While I’m sure most of you are frustrated with this year’s tournament because your bracket was busted early by underdogs like Norfolk State and Lehigh, you are probably still interested in what should be one of the most entertaining Final Fours in recent years. This weekend, Kansas, Ohio State, Kentucky, and Louisville—four traditional power house programs—will travel to New Orleans and fight for the right to be called National Champions. Here are my predictions:
Kentucky over Louisville
Just as everyone in Alabama seems to be fiercely divided along Auburn or Alabama lines, everyone in Kentucky seems to be either loyal to the Cardinals or to the Wildcats. The script could not have been written any better, as one of college basketball’s best rivalries will make its way to New Orleans this weekend for a Final Four showdown.
The teams had a close battle back on New Year’s Eve when Kentucky edged out Louisville 69-62, but that was long ago. Riding an eight-game winning streak and pulling the upset win against #1 seed Michigan State just last week, Louisville is playing at its peak and looks to give Kentucky a big challenge in the semi-finals.
Not to be overshadowed, Kentucky is still widely considered to be the favorite and many project them to be the ones cutting down the nets on April 1st. Performing on a consistent level of excellence all year, earning a 36-2 record on the season, Kentucky is determined to blast through everything in its way to the championship, with Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at the helm, the projected first and second overall picks, respectively, in the upcoming NBA draft.
Louisville’s defense has been shutting down everyone they’ve faced thus far, as they held Michigan State to under 35% shooting, but I’m not sure that will be enough. Although they forced Kentucky to 29% in an earlier meeting, they were still unable to get the win. Kentucky’s depth is unmatchable and the Cardinals will have no one-on-one advantages at any position, which is why Kentucky will take coach Calipari to his second ever championship game.
Kansas over Ohio State
In the battle of the two seeds, this game will be decided by each team’s ability to score points outside of their star players. Everyone knows that Kansas’ forward Thomas Robinson, a first team All-American who will likely win the Naismith award, and Ohio State’s forward Jared Sullinger, also an All-American, can score a lot, so whichever team has someone else ready to rise up and make plays should come out as the victors.
The likely candidates to lead their teams to the championship are guard Tyshawn Taylor for Kansas and forward Deshaun Thomas for Ohio State. Both are second on their teams in scoring and Thomas is also second in rebounds. Taylor leads Kansas in assists per game, as well. Thomas has had a phenomenal tournament thus far, averaging 21.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and should be a tough matchup for the Jayhawks. However, Taylor came up huge against North Carolina in the Elite Eight, leading Kansas with 22 points, after struggling through the tournament’s first three rounds. I look for his momentum to carry over, leading the Jayhawks back into the Championship.
Kentucky over Kansas
While I won’t be surprised if Kentucky faces Ohio State in the finals rather than Kansas, I don’t think it will matter much as Kentucky is just too dominant and athletic on both sides of the floor for anyone to beat them right now. Compared to coach Cal’s past teams, which lacked experience, this team has some sophomore leaders who were on last year’s Final Four club and now know how to handle the pressure. I will be shocked if coach Calipari doesn’t finally earn that championship ring that has eluded him for so long.
