Quote:
Originally Posted by kelmac07
How 'bout them Butler Bulldogs?  Always pull for the underdog.  |
Especially if you're a Met fan, right Mac?
So, in case you missed it:
Butler 52 - Michigan State 50 = Congratulations to the Butler Bulldogs, and to the Horizon for reaching this zenith. I wish them the best of luck tonight (and I suspect they'll need some), and I hope their center Matt Howard has recovered enough from the concussion he received Saturday evening to be able to play. According to Coach Brad Stevens, he was cleared by the doctor after the shootaround, but would NOT play if there is any question as to his health and well-being. Good for coach. It may be a national championship game, but once you remove all the adjectives from that one thing is clear - it is a game. As for that game Saturday - well, meaning no disrespect to either team, but I cannot remember ever seeing an uglier Final Four contest in my entire life. You can "credit", if that's the proper word, some of that to the tight defense of both squads, and some to the fact that the zebras seemed to get involved with nearly every play to disrupt any possibility for either team to establish or maintain any sort of flow. But much of my disappointment (hey, I had no dog in the hunt, and merely wanted a good game) lay in the fact that neither team could shoot as well as your average high-school kids. Butler did play hard enough to win the game (as did the Spartans, most of the time) and their 12 steals and 7 more made FTs were the key to their victory. The Bulldogs have now attained a 25-game winning streak, with their last loss being that 10-point one at UAB just before Christmas. Can they make it 26? Well, in order to do so, they'll have to get past:
Duke 78 - West Virginia 57 = I suspect that, if you are a Mountaineer fan, you might claim that this was an ugly game also, and you'd be right - on their side of the court, that is. But at the other basket, Dook finally showed the nation that complaints about how over-rated they are are themselves over-rated. Much like WVA did against Kentucky, the Blue Devils grabbed control of the contest with the outstanding shooting which had abandoned them for much of the tournament. This, coupled with an effective defense (which, wisely, did not overplay and gamble as much as they did against Baylor, thus preventing some of those backdoor cuts and layups which hurt them in that game) led to what amounted to a fairly easy victory. And though I was as saddened as anyone to see Da'Sean Butler go down with that torn ACL at the 8:59 mark, I don't want to hear that the Mountaineers would have come back with him on the court, nor do I want to hear that it was Zoubek's fault, nor even that it should have been his 5th foul on a block instead of the charge as was called. (And remember, this is from a Tar Heel who's still p!$$ed that Gerald Henderson broke Tyler Hansborogh's nose in a game which was already over!) But most of all, I don't want to hear from Huggins again until next year at the earliest, as his complaint to the refs regarding Duke that "They don't foul!" was just silly. What game was he watching? At that point of the game, the only thing that was keeping the Mountaineers within shouting distance was the disparity of calls going AGAINST the Blue Devils. Duke ended the game 7-9 from the charity stripe, while WVA was 14-19. Yeah, right - the refs were totally calling the game Coach K's way. But that's enough of that $#!+. Congratulations to Duke, and best of luck tonight against the hometown favorites (in all but the money-line, that is). Let's see if you can quiet the crowd as quickly as did my Heels in Detroit last year.
So, what's my pick? Well, as I hinted above, the line is 7 in favor of the Blue Devils. Three possessions? Yeah, that's fair. These are two very similar teams, but Duke has the edge in talent and focus, whereas Butler may have the emotion and will have the crowd. But even if Howard can play effectively, Dook has Zoubek and the Plumlee trees down low. So, even if the shots aren't falling for Singler, Scheyer, and Smith, the offensive rebounds and second-chance buckets will be too much for the Bulldogs to overcome. Their streak ends tonight, and Duke hangs a fourth banner.
Right or wrong on that, I am right on one thing: This will be you last chance this season, so
ENJOY!