Each day this week during the regional rounds of the NCAA Tournament we’re asking some of our top correspondents to put together a collection of notes and interesting tidbits about each region.  If you know of something that we should include in tomorrow’s submission, hit us up at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Butler (Andrew Murawa)

• While Butler playing in the Final Four is undoubtedly good for Bulldog fans, there is some question of whether it is good financially for Indianapolis.
• John Gasaway at Basketball Prospectus says that Matt Howard staying out of foul trouble is not nearly as important as  you would think, but that Butler forcing turnovers is.
• For the Sporting News’ Ryan Fagan, Gordon Hayward is the most important piece of the puzzle for the Bulldogs, and the most important player in the Final Four.
• Gregg Doyel thinks this may be the year that a mid-major (or Cinderella, or just plain old “smaller school”), in the form of these Bulldogs, wins the title.
• But Detroit Mercy head coach Ray McCallum thinks there may be a script for beating Butler; the question is whether anyone can follow that script, something his Titans failed to do this season.
• ESPN’s Tim Keown has an interesting comparison of the approaches that Butler and Kentucky take towards their programs, with the Bulldogs (mostly by necessity) building piece by piece for the future while Kentucky (and more specifically, John Calipari) relies on short-term superstars.

Duke (Patrick Sellars)

• The Bleacher Report puts their own spin on a preview of the Duke Blue Devils.
• An article from the Star Tribune discusses how Duke ruined the Final Four because they are the only unlikable team in the mix.
• Here’s an article from the Miami-Herald on why people despise Duke, and apparently it starts with Coach K. I suppose the rest of the ACC hating on Duke continues into the offseason.
• Want to know who the best white Duke player of all time was? Well now you can! Thank God Josh McRoberts missed the list.

Michigan State

• 538.com’s Nate Silver proves what we all know as fact: Tom Izzo is really good at this coaching thing.
• Raymar Morgan has had a Spartan career saddled with expectations and ups and downs, but he’s back in the Final Four and comfortable with how his career has played out.
• Tom Izzo is a Michigan Man through and through, and very proud of that fact.
• A revived Durrell Summers is a large part of the reason why MSU is back in the Final Four despite a rough finish to the end of the regular season.

West Virginia

• The WaPo delves into the love affair that West Virginians have with their Mountaineers, showing the deep pride the citizens have for their team and players.
• None other than Mountaineer legend Jerry West discusses just how much he likes this team, of which his son Jonnie is a part.
• Despite the love that citizens of the state have for their team, only one player, little used Cam Payne is from the Mountain State.  Well, he and Huggins, of course.
• The endless saga of Truck Bryant’s foot took another turn today, as Huggins said that it’s “very doubtful” that he will play in the Final Four next weekend.

rtmsf (3998 Posts)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 at 2:43 am by rtmsf and is filed under 2010 ncaa tournament. Tagged: butler, cam payne, coach k, duke, durrell summers, final four, gordon hayward, jerry west, john calipari, josh mcroberts, matt howard, michigan st, ncaa tournament, ray mccallum, raymar morgan, tom izzo, truck bryant, west virginia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.