The second half of the Final Four field was filled Sunday in not totally unexpected fashions.
*The Kentucky Wildcats are far and away the favorites to win the national title on April 2.
As if more proof was needed, Coach John Calipari’s squad deliveredit in forceful fashion, 82-70.
If only the outcome of that South Regional final in Atlanta was as in doubt as the final margin might suggest.
The Wildcats led by 20 points by intermission and should be given major props for not getting disinterested and snapping on Final Four caps with 10 minutes to go.
Freshman center Anthony Davis is going to be the consensus – if not unanimous – Player of the Year and he’ll be the first player selected in the next NBA Draft.
But the best – or, at least, most complete – player in New Orleans will be his classmate and teammate, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
His impact on both ends of the floor, as well as his effort and competiveness, is what I think elevates the Wildcats from the most talented team in the country to the best team in the country.
And there is a big difference between being one or the other – or both.
I don’t think the Wildcats are going to blow the opposition away on Saturday and then on April 2 in New Orleans – the competition is too good and will be too well prepared.
But, as I’ve felt for the last weeks or so, the multiple Wildcats (especially Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist) are going to have to have sub-par efforts and the opposition is going to have to play extremely well if Kentucky is going to get knocked off in the semifinals by Louisville or by Ohio State or Kansas in the final.
Kansas-North Carolina – with the Jayhawks pulling away down the stretch, 80-67 – was every bit as competitive and tight as had been anticipated.
Ultimately, though, Kansas prevailed because Coach Bill Self’s team played better half-court defense than Roy Williams’ Tar Heels could.
Not to discount the performance of the Jayhawks – and I think this is Self’s best coaching job since I began watching his teams when he was at Tulsa – or walk-on Stilman White’s efforts on Friday and Sunday.
But the absence of UNC sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall was, in reality, the “x factor” that weighed the heaviest in the outcome.
The Tar Heels weren’t nearly as efficient or explosive offensively against Ohio or Kansas without No. 5 on the floor.
The “x factors” for the Jayhawks was the respective performances of juniors Elijah Johnson and Jeff Withey – just as the case has been all season in which Self’s club has performed so much better than almost anyone outside of Lawrence anticipated.
Leave a Reply