Ranking the Final Four Teams
LAS VEGAS, NV (The Spread) – How would we rank the four teams left in the 2014 NCAA Tournament? Here’s a look.
The Final Four, hosted by AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, tips off with Game 1 between UCONN and Florida at 6:09PM ET, while Game 2 between Kentucky and Wisconsin is scheduled to tip at 8:49PM ET.
Let’s take a look at how these teams rank against each other.
The Florida Gators were the overall #1 seed coming into the Big Dance, and that still holds true. Florida has proven me wrong every step of the way in this tourney. The Gators have proven why they are the overall #1 seed. The last time this team lost was back in December at UCONN. You better believe the Gators will remember that loss, not that they needed any extra motivation.
The team I ranks econd in this Final Four is Wisconsin. The Badgers have played a great tournament to this point. Wisconsin has been tested a couple times, and have dug their way through. This team has been underestimated for the majority of this tournament by oddsmakers and bettors. Wisconsin has a lot of the qualities I liked in UVA, such as tough defense, unity, and great coaching. If Wisconsin catches the right breaks, this team will be holding the tournament trophy over their heads come Monday night.
The Kentucky Wildcats come in third in my ranking. The Wildcats look like they have gotten hot at just the right time. The Wildcats are obviously a young team that is coming off three consecutive emotional wins in games that could have easily gone either way. The question mark on this team is the maturity level to keep it together in the big spotlight of the Final Four. Kentucky, when playing their style of ball, is capable of beating any team. But sometimes they can be inconsistent and get stuck in a half court game.
UCONN comes in fourth. The Huskies have obviously had a great tournament and season, but they are coming out of a conference in the AAC that many would consider to be overrated. The Huskies have played well, and not to take anything away from here, but they haven’t exactly had to chew through any powerhouses to get to this point. The Huskies already picking up a win versus the Gators really goes against them in this spot. The Huskies pulling off a season sweep on this Gator team would be hard to believe, but anything can happen in the Big Dance.
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