Final Four Soundoff

Butler Bulldogs

Regular season: 27-9, 13-5 Horizon
Coach: Brad Stevens
Who they beat: Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Florida

How they could win it

Having won 13 straight games, Butler is the hottest of the four teams competing in Houston. Their streak won’t end Saturday against VCU. Experience will give the Bulldogs a huge advantage. Butler has made the NCAA tournament each of the past five seasons, including three Sweet 16 appearances. Butler’s postseason success speaks for itself. VCU thrives on an up-tempo offense and creating chaos with its full-court press. One young, dynamic Hoosier head coach, Brad Stevens, will negate that come Saturday. Having won 116 games in his first four seasons, Stevens has made a name for himself as the youngest coach to reach back-to-back Final Fours. The offense is most dangerous when coming out of timeouts, armed with a play drawn up by the 34-year-old mastermind. Given nearly a week to prepare for VCU, Stevens will have his squad ready to break the Rams’ press and spirits. Unfortunately, like Butler last season, VCU will have to wait its turn before entering “hoopdom” history as NCAA champions.

How they could lose it

Don’t let the No. 11 seed of VCU fool you, this team means business, and it may be too much to handle for Butler. One reason for this lies in the road traveled by VCU. The Rams were forced to participate in a play-in game, getting by USC. No. 4-seeded Georgetown fell next, then No. 3-seeded Purdue. They clipped No. 10 seed Florida St. and basically dominated No. 1 seed Kansas. VCU has dominated just about every team in its path; Butler hasn’t. The Rams are playing with a chip on their shoulder. They are last year’s version of Butler. Now, Butler is in the way of one hell of a freight train. In the end, it’ll be tough to shock a team that’s been doing all of the shocking, the Bulldogs might find that out the hard way.

— Lance Rinker and Colin Likas/The Butler Collegian

VCU Rams

Regular season: 28-11, 12-6 CAA
Coach: Shaka Smart
Who they beat: USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida St., Kansas

How they could win it

Contrary to popular belief, the Rams had this run in them all along. Just ask senior point guard Joey Rodriguez. The night before the game against Kansas in the Southwest Region final— a game that, for the doubters, was supposed to prove once and for all that the slipper didn’t fit— Rodriguez, or @JoeyyRod12 on Twitter, tweeted:

“My soldiers ready for war! We may be shocking the world but we ain’t shocking ourselves!”

Overconfidence? It’s tough to say so following the carnage they left behind with Kansas. The Rams shoot an unbelievable amount of 3-pointers, and they’ve taken that to a higher level in this year’s NCAA tournament. On top of that, they’ve combined white-hot shooting with high-intensity defense, a combination which has been on display for all to see. The scariest part for VCU’s opponents is that they don’t seem scared by the moment or pressured by the exposure. In the beginning of the season, VCU’s coaches coined a motto for the players to carry: our time, right now. It certainly seems that way.

How they could lose it

The Rams may be looking unbeatable thus far in the NCAA tournament, but they do have their flaws. They get into trouble when they rebound poorly and don’t play the game at their tempo. Both factors have caused VCU to lose games during the regular season, but neither of them have been negative influences at all in the NCAA tournament. That’s mainly because the Rams have been playing with an unbelievably high amount of confidence — the single most important factor in their game. Should their Achilles heel appear, though, the Rams certainly may stand a chance to lose.

— Adam Stern/The Commonwealth Times

Kentucky Wildcats

Regular season: 29-8, 10-6 SEC
Coach: John Calipari
Who they beat: Princeton, West Virginia, Ohio State, North Carolina

How they could win it

UK has looked like the most talented, well-rounded team the last two weeks. They shoot the ball well (40 percent from three), they don’t turn it over (1.61 turnover percentage, tenth-best in the nation) and they have finally committed to defense. UK rolled through the SEC Tournament, got through the first two rounds and then took down the No. 1 team in the nation in the Sweet 16. Brandon Knight has emerged as the go-to player late in the game. Josh Harrellson has completed a transformation from a minimal role player to an integral piece of the offense. The run to the Final Four was a surprise to everyone. But the players rode that “shock the world” mentality through the Tournament, and John Calipari isn’t about to let his team be content. He’s been to the Final Four, but he also recognizes that at Kentucky, “more than that” is expected. Now the players are thinking of the championship as their goal. Their talent can bring one to Lexington.

How they could lose it

A mental letdown. Coaches and players are sending the right messages about finishing the job, but it seems entirely plausible that UK feels like it’s almost earned the national title after beating Ohio State and North Carolina. Those back-to-back games felt more like Final Four games, but there are two left. The one thing to work against that feeling is the fact that UConn already beat UK earlier in the year, and a potential championship game would feature the vast majority of America rooting against the Wildcats.

The primary susceptibility is UK hasn’t dominated any team yet, from Princeton to Ohio State. They’ve found a way to win close games after failing to do so at nearly every juncture in the regular season; but as the tournament has demonstrated, close games always have the potential to go the other way.

— Aaron Smith/The Daily Kernel

Connecticut Huskies

Regular season: 30-9, 9-9 Big East
Coach: Jim Calhoun
Who they beat: Bucknell, Cincinnati, San Diego State, Arizona

How they could win it

The Huskies have won nine games in 19 days, and all have been elimination contests. Not only has junior captain Kemba Walker been unstoppable since the Big East championship — where UConn won five games in five days to take the title as a No. 9 seed — but other players have emerged as well. Freshman Jeremy Lamb has played well on both ends, scoring 19 points in the Huskies’ Elite Eight win over Arizona.

This team has a togetherness that may be unmatched. With solid performances from senior center Charles Okwandu and sophomore center Alex Oriakhi, UConn can push past Kentucky in the semifinal and get to the national championship game.

It’s hard not to think Walker won’t have the hot hand when it matters most; look for the National Player of the Year candidate and his teammates to celebrate in Houston on Monday night.

How they could lose it

Walker shot 7-for-17 and 1-for-7 from behind the arc in the Huskies’ 65-63 win over Arizona in the West Regional Final. If Walker goes cold and Lamb isn’t there to pick up the slack, Oriakhi will have to step up, but he may be the most inconsistent player on the Huskies. He has not scored in double figures in the NCAA tournament.

Although he had 12, 11 and nine rebounds in the tournament’s first three games, Oriakhi’s rebounding numbers have steadily declined. If Josh Harrelson can get Oriakhi and Charles Okwandu into early foul trouble as they were against Arizona, UConn’s trip to the Final Four may end like 2009: with an early exit. And the Huskies would leave H-Town with a frown.

— Matt McDonough/The Daily Campus