Each day this week during the Final Four 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.
Michigan State (Tom Hager)
- Alabama football coach Nick Saban, who was an assistant at Michigan State when MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo was also an assistant, insists that Izzo is a football coach who happens to coach basketball. The statement should come as no surprise given the Spartans’ reputation for toughness and rebounding.
- Not only is guard Delvon Roe still injured, but apparently the knee injury is affecting him mentally as well.
- The one thing Izzo does not have to worry about is his team overlooking Butler. Draymond Green says that being overconfident would be “completely dumb.”
- Although Joe Wilner says that there will be no top 10 picks from any team, and that this could be the least talented Final Four in years, it will also be one of the most wide-open Final Fours as well.
- According to Pat Forde, Draymond Green might not be just the smartest player among the remaining teams, he might be the smartest player in college basketball altogether.
West Virginia (Ryan Restivo of SienaSaintsBlog)
- Rebounding will be key in this game Saturday between West Virginia and Duke.
- Deniz Kilicli could be a factor in the game against Duke after coming off a 20-game suspension for violating the NCAA’s amateur rules.
- This is a rematch worth watching, maybe the Mountaineers will be able to repeat a similar feat to their six-point win over Duke two years ago in the NCAA Tournament.
- The fashion police weigh in on Bob Huggins’ attire.
- Truck Bryant shot with the team on Friday but isn’t expected to have an impact in Saturday’s game.
Butler (Andrew Murawa)
- Butler is two victories away from a national championship, and while it would still be a surprise if they got those two victories, there is no dominant team looming in their path. They could actually do this.
- The question, then, is how? Well, a school playing in their first Final Four a few miles from their campus should have plenty of crowd support.
- They’ll need to keep their emotions in check and not get rattled on the big stage.
- Next, they’ll need to do things they’ve done all year, such as compete on the glass and defend the perimeter. They’ll also need to keep the game at a comfortable tempo and grind it out in the half-court.
- And, in a Final Four loaded with basketball royalty on the sidelines, Brad Stevens will have to hold his own against coaching legends.
Duke
- Joedy McCreary writes that Coach K still has his golden touch.
- The Indy Star got into a little hot water in publishing a photo of the Duke head coach with horns drawn onto his head. Coach K called it “juvenile” and said it upset his grandkids.
- Despite the flap over the drawing in the local newspaper, the coach says that he still has a soft spot for Indianapolis, site of his first national title in 1991.
