FF4

Final Four Journeys

March Madness is coming to an end with Final Four action looming in the days to come. Three of the four teams were expected to be in Indianapolis while one has become America's Team. Duke, Wisconsin, and Kentucky were pegged to be championship contenders since the beginning of the season with the gaudy talent each team boasted. On the other hand, Michigan State was not even considered an afterthought to make the Final Four at the start of the season. The Spartans were on the fringe of being an NIT bound team at one point. Although these teams had different roads to get to the Final Four, they each have one common denominator and that is elite coaching. 

Duke

Coach Mike Krzyewski continued his resurgence at Duke as he recruited three possible “one and dones” in Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor, and Justice Winslow. They started the season well as they overwhelmed out of conference teams with their talent and experience from guys like Quinn Cook, Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones, and Rasheed Sulaimon. All of a sudden, Duke hit rock bottom when they lost to a pesky Miami team at home 90-74. In addition, Sulaimon was suspended from Duke with sexual assault allegations against him. That suspension, in my opinion, proved to be the difference in the Blue Devils run. They began to band together and play for one another as well as play loosely. Some of the aforementioned players received more responsibilities and freshman Grayson Allen earned more minutes off the bench. Chemistry was never the issue with this team it was all about Coach K keeping his guys level headed. If they win the championship, it will be because of their shooting ability, uptempo offense, and the play of Okafor, Winslow, and Jones.

Wisconsin

With the John Wooden Award limelight beaming heavily on Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin managed to breeze their way into the Final Four. Kaminsky's size was too much for smaller defenders and too agile for big men with cinder blocks as shoes. Sam Dekker has made himself a lot of money with his meteor-like performances recently while Nigel Hayes and Josh Gasser make their contributions. The only adversity this team faced was when Traevon Jackson missed 19 games with an injury, but Bronson Koenig was consistent during his absence. The Badgers lost games, but there was never a reason to overreact. This team resembles Ryan as they are a gritty group of players and never get rattled when the pressure increases. The advantage they have in any of their games is the chemistry and experience with one another. These are not boys these are men playing alongside one another. The versatility of their players and the ability to spread teams out will be a nightmare for the other teams. Pick your poison is an understatement regarding this group.

Kentucky

When Kentucky returned over 60 percent of their scoring and added Karl Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, and Tyler Ulis they were immediately dubbed as the favorites to win it all. The Wildcats have everything a coach could dream of size, speed, athleticism, a presence in the post, and suffocating defense. Nolan Richardson would agree that playing Kentucky is "40 Minutes of Hell." They started off the season hot as they rolled through powerhouse programs like UCLA, North Carolina, Kansas, Texas, and Louisville. They even rolled through a national team in Puerto Rico back in August! They have certainly made it look easy, but Coach John Calipari would tell you otherwise. He is constantly letting reporters know that it is hard to get so many young players to come together and stay focused. At times, Kentucky's toughest opponent has been themselves. I still think this team is too much for the remaining teams, but I worry about them in clutch situations. Towns wants to own the moment, but everyone else is questionable. If Towns fouls out of a game, this team can be beat.

Michigan State

Tom Izzo called his team "A Team of Destiny" after their Elite Eight victory over Louisville and it is hard to argue that notion. This team has managed to get hot at the right time and reminds me of last year's Connecticut team. Travis Trice certainly reminds me of Shabazz Napier with his competitive spirit and big shot capability. However, this team is far more talented than those Huskies. Denzel Valentine is finally morphing into a top tier player on both sides of the ball and Branden Dawson has a knack for making the right plays. Just two months ago this team was almost poised to be in the NIT as they lacked confidence and traditional Sparty defense. Izzo found a way to push the right buttons and get his team on track as they finished the season off strong and lost in the Big Ten Championship to the aforementioned Badgers. This team has the toughest road to winning it all because they have to make the games ugly to win. Overall, their lack of talent makes it hard for them to win games, but Izzo will give them a chance.