আমাদের কথা খুঁজে নিন
The Final Four: Your Cheat Sheet and Rooting Guide
The calendar says it's April, but March Madness is yet to reach its glorious crescendo. That comes on Saturday, when the tournament's two Final Four games tip off, and on Monday night, when we get the 2014 national championship game.
But who should you watch? How should you watch? Who has the best chance to win? Read on to get up to speed on broadcast information and fun-filled team previews quicker than a Shabazz Napier crossover dribble.
See also: March Madness Coaches Feel All of the Things
Some Final Four basics
Top overall seed Florida and seven-seed Connecticut get things started on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET. Then two-seed Wisconsin takes on eight-seed Kentucky on the same floor inside northern Texas' massive AT&T Stadium. That game is scheduled to tip at 8:49 p.m. ET, but could be pushed back if the first one runs long.
Since the games are on cable, you can't watch online unless you login with cable subscriber info (here's how to watch online).
March Madness broadcast partners CBS and Turner also have something new and special planned for this year's Final Four: team-specific broadcasts. This means you can tune into TNT or truTV during each game to get an alternate feed featuring intentionally slanted announcers calling the action.
During the first game, TNT will carry Florida's "teamcast," while truTV carries the UConn version. During the second game, TNT will carry the Kentucky slant, while truTV carries the Wisconsin version. Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch has more information here.
And now for the Final Four teams.
Connecticut
Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie shouts instructions during the first half of a March Madness game against Iowa State on March 28, 2014.
Image: Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
Road to the Final Four: The Huskies finished the regular season with an overall record of 24-8, earning them a seven-seed in the tournament. Then they got hot and went on a major upset streak, taking out 10-seed St. Joseph's, then two-seed Villanova, then three-seed Iowa State and finally four-seed Michigan State to reach the Final Four. (One gambler rode some of that hot streak to $390,000 in winnings.)
Why to root for UConn: Come on, man — they're the underdogs! Technically, Kentucky may have had a slightly worse seeding heading into March Madness, but Kentucky also has the most highly touted freshman class of all time, so the Huskies are the real — no pun intended — underdog squad here.
If that's not enough, UConn's 41-year-old coach Kevin Ollie (above) played under legendary UConn coach Jim Calhoun in the early '90s and has emerged from his mentor's shadow this season, just his second at the helm of the Huskies program.
If that's not enough, guard Shabazz Napier is well on his way to lifetime hero status in the entire Northeast. The small, speedy guard is averaging better than 23 points per game in the tournament and fought through a bloodied nose to lead last weekend's shocking win over Michigan State.
Why this might end in tears: Napier might reach the end of his bag of tricks. Ollie might get outsmarted by a more veteran coach on the biggest stage. This collection of players was never supposed to get this far. There are any number of reasons the wheels could all fall off for UConn this weekend — which, in a way, is all the more reason to hope they don't.
The player you have to watch: Napier is the only possible choice here. He's a warrior and supremely entertaining. He deflects comparisons to Kemba Walker, who led a magical UConn title run in 2011, but those comparisons are becoming pretty impossible to avoid. Here are some Napier highlights.
Florida
Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin (5) celebrates a basket against Dayton in their NCAA tournament game on March 29, 2014.
Image: John Bazemore/Associated Press
Road to the Final Four: Florida was the tournament's top overall seed, so was kind of expected to reach this point. In doing so, they knocked off 16-seed Albany, nine-seed Pittsburgh, four-seed UCLA and 11-seed Dayton.
Why to root for Florida: Let's see, a truly cohesive team that blends freshman talent with veteran leaders and players who have overcome personal hardships, led by a veteran coach who's been at the same school for nearly 20 years — what's not to love? One could argue that this is exactly how bigtime college basketball is supposed to look.
Why this might end in tears: The Gators are Final Four favorites, and the pressure might get to them. They're also overdue for a loss; they haven't been defeated since a gutty guard made a buzzer-beating shot to take them down back on Dec. 2. Wait a minute. That guard's name was Shabazz Napier and that team was Connecticut. Uh-oh — could we see a repeat of something like this?
The player you have to watch: Senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin is Florida's best player, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year the Gators' clear-cut leader. But he nearly didn't even suit up for the team this year. In June, Donovan suspended him from the team indefinitely and encouraged him to transfer. Wilbekin was only able to stick around after he "begged Donovan to allow him to stay and to work his way back to the team," the New York Times reports. One Final Four run later, and that seems to be a good call by both parties.
Kentucky
Kentucky's Julius Randle goes up for a shot against Georgia on March 15, 2014.
Image: John Bazemore/Associated Press
Road to the Final Four: The Wildcats have had quite a journey. Their six-man freshman class was touted as the best of all time before the season. But when they struggled early, they were written off as overhyped and emblematic of everything wrong with modern college hoops. Now, they're peaking at just the the right time. They boast March Madness wins over nine-seed Kansas State, one-seed Wichita State, four-seed Louisville and two-seed Michigan to earn their Final Four berth.
Why to root for Kentucky: There's something perfect about the storyline we mentioned — six teenagers judged and torn apart by adults for an entire season, who come together at just the right moment to prove all the doubters wrong. Plus, Kentucky has some of college hoops' wildest fans. They can get ugly when the Wildcats lose, but here's someone's unsolicited contribution to coach John Calipari's front year earlier this week:
Some guy just stopped at Cal's house, got out and put this in his yard.#crazy pic.twitter.com/nxHmbHuRl3
— Fred Foltz (@ukturkeyhunter) April 1, 2014
Why this might end in tears: Those freshman are young, after all, and thats' something that could still catch up to them — especially if they run into an experienced Florida squad in the national title game.
The player you have to watch: Freshman power forward Julius Randle is 6'9" and 250 pounds of pure beast. His skill, strength and passion under the hoop are a pleasure to watch. This year's Final Four location means he's returning home to the Dallas area for what will almost certainly be his final collegiate games before leaving school early to enter the NBA Draft.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker (15) celebrates during the second half of a third-round game against the Oregon in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 22, 2014, in Milwaukee.
Image: Morry Gash/Associated Press
Road to the Final Four: The two-seed Badgers took down 15-seed American, seven-seed Oregon, six-seed Baylor and top seed Arizona to get to this point.
Why to root for Wisconsin: Teamwork. Help defense. The two-handed chest pass. The triple-threat stance. Picture-perfect jump-shots. Floor burns. Make no mistake — these Badgers have real talent. But if your dear old granddad just hates the way young whippersnappers play the game today, Wisconsin is the Final Four team with the best shot of convincing him that good basketball still exists.
Why this might end in tears: If the Kentucky athletes get in a rhythm, or if Florida starts clicking on all-cylinders, or if Shabazz Napier goes on full Kemba Walker mode, then the Badgers just might not have the players to stick around. They're certainly the least sexy pick here, but then again, they're probably the most likely team to formulate a baller game plan then execute it to perfection.
The player you have to watch: Sam Dekker is Wisconsin's high flyer, but 6'11" center Frank Kaminsky is our player to watch. He has a great shot out to three-point territory, and is tough and crafty under the basket, helping him make up for less-than-ideal athleticism.
He went for 28 points and 11 rebounds to help beat Arizona for a final berth last weekend, and may have even him earned himself a look from NBA teams. Here are highlights of Kaminsky going off for 43 points in a game earlier this year.
3 reasonable (but probably wrong) predictions
Kentucky's Aaron Harrison and his teammates, along with coach John Calipari, hold up their trophy after reaching the Final Four on March 30, 2014.
Image: David J. Phillip/Associated Press
1. UConn's charming run ends at the hands of a more balanced and experienced Florida squad. The Gators win 72-64 and advance to the championship game.
2. Kentucky's talent proves too much for Wisconsin. The Badgers make it tough, but Kentucky's superstar freshman don't crack, and pull out the 69-65 win to advance.
3. It's experience versus raw talent in the national final, and raw talent wins out. The Kentucky freshman — once billed as messiahs in sneakers, then dismissed as sulky underachievers — bring their story full circle. Final score: Kentucky 78, Florida 71.
March Madness: So Emo Right Now
অনলাইনে ছড়িয়ে ছিটিয়ে থাকা কথা গুলোকেই সহজে জানবার সুবিধার জন্য একত্রিত করে আমাদের কথা । এখানে সংগৃহিত কথা গুলোর সত্ব (copyright) সম্পূর্ণভাবে সোর্স সাইটের লেখকের এবং আমাদের কথাতে প্রতিটা কথাতেই সোর্স সাইটের রেফারেন্স লিংক উধৃত আছে ।