Will This Final Four Live Up to the Hype?

by James Finneral

The 2015 Final Four features three one seeds, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Duke. The fourth team is the Michigan State Spartans, who have taken out some of the best teams in the country just to make it to Indianapolis. Here's a look at the two games going down on Saturday.

#1 Kentucky vs. #1 Wisconsin: 

This game is the equivalent to a national championship. These are the two hottest teams coming into the Final Four and the winner will have a good chance against either Duke or Michigan State. This is also a rematch from last year's Final Four where the eight seeded Wildcats beat the Badgers by a score of 74-73. Wisconsin will be playing with a chip on their shoulder and they are certainly capable of taking down Kentucky, but I will give a slight edge to Kentucky. As of now Wisconsin is being powered by their superstar front-court players, Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker. These guys have been excellent in the tournament, but they are going to have a tougher time against the Kentucky front-court as opposed to the Arizona front-court. On the other hand Wisconsin will win this ball game if Sam Dekker plays similar to his Elite Eight game where he went 5-6 from behind the arch and finished with 27 points. Trey Lyles may try to match up with Dekker, which would most likely give Dekker a solid opportunity to create open shots for himself. The X Factors in this game for Kentucky are the Harrison twins. This is where Kentucky can create the greatest matchup problems for Wisconsin. The twins have been to the Final Four before and will be great leaders for the Wildcats. Bronson Koenig is going  to have trouble keeping up with Andrew Harrison and Harrison is going to be able to get to the lane and kick it out to his brother or Devin Booker. This is going to be a dog fight that will come down to the last possession of the game. It will be interesting to see if history repeats itself or not.

Prediction: #1 Kentucky 78........ #1 Wisconsin 76 (OT)


#1 Duke vs. #7 Michigan State:

Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo have once again lead their squads to the Final Four and one of them will be heading to the championship. Duke and Michigan State are two of the most successful programs in history and they are both hungry for another title. Michigan State has taken out the likes of Virginia, Oklahoma and Louisville. The Spartans seem to have something special about them, but I think this is where their journey ends. Michigan State has some great guards in Travis Trice, Denzel Valentine and Bryn Forbes, but they will be matched by Duke's incredible guard duo of Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook. The difference in this game will be Duke center and Wooden Award Finalist, Jahlil Okafor. Okafor is going to cause some real problems Matt Costello and the Michigan State front-court. Okafor will be able to overpower Costello and if he is double teamed he can kick it to shooters on the perimeter. Michigan State will certainly make this a close contest. Branden Dawson has been an intangibles guy for Michigan State and has really picked up his play in the tournament. If Dawson can help Costello contain Okafor, the Spartans can pull out a win. This will be a battle, but I give a slight edge to the Blue Devils.

Prediction: #1 Duke 70......... #7 Michigan State 67 

The Final Four always showcases some great basketball and this year will be no different. This is shaping up to be one of the best Final Fours yet and it will all come down to who wants it more.

   

Elite 8 Predictions: Day 1

by James Finneral

After having sixty-eight teams announced in this year's field, we are down to the Elite Eight. In past years the Elite Eight has showcased some of the greatest games in tournament history and this year should be no different. Lets take a look into the first two games of the Elite Eight.

#1 Kentucky vs. #3 Notre Dame:

Notre Dame is a great team with some talented players, but they are going to have issues containing the size and strength of Kentucky. The Irish have Zach Auguste and 6'6" Bonzie Colson down low. These guys will not be able to match up against Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson and Trey Lyles, who are all at least 6'10". Look for Kentucky to get many second chances from offensive rebounds leading to easy scores. The only way Notre Dame will be able to win this game is if they shoot the lights out. With Jerian Grant, Pat Connaughton and Demitrius Jackson, the Irish are certainly capable of taking over a game from behind the three point arch. Unfortunately for Notre Dame the Harrison twins of Kentucky will do a nice job containing the shooters and Notre Dame will have nowhere else to turn. Even if the Notre Dame guards play well, Kentucky will have too much of an advantage in the post.

Prediction: #1 Kentucky 68...... #3 Notre Dame 54


#1 Wisconsin vs. #2 Arizona:

This game is a rematch of last year's Elite Eight except Wisconsin is now a one seed and Arizona is a two seed. Last year's game ended dramatically with Arizona's, Nick Johnson missing a buzzer beater and Wisconsin advancing to the Final Four. I believe we are in store for a similar treat because these two teams are equally talented. Arizona has a talented point guard in T.J. McConnell to go along with 6'7" wingman Stanley Johnson. Wisconsin also has a nice wing with Traevon Jackson, Negil Hayes and Sam Dekker. The difference in this game is going to be Wisconsin senior big man, Frank Kaminsky. Kaminsky has been the leader for Wisconsin all year and has been nothing short of phenomenal in the tournament. Nothing against Kaleb Tarczewski, but he will not be able to handle Frank the Tank down low. This game will go down to the wire, but Kaminsky will give Wisconsin the slight edge that they need to knock out the Wildcats and head to Indianapolis.

Prediction : #1 Wisconsin 62....... #2 Arizona 58 

Potential Early Upsets in the Tournament

by James Finneral

They don't call it March Madness for no reason. Year in and year out the NCAA Tournament provides us with multiple exciting games filled with overtimes, buzzer beaters and yes upsets. There are shocking upsets in just about each round of the tournament and the people of America try to predict where these upsets will take place in their brackets. I will give you a couple games in the round of 64 where some upsets could take place. If you use this article to help fill out your bracket and you are correct, you can thank me, but if not it was your choice and you only have yourself to blame.

Midwest Region: 

#11 Texas over #6 Butler:

Butler is a great team that could do some damage in the tournament, but they hit some bad luck drawing Texas for their first game. The Longhorns are big, physical, athletic and create some real matchup problems for Butler. Firstly Texas is 8th in the country in rebounds per game and Butler is outside the top 50. Myles Turner at 6'11", 240 lbs is going to be a nightmare for Kameron Woods to match up with. Look for Turner to come down with many offensive rebounds leading to easy buckets. Another potential issue for Butler will be the Texas back-court. Although Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham are good, they are not going to be able to match the speed and athleticism of Isaiah Taylor and Javan Felix. Taylor is one of the premier guards in the country and he will have to perform big time for the Long Horns to make a run in the tournament. Overall the matchups will greatly favor Texas and they have a good chance to knock off Butler.

West Region:

#10 Ohio State over #7 VCU:

There is nothing about VCU that makes them likely to be upset, but Ohio State has one of the best players in the entire nation in D'Angelo Russell. Russell's numbers don't lie. He has averaged 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game in a very tough Big Ten Conference. Russell has the ability to take over basketball games and I think he will do just that against VCU. He can hurt you from inside and out and very few teams have found the solution to stopping him. Also look for Sam Thompson to use his athleticism to his advantage and come up with many baskets from drives to the hoop. VCU has played some talented teams, but they have yet to face a player of Russell's caliber. No matter how much they prepare for him VCU will be not be able to slow Russell down and the rest of the Ohio State offense will flow because of this.

East Region:

#9 LSU over #8 NC State:

Although this is only a 9 over 8 upset, many people seem to think that NC State has this game locked up and should look forward to Villanova. NC State should be focussing all their energy towards LSU because the Tigers are absolutely no joke. The reason why LSU will win this game is simple, they have a powerhouse front-court. Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin have been the best players for the Tigers this year and have both earned spots on the All SEC First Team. These two both make their presence known on the offensive and defensive end. This year LSU has averaged the 12th most rebounds per game and a large part of that comes from Mickey and Martin. NC State is going to have trouble containing both of them down low. They will also not be able to get very many offensive rebounds, limiting their second chances. Trevon Lacey of NC State will be tough for the LSU guards to defend, but it will not matter because Mickey and Martin will take over the game. NC State's front-court is just not strong enough to contain this dynamic duo and LSU will be the team that needs to focus their efforts on Villanova.

South Region:

#12 Stephen F. Austin over #5 Utah:

Utah has had a tremendous season and their program is rising, but I do not think they are a tournament team. As for this Stephen F. Austin team they are looking to at least match their performance last year, where they knocked out the number five seeded, VCU Rams. The Lumberjacks are returning many guys this year and are hungry for a deep run. They are led by junior, Thomas Walkup who has been productive in all aspects this year. This Stephen F. Austin team has a chance to take down Utah this year because of their ability to share the basketball. They lead the country in assists per game with nearly 18. When you share the basketball typically you create open shots and Stephen F. Austin has done that all year. They are 5th in the country in field goal percentage, shooting nearly 50% from the field. The Lumberjacks create open looks by sharing the basketball and with many knock down shooters, they can be a tough team to stop. I believe Stephen F. Austin will go on huge runs against Utah and Utah will not have the resilience to fight back. There has to be one 5 over 12 upset and this will be it.

This looks to be an extremely exciting tournament and I cannot wait to see what madness is in store for us.

Day 4: Big East Tournament

by James Finneral

The 2015 Big East Championship game showcased the Villanova Wildcats and the Xavier Musketeers. Both teams had to fight past quality ball clubs to make it to the championship game. It was obvious that both teams wanted the win, but it was also obvious that one team wanted it more than the other.

Villanova came out knocking down jump shots and putting instant pressure on the Xavier offense. Josh Hart was a huge contributor off the bench once again with 15 points and 7 rebounds. JayVaughn Pinkston also came up big in the first half and did an excellent job of containing Matt Stainbrook in the post. With Stainbrook essentially taken out of the game, Xavier found themselves down by 13 at half time. In the second half Xavier would go on little runs, but it was not nearly enough to cancel out the performances from Dylan Ennis and Darrun Hilliard. The second half never really became exciting because Xavier never trimmed the lead down to single digits. The game ended with a final score of 69-52. Hilliard finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds and Ennis finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds. The overall team effort is what allowed Nova to cruise past Xavier.

Villanova was the strongest team in the Big East all year long and deserve to bring home the trophy. With this victory under their belt, the Wildcats have most likely locked up a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. It will be interesting to see how Villanova and other Big East teams will fare in the big dance.

Day 3: Big East Tournament

by James Finneral

Yesterday consisted of two great games featuring teams that should get into the NCAA Tournament. Coming into the semi finals people expected some intense match-ups and these games did not disappoint.

#1 Villanova vs. #4 Providence:

This game featured the Co MVPs of the Big East in Ryan Arcidiacono and Kris Dunn. Kris Dunn looked like the real MVP in this game and lead the way for Providence with 22 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds. Unfortunately for the Frairs basketball is a team sport and their team did not play their best. In the early going Providence's defense was pitiful allowing many layups. Luckily for them Villanova did not take full advantage of the defensive lapses and only lead by 5 at halftime. In the second half the Friars came to life. Although a lot of their points were scored by Kris Dunn, the Friars team looked more energized and focused on the defensive end. For Villanova Daniel Ochefu, Darrun Hilliard and Josh Hart all played well and combined for 45 of the Wildcat's 63 points. The saying "big time players step up in big time games" cannot be emphasized enough in this game. Although Arcidiacono only scored 6 points, he stepped up when his team needed him to. The game was tied with three seconds to go and Arcidiacono drew a foul on Ben Bentil of Providence. Just like big time players should Arcidiacono knocked down both his free throws and won the Wildcats the game after a half court heave from LaDontae Henton. The final score ended up being 63-61 and Villanova is back in the Big East Championship after being knocked out early last year. Villanova played hard all game and deserved to win this one. They are just one game away from one of their main goals and they need to stay focussed and finish the drill.

#2 Georgetown vs. #6 Xavier:

Xavier proved to the nation last night that they are very worthy of a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Big Matt Stainbrook had his way down low and was the key for the Musketeer's offense. When Georgetown double teamed Stainbrook it opened opportunities for shooters to have good looks at the hoop. With their offense flowing Xavier was up by 9 points at halftime. In the early second half Xavier dominated and was up by as much as 21, but then the let their guard down. Georgetown started knocking down jump shot after jump shot and made it a very close game down the stretch. It all came down to free throws in the end and although Xavier missed a couple they were still able to make enough to win the game. For Georgetown Jabril Tarwick had 19 points and Isaac Copeland had 15 points and 7 rebounds. It was a valiant effort by Georgetown, but they dug themselves into too deep a hole in the early second half. Stainbrook lead all scorers with 20 points and he also grabbed 9 rebounds. Xavier advances to face the number one seeded Villanova Wildcats for the Big East Championship. Xavier seems to be hitting their stride at the right time and have a chance to knock off the Wildcats if they play their best.    
                                                                                  

Day 2: Big East Tournament

by James Finneral

The second round is where the real action starts in the Big East Tournament. All of the top teams in the conference are featured in the four games. This is the time where we figure out which teams are contenders and which teams are pretenders.

#1 Villanova vs. #9 Marquette:

Marquette was not ready to face the number four team in the nation last night. They were not able to match up with Villanova the first two times they faced off in the regular season and last night was no different. The Wildcats came out firing three pointers and they kept falling. Josh Hart came off the bench to knock down four three-pointers in the first half to add in to his 20 overall. Hart lead all scorers in the game and that is probably why he won the Big East Sixth Man of the Year Award. The contribution from Hart had Villanova up big at the half. In the second half Darrun Hilliard and Dylan Ennis put the game away with easy buckets. Kris Jenkins dropped 9 off the bench, all from three pointers in the second half. The real highlight for Villanova was their defense. They were able to hold a Marquette team that scored 78 the other night, to 49. This Wildcats team is the most talented in the Big East and if someone wants to beat them, they will have to be ready to go.

#4 Providence vs. #5 St. Johns:   

The unpredictability of March is unreal. The Providence vs. St. Johns matchup was supposed to be a high quality competition with tournament hopes on the line. March has surprised us once again as the Friars beat down the Red Storm. The game featured the top two scorers in the Big East in LaDontae Henton and D'Angelo Harrison, but Henton proved to be more of a factor. Henton shot 7-14 from the field and finished with 20 points to go with 12 rebounds. With an overall great team effort the Friars went into the locker room up by 13 at half. In the second half St. Johns was never able to go on a big run so they could not come back. Co Big East Player of the Year and Providence point guard, Kris Dunn showed once again that he is the real deal. Dunn had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists including some highlight reel plays. He is a big time player and it will be hard for any point guard to match up with him in this tournament. Rysheed Jordan played well for St Johns, but no one else on the team stepped up and the final score was 74-57. Providence advances to face the Villanova Wildcats who they can beat if they play their best basketball.

#2 Georgetown vs. #10 Creighton:

This game was supposed to be a cake walk for Georgetown, but Creighton showed up to play. In the first half the Creighton defense did not look up to par allowing many layups and fouling a lot. Luckily for Creighton, Georgetown made a couple of mistakes which allowed the Blue Jays to stick around. At the half Georgetown was up 31-25. In the second half it was the D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera show. Smith-Rivera was been one of the best players in the entire Big East. The rest of his team was not capitalizing on the offensive end so Smith-Rivera took it into his own hands. He scored 16 points in the second half and ended with a total of 25, which lead all scorers. James Milliken lead the Blue Jays charge again with 17 and they ended up beating Georgetown by 1 in the second half, but that was not enough. The final score was 60-55. This Georgetown team definitely showed that anyone can beat them and if they don't play their best, they might lose to Xavier who defeated a solid Butler team.

#3 Butler vs. #6 Xavier:   

This was easily the best game of the tournament thus far. Butler started the game up 8-0, but Xavier showed tremendous resilience with a balanced offensive attack. Three pointers were falling and they could score in the paint as well. After some back and forth play, the Musketeers went into the locker room up 30-28. The second half is where it got interesting as both teams held each other to under 30 points. Andrew Chrabascz lead Butler down the stretch coming up with buckets to help the Bulldogs take the lead towards the end of the game. With about two and a half minutes to go Trevon Bluiett knocked down a three that tied the game and neither team scored for the rest of regulation. Bluiett and Jalen Reynolds played well during overtime taking it to the rim and knocking down foul shots. The Butler offense just was not able to get going in OT and they ended up falling to the Musketeers by a final score of 67-61. Xavier has a talented roster that can be a threat to the Georgetown Hoyas in the next round.



The tournament is starting to heat up and I have feeling that there will be some epic showdowns to come.

Day 1: Big East Tournament

by James Finneral

It was a great first day at Madison Square Garden for the 2015 Big East Tournament. With two upsets in the first day of the tournament it is certainly obvious that we are in March.

#8 Seton Hall vs. #9 Marquette: 

Coming into the game people thought that this 8 vs. 9 matchup would come down to the wire, but that was absolutely not the case. A tough Golden Eagles team under first year coach Steve Wojciechowski smacked down a hungry Seton Hall club. Marquette was in control for the entire game. They were able to score from the paint with the power of their big 6'11" center, Luke Fischer who finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds. No one on Seton Hall could stop senior sharp shooter, Matt Carlino. Carlino has been the best player for the Golden Eagles this year and has shot lights out from behind the arch. Last night was no different. Carlino knocked down 8 three pointers which was a large part of his 26 points. After a first half beat down Seton Hall tried to battle back, but the Golden Eagles would have nothing of it. They still beat Seton Hall by 9 in the second half which totalled to a final score of 78-56. Seton Hall freshman, Isaiah Whitehead played well and looks to have a promising future. As for the Golden Eagles they advance to take on the number one seed in the Big East, the Villanova Wildcats. It will be a tough game, but anything can happen in March.

#7 DePaul vs. #10 Creighton: 

This was another game that was not very exciting. The theme of the game was unexpected heroes. Creighton has not been the same team since Doug McDermott left, but they are still playing with some heart. In the first half the teams were evenly matched in terms of offensive efficiency. The only reason this happened was because of Creighton junior guard, James Milliken. Milliken is a starter for the Blue Jays, but has never been their main guy, but he was last night. Milliken finished with 22 points, most of which he had in the first half. He did his part to keep Creighton in the game and his teammates responded in a big way. In the second half the DePaul defense fell apart allowing many layups and stupid fouls. There offense could not pick up the slack and the Blue Devils ended up losing by a final score of 78-63. The were solid efforts by DePaul players, Billy Garret Jr. and Jamee Crocket, but it just was not enough. Creighton received a great spark from Devin Brooks off the bench who finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Milliken and Brooks are the reason why Creighton won and it will be interesting to watch them play moving forward.

If the first day was filled with this much upsets I cannot wait for the rest of the tournament.

A Down Year for the Orange

by James Finneral

With early losses to mediocre teams it did not seem like the Orange would be big hitters in the NCAA this year. They had plenty of talent, but could not seem to pull out victories in big games. The struggles continued when freshman power forward, Chris McCullough went down with a knee injury which sidelined him for the rest of the year. McCullough has NBA potential and was just starting to get used to the program when he went down. Losing McCullough's presence down low was painful because the Orange could not just rely on Rakeem Christmas to match up with the tough ACC front-courts. Then the Orange lost to teams like Miami and Clemson. They still battled towards the end of the season defeating teams like #12 Louisville and  #9 Notre Dame. These late efforts were not enough to put the Orange inside the top 25 and they finished with 18-13 record. This is one of the worst records in recent years for Syracuse, but that was only the beginning of their problems.

The NCAA issued a nine game suspension for legendary Syracuse head coach, Jim Boeheim due to many rule infractions over the years. The NCAA believes that, "it's head mens basketball coach failed to monitor his program". Due to the many violations Syracuse will lose three scholarships per year for four years totaling to twelve overall. The Orange are also forced to remove the wins from the seasons where the violations took place which included 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012. This takes away 108 wins from Boeheim's grand total bringing him significantly down the list of the winningest coaches in college basketball history. Not that it matters with their record, but the Orange also self imposed a post-season ban which means they will not even compete in the ACC tournament. It is depressing to see the year end this way and these violations are going to hurt the Syracuse program in years to come.  

Who's Your MVP?

by James Finneral

Before this year most people believed it would be a two man race between LeBron James and Kevin Durant for the NBA's Most Valuable Player. Given  Durant's injuries and LeBron's adjustment to Cleveland the MVP throne is now open. LeBron has played well this year, but he is on the outside of the MVP conversation. Here are a couple guys that I think are the frontrunners to take home the MVP this year.

3rd Place: James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets: 

James Harden could be the best pure scorer in the NBA. He can take it to the rim and can shoot from anywhere on the floor. Ever since he was traded to the Houston Rockets Harden has taken on the role of being the best player on his team. This year the burden has been even greater on him because powerhouse center Dwight Howard has missed quite a few games for Houston. Harden has responded greatly to the larger work load. This season he has averaged just about 27 points. Something that impresses me more about Harden this year is that he is averaging 7 assists and 5 rebounds. For a guy that is considered to be a scorer and a guy who takes a lot of shots, it is amazing that Harden can average 7 assists. He is leading the Rockets To the playoffs and having a career year and that is why James Harden is a huge candidate for MVP.   

2nd Place: Stephen Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors:

The past few years Stephen Curry proved he could play, but this year he has gone above and beyond is one of the frontrunners to win the MVP. Curry is known for his incredible shooting especially from three point range. So far this season Curry has lived up to his reputation shooting 48% from the field and 41% from three. Curry has also developed great point guard skills. He can score at will, but he will often look to dish it to his teammates as well. This year Curry is averaging close to 24 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds. It is amazing that Curry is able to keep up these numbers on such a talented team. Possibly the most impressive thing about Curry is his effectiveness as a leader on the court. He is always keeping the game in control and he has lead this Warriors team to the best record in the extremely tough Western Conference. Curry has turned the Warriors franchise around and could very well being having the best season in the NBA. 

1st Place: Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder:

I know that many people may disagree with me, but I believe that Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder deserves this year's MVP. For my argument I'll start off with the numbers. During this historic run he is putting up, Westbrook has taken over as the NBA's leading scorer with 27 points, trailed by James Harden with 26.9. People take shots at Westbrook for being a ball hog, but the guy averages 8 assists per night. Westbrook is also aggressive on the glass averaging 7 rebounds. Westbrook is also currently on a four game triple-double streak which has only recently been done by Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. That is some nice company to say the least. The statistics are MVP caliber, but what is even more impressive is how his performance is effecting his team. When Kevin Durant went down again people were unsure if the Thunder could make it to the playoffs. Westbrook doesn't care if he has to do it without Durant or with an indented face he is going to lead this team to the playoffs. Much like Harden, Westbrook has responded to the greater burden and the masked man deserves to be rewarded for his hard work. 

Honorable Mentions: 

LeBron James, SF, Cle

Chris Paul, PG, LAC

Anthony Davis, PF, NO