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.