Welcome back, sportz freaks to another edition of Z Money's Sportz Talk. Three weeks ago, the NCAA tournament began with 65 different collegiate teams vying for a chance to be named national champions. Today, that number is down to four. And it's a rather peculiar final four, if I do say so myself. Let's be honest, thousands of people filled out brackets before the tournament began, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who predicted that Duke, West Virginia, Michigan State, and Butler would all make it to this point. Sure some, like myelf, had one or two of these teams reaching the Final Four, but throw in a Cinderella story in Butler, and a reprise from last year's Final Four in Michigan State, and we have one of the strangest semifinals in the tournament's history.
Tonight, things might only get crazier. Just imagine a championship game with Butler involved. It's certainly not impossible, especially considering that the Bulldogs are practically playing at home, just miles away from their own court. Of course, the Spartans will have something to say about that as they look to get back to the tournament finals for the second consecutive year after a disappointing loss to UNC in last year's finale. On the other side of the bracket, we have the lone #1 seed left in Duke taking on a red-hot Mountaineers team from West Virginia. There's no telling what may happen, but one thing's for sure: when it's all said and done, we will have our championship match. And what kind of sportswriter would I be if I didn't offer my take on each of these two semifinal match ups? I won't name a champion just yet, but I will give you my predictions for the games being played later tonight. So let's get started, shall we?
First up....
#5 Michigan State vs. #5 Butler (6:07 PM EST)
If there's one lesson I've learned in this tournament, it's that anything can and will happen this year. The other lesson I've learned is to never doubt Tom Izzo. After having predicted that the Spartans would win the whole tournament last year, I eased off their bandwagon this season and only took them into the Sweet 16. However, Izzo's squad has proven me wrong time and time again. On the flipside, Butler has done exactly the same. Every time I think the Bulldogs have a snowball's chance in Hell, it comes back to bite me. I thought for sure last week that it would be Syracuse who would knock them off, but the Orange fell. Then it was the Wildcats of Kansas State to the rescue, but Butler knocked them off as well. Now, as I look at this match up, I see a Spartan victory forthcoming, but does that mean it'll actually happen? Butler has the home crowd on its side, and a world of momentum to work with as they face last year's runners up. Michigan State is banged up, but I feel like the Spartans have just enough juice left to get back to the championship game.
Winner: Michigan State
#1 Duke vs. #2 West Virginia (8:47 PM EST)
I took the Blue Devils straight to the finals when I first filled out my bracket, and even had them over West Virginia to get there. As I sit here and look at the game in question, however, it's hard not to like the Mountaineers' chances. Coach Huggins has West Va. on one heck of a run, and it's going to take a much stronger effort from Duke than they've given in their past few contests to make it to the finals. Da'Sean Butler is a strong leader, and West Virginia is riding on a tidal wave of momentum, but Duke has quietly slipped through the cracks as the only #1 seed remaining in the tournament. Coach K seems to have the Blue Devils focused right now, but if they continue to play sloppily as they have in their past two games, the Mountaineers will pick them apart. I like West Va, but I'm also a man of my word. I'll stick with Duke for now.
Winner: Duke
So there you have it. Duke vs. Michigan State for the championship! Of course, knowing my luck (and the way this tournament has gone thus far), I will go a whopping 0-2 tonight and we'll see the Bulldogs and Mountaineers duke (pun intended) it out for NCAA supremacy. Until then, enjoy the games!
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