really classify the other side as “Cinderella’s”?
VCU I believe you can. They’ve had an amazing run as a first four team on their way to upsetting #1 Kansas by 10 in their Elite 8 match-up. Butler on the other hand really cannot be seen as a “Cinderella” team. This is the second consecutive year that Brad Stevens has gotten his team back to the Final Four and was a missed shot away last season from beating Duke to become National Champions. Butler is a legit program that other programs will now have to take note of going forward.
My early predictions will pit #8 Butler against #3 UConn in the National Championship game with Butler winning their first NCAA Tournament title in school history.
Sound Crazy?
I think this year’s tournament is proof that just about anything can happen.
