2010 Men’s basketball Final Four
Where » Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis; TV » CBS
| No. 5 Butler vs. No. 5 Michigan St. Tipoff » 6:07 p.m. |
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 West Virginia Tipoff » 8:47 p.m. |
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West champs » Glaring weakness » Butler isn’t a big team, and that could be a problem vs. Michigan State. Gordon Hayward is 6-foot-9 and a good rebounder. But he’s all of 207 pounds. Willie Veasley is a 6-3 forward. And Matt Howard is 6-8, 230. The Spartans have a quartet of big bodies to knock around Butler’s frontcourt. What they’ll try to do » Control the tempo. Butler is so efficient offensively — one of the top 50 offensive teams in the country, according to stat guru Ken Pomeroy — it puts great pressure on opponents to make use of its limited possessions. Opponents get around 65 touches against the Bulldogs, so they better make them count. How to stop them » Beat the defense down court? That’s an obvious solution. But Butler doesn’t give the ball away much, ranking 59th in Division I in fewest turnovers. In that case, force bad shots. This isn’t a great rebounding team. The only problem? If opponents get too physical, Butler will hurt them at the foul line (73.9 percent). Midwest champs » Glaring weakness » Injuries, turnovers and center play. Guard Chris Allen and forward Delvon Roe are both playing with injuries. Roe will need knee surgery after the season and has been limited. Starting point guard Kalin Lucas is out with a ruptured Achilles. Turnovers have been a problem, and there’s no legitimate starting center. What they’ll try to do » Run their set offense for good looks. They typically are not consistent from the perimeter but have been in the tournament. They want to wear down a thin Butler squad. A solid bench helps, especially given the injury issues. They’ll hammer the offensive boards and play strong man-to-man defense. How to stop them » Hound Korie Lucious. He has done a solid job replacing Lucas, but he’s still an inexperienced starter. Butler needs to put him in tense situations late (Maryland fans might disagree) at the line. If Butler can slow Summers from the outside, it has a good shot. The Bulldogs must test the Spartans’ interior defense. |
East champs » Glaring weakness » Even if Truck Bryant can’t play, West Virginia has survived all season without a true point guard running the show. When it can’t get into a flow, poorly taken 3-pointers rain down from the perimeter. Without clean looks and layups, the Mountaineers will find it hard to build a workable margin against the Blue Devils. What they’ll try to do » Da’Sean Butler will have the ball in his hands late, but WVU needs the streaky scorer to get going early. As on defense, the Mountaineers’ length and versatility can be intimidating on offense as the forwards will step out for 3s and the guards will cut inside for layups. How to stop them » Defensively, challenge the jump shots fiercely, get numbers on the glass and don’t quit on any possession until a miss is safely secured. Offensively, match physicality for physicality, creating contact with the Mountaineers before they can dictate how they would like to guard the play. South champs » Glaring weakness » Brian Zoubek and Miles and Mason Plumlee can be dominant on the boards — but not if they’re stuck on the bench with foul trouble. Duke’s size up front is inversely proportional to the mobility of its big men. The more they’re forced to move and cover one-on-one, the more they can be exploited by West Virginia’s long, athletic frontcourt players. What they’ll try to do » Duke plays as fierce and aggressive defense as any team in the country with smart players who have a knack for taking away passing lanes. Offensively, the Blue Devils patiently will work Singler and use the offensive glass as a route to second-chance points inside and out. How to stop them » Offensively, be smart and quick with the basketball and attack the paint but don’t force shots because Duke will make opponents pay in transition. Defensively, don’t lose sight of Smith and don’t try to be a hero; the Blue Devils pull away from opponents with demoralizing, old-fashioned 3-point plays. |
