Down to the Unexpected Final Four

It's a bit like Bolton Wanderers winning the FA Cup, David Nalbanian winning Wimbledon or even Chad Campbell winning the Masters; they're all an anti climax. In a tournament you look for two things; a showdown between the two greatest teams to ever play the game or you hope for David vs Goliath.



Butler Who? The Bulldogs make history with their first Final Four appearance.

Butler Bulldogs, Duke Bluedevils, Michigan State Spartans and the West Virgina Mountaineers are just 40 minutes away from the NCAA Championship final. But if you asked any vivid fan about who they thought would be heading to Indianapolis on April 4th two teams would dominate their voices; the Kansas Jayhawks and the Kentucky Wildcats.



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John Calipari's men were knocked out Saturday evening by West Virginia who's accuracy outside the paint was phenomenal but Kentucky didn't help themselves in what was by far their worst performance of the season which ironically ended their campaign.

The Cinderella story of the tournament has been included with the Butler Bulldogs reaching their first final four by defeating the likes of Temple, Murray State, number one Syracuse and finally Kansas State. They now face off against the Duke Bluedevils who have been in scintillating form of late with Nolan Smith hitting 29 points in their elite eight game against Baylor.



Image: Nolan Smith has been unstoppable in this tournament and is proving the main focal point of attack for Duke.

The second semi-final is between Michigan State and West Virginia, two teams that I really didn't expect to be competing for the NCAA crown. The Spartans hit a notable slump in form with three straight defeats during the season that seemed to seal Tom Izzo's fate but with determination and a change in tactics the Spartans have silenced the critics with four wins against the likes of Maryland and Tennessee.

The brilliant thing about the NCAA is that every year a new team rises to the occasion due to the scouting and education system. Unlike the United Kingdom the NCAA doesn't use money as an issue due to the fact that sporting scholarships are paid for by the government. So in many ways seeing the underdog prevail in this sport doesn't come to as much of a surprise.