The road ends here, finally it is time for the Final Four. A season long of buzzer-beaters, upsets, bad goaltending calls, and heart breaks have lead to today in Indianapolis. This will be one of the most epic and historic semi-final games we have seen in a while. All four are peripheral power houses with four legendary coaches. how much better can this get? Oh wait, it can get better… one of the teams is chasing perfection. The stage is set, now we wait and see who’s still dancing.
Michigan State vs Duke
No one was expecting this semi-final match up except for Tom Izzo and my dad. This
game will be a barn burner, in the words of the great Dick Vitale, the Spartans are playing like the team of destiny. They are the UConn of 2015. For the first time this power house got the chance to try on the glass slipper, and what do you know, it fits perfectly. The Spartans had arguably the toughest path to Indianapolis as a 7 seed, but that did’t stop them. The key for Sparty is senior forward Branden Dawson. He will have the tough task of taking on Duke’s sensational freshman, Justise Winslow. Winslow has been a match up nightmare so far in this tournament, but for the first time Dawson has a favorable matchup against him because of Dawson’s brute strength and post game. If Sparty wants to march on look for Branden Dawson to take advantage of Justise Winslow.
For Duke the key is their pressure defense. Louisville failed at corrupting Michigan State’s offensive flow at the end of the game so Coach K better hope the Devils D-up. Senior guard Quinn Cook is the heart and soul of the Duke Blue Devils and he needs to shut down Travis Trice. Trice has been the best player in the NCAA Tournament, but I believe he will have a tough time scoring on Cook and the talented Duke guards.
Prediction: Duke 61 MSU 59
I believe Coach K will get the edge today and beat out Tom Izzo, the man of March.
Wisconsin vs Kentucky
Last year in the Final Four, Aaron Harrison broke the hearts of Badger fans around the country. Wisconsin has been playing all year to get to this point again to seek revenge on the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats. This is the game the whole nation has been waiting for, the best team in the country vs the best player in the country. Who will prevail? The amount of emotion that will be in this game is huge. Wisconsin is hungry and angry. They are still bitter about Aaron Harrison’s deep three and they want to return the favor. I believe the key to this game is which ever team is able to stay poised and keep their emotions in check. Wisconsin will pour their heart out into this game, but I believe that will hurt them early on. Often when a team has so much emotion they start off a little rusty. Kentucky will jump out to a big lead and the game will be decided whether Wisconsin responds or not. This game will be another classic, but will have the same ending as last year.
Prediction: Kentucky 67 Wisconsin 66
veterans. It is a good thing Duke has Quinn Cook and Coach K. I believe the key to the game for both squads is Jahilil Okafor. Duke has a huge advantage on the offensive side of the ball because he is so strong and Frank the Tank can sometimes be a weak defender. Early in the Kentucky game was a good example. Karl-Anthony Towns was dominating him early, but Kentucky went away from that and, it came back to bite them. Coach K will not make that mistake. Duke is known for going man to man defense. Since Kaminsky can stretch the floor because of his three point shooting it would take Okafor out of the paint and he would no longer be a threat as a shot blocker. This game will be a battle of the two best players in the nation. It will be some spectacle to see.
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