A Sneak Peek At The Final Four
West Virginia vs. Duke (-2.5, 131)
The second-seeded Mountaineers (31-6) cake-walked their way through the first three rounds of the tournament, defeating all double-digit seeds, but proved they belong in the Final Four for the first time in 51 years by beating top-seeded Kentucky on Saturday.
West Virginia has been doing it with hard-nosed, Bob Huggins-style defense, holding opposing offenses to under 35 percent shooting from the field. The Wildcats were held to 4-for-32 from the 3-point line.
They'll have a hard time matching that feat agaiunst the Blue Devils (33-5), who have been playing very Coach K kind of ball lately. They hit 11-for-23 from behind the arc in Sunday's 78-71 win over Baylor.
Duke won their four games by a combined 64 points; West Virginia by 56. Both teams are 4-0 ATS in the tournament and a perfect 11-0 SU on neutral courts.
De'Sean Butler has led a balanced attack for the Mountaineers and starting point guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant is trying to come back for the Final Four after breaking a bone in his foot last week.
Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith have been carrying the Blue Devils on their backs - all the way to Indianapolis.
This one looks too close to call, but I'll give to Coach K by a nose.
Predicted score: Duke 70, West Virginia 68
Butler vs. Michigan State (+1.5, 126)
Anyone who has picked the Spartans (28-8) to go to the Final Four in their bracket the past few years is happy. Anyone who picked Butler (32-4) this year is even happier.
These No. 5 seeds soldiered their way to Indy with toughness and togetherness. Michigan State rallied from the loss of leading scorer Kalin Lucas to beat Northern Iowa and Tennessee over the weekend, while the Bulldogs ran their winning streak to 24 by beating No. 1-seeded Syracuse and No. 2-seeded Kansas State.
Butler did it with defense, holding all four tournament opponents to less than 60 points. The Bulldogs have allowed only three opponents to score more than 70 points all season - all three losses.
The Spartans are giving a spirited effort and are benefiting from their tournament experience. They won their four games by 3, 2, 7 and 1, all the result of clutch play in the final seconds. Senior captain Raymar Morgan was the hero in Sunday's 70-69 win over Tennessee by hitting the game-winning free throw with 1.8 seconds left, then wisely missing the second to leave the Vols with a desperation heave.
Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack have been the driving force for the Bulldogs, combining for 69 points and 27 rebounds in beating the top two seeds in the West. Now they return close to home for their first Final Four appearance against a program that plans on going every year.
In a hard-fought battle, the edge goes to Final Four experience.
Predicted score: Michigan State 66, Butler 65.