FINAL: NCAA Championship...anybody care?

By Dan Rodgers

Wow, is this last minute or what?

(1) Duke has finally made it back to the NCAA Championship, their first appearance since winning the whole thing in 2001. They face off against (5) Butler. What's that...you think I just had a typo? Nope, Butler has actually won 25 games in a row and now face Duke for the whole dang thing... now this is what I call March Madness.

Duke is favored by 6.5 points...

Personally, I think Butler is either going to pull the biggest upset in championship history since eight-seeded Villanova beat powerhouse Georgetown. Yes, back in the day with Patrick Chewing... er, I mean Ewing.

Butler is either going to cover the spread and beat Duke out right, or get clobbered like Michigan State did last year. I would love to see Butler win, but the realist in me says I don't see how Duke can lose. Look for Nolan Smith to have another big game. Don't expect Butler to stick with the Blue Devils if Matt Howard doesn't play...unless Gordon Hayward goes off from three...

Duke 73 Butler 58

Duke 61 Butler 59 FINAL

Duke wins another championship :( and they are the first team to score over 60 points on Butler during the tournament...Butler...PLEASE prove me wrong!

Rodgers That

Final Four Preview

By Dan Rodgers

Game One:

(5)Butler vs. (5) Michigan State

This game is probably the lesser of the two...in terms of people being interested. However, this is a very intriguing match-up in my mind. Butler is probably the hottest team in the tournament having won 24 games in a row. Michigan State lost their best player in Kalin Lucas, but seem to just squeak by their opponents. They have only won one of their games by more than one possession: one took place on a game winning shot and won involved the other team missing a chance to tie the game.

Even though the spread right now is Butler by a point, but I think if they won it would be an upset. I think they will win, even though I have great respect for Tom Izzo and the Spartans. This will defnitely be another close game. It could go either way, but I just don't see how Butler can lose being on such a hot streak. Look for Matt Howard to have another huge game.

Butler 73 Mich St 69

Game Two:

(2) West Virginia vs. (1) Duke

Well, I personally am amazed because I thought Duke was clearly the worst one seed in the tournament. They are clearly playing well though. However, I think besides Butler, West Virginia may be the next hottest team having won the Big East tournament to earn their two seed. Losing their starting point guard didn't seem to phase them during their convincing win over the Kentucky Wildcats. If West Virginia is going to get their shot at whoever wins the early game, Devin Ebanks will have to have a great game.

Duke's last loss was exactly one month ago to ACC rival Maryland. That loss only seems to have motivated them because they haven't lost since. Brian Zoubek has been playing out of his mind and Nolan Smith is hoping match his late father and win the NCAA championship. I think Smith will have to have a career game in order to get past the defensive minded Mountaineers. Duke is favored by three points and I like WVU to at least push that spread if not pull the upset.

WVU 71 Duke 65

Rodgers That