David and Goliath have met again, and this time, they have landed in Houston in a different form. The 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships have reached the Final Four with unexpected twists and a blueprint that basically no one predicted.
An avid fan, even an expert, could not have predicted this set of teams to meet in the Final Four, which begins April 2nd. This year’s teams have shifted the balance of power in past years to form a hybrid of the sports stories of David and Goliath.
The four teams left in the tournament are Connecticut, Kentucky, Butler and Virginia Commonwealth. Connecticut and Kentucky bring tradition having compiled nine national titles in their existence and both play in power conferences, the Big East and Southeastern Conference, respectively. The two teams will face off against one other in the prime-time slot as tipoff is scheduled for 8:45 p.m.
On the other side of the bracket come two teams who are as unexpected to this year’s Final Four as a groundhog in late winter.
Butler reached the national championship game in 2010 but fell just short of the title and enters the 2011 Final Four as a surprise team. Losing their star point guard Gordon Heyward to the 2009-2010 season to the NBA Draft, the Horizon League champions entered the tournament as a No. 8 seed and according to many analysts were supposed to lose in the second round to No. 1 seed Pittsburgh.
The “weak” 2011 Butler team has beaten No. 1, No. 2, No. 4 and No. 9 seeds to advance to consecutive Final Four appearances. 2010 doesn’t seem to be a fluke anymore now, does it?
For VCU, a team that got treated like an overweight fourth grader at recess has made a Cinderella story become reality. A team who did not receive one pre-season top-25 Associated Press vote has turned from a team that doesn’t belong, to a team that people now want to throw the rock around with.
VCU was selected as the last team into the tournament, with much skepticism of the fact that they are not considered in the four power conferences, and that they did not even win their conference tournament. They lost their last five of eight games to end the season and were selected as a No. 11 seed in the tournament. VCU fans get the last laugh, though.
The Rams of VCU have outscored their opponent by 12 points per game in the tournament, knocking off No. 1, No. 3, No. 6 and No. 10 seeds, including Southern California in the play-in game to then compete in the opening round.
It looks like Cinderella can dance freely with the glass shoe placed perfectly on her foot. As the Davids of the tournament rest up for their game this weekend, the Goliaths stand tall representing basketball tradition. But this year, Goliath was not oh-so-mighty.
Connecticut, like VCU, did not receive one preseason top-25 AP vote, and were picked by Big East Conference coaches to finish tenth in the conference. With seven freshmen entering the squad in 2011, they looked to help propel the team back to the promise land with junior point guard Kemba Walker at the helm.
Connecticut did not make the NCAA tournament in 2010 and ended their season in disarray. With a new-look Husky team, fans and coaches were in for a surprise. Behind a fast and impressive start, the Huskies jumped to No. 7 in the nation in mid-November and Walker was turning heads of basketball fans alike.
Walker turned into a candidate for National Player of the Year with remarkable stats that far exceeded the competition and his personal stats from 2008-2010.The Huskies looked as if they had their swagger back, and they did.
Connecticut has won nine straight games and while on the streak, they won their conference tournament. To do so, they won five games in five days, then four straight games in the NCAA Tournament. It appears as though Goliath had to turn for some of David’s advice.
As for Kentucky, one of the most recognizable and most storied programs in college basketball, not only faced diversity entering the 2010-2011 season, but has been on a roller coaster type of a season.
The Wildcats lost five players to the NBA Draft after the ‘09-’10 season, all first-round picks with one of the players, guard John Wall, selected as the number one overall pick.
With Kentucky welcoming the No. 2 high school freshman point guard according to Scout.com Brandon Knight, the Wildcats looked for the freshman to bring back the program and help lead them to their first Final Four appearance since 1998.
They did just that after battling an up-and-down season. They won their conference tournament and are winners of their last 10 games. They’ve reached the Final Four to play Connecticut, who they lost to last November by 17 points.
So I wonder, who is David and who is Goliath left in the tournament? Four teams that in the beginning of the year no ESPN analyst picked as their national champions remain. Four teams that have surprised the sports world and reached the Final Four, college basketball’s most prestigious venue.
Is it VCU who plays Butler, programs that have never won a national championship or ever received National Player of the Year honors? Or is it Connecticut and Kentucky, storied basketball programs that entered this season with no recognition for a shot at the tournament title.
David and Goliath have become one. They have mixed into a breed that belongs in the positions they have put themselves into; a shot at the title.
There is no dominant team left, but rather only teams which have fought from the ground up this season to reach the Final Four. Take your pick, who you got? In my opinion, David walks home victoriously with his slingshot in his left hand.
Michael Paonessa can be reached at mpaonessa@spartans.ut.edu.