NCAA Tournament Final Four will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Duke Blue Devils (-2.5, 130.5)
The other Butler
Butler University, which is not only the official host of the Final Four but also an unlikely participant, is not the only “Butler” in town this weekend in Indianapolis.
Da’Sean Butler is West Virginia’s star player and senior leader. The 6-foot-7 forward (17.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.3 apg) boasts some impressive numbers, but his value extends far beyond the stat sheet.
Butler has hit six game-winning shots in the final seconds this season and he did it twice in the Big East tournament. Tied with the clock ticking down against Cincinnati, Butler delivered a miracle 3-pointer at the buzzer. Butler then drained an off-balance, contested runner to beat Georgetown 60-58 in the championship.
“I can tell you right now from watching two games of tape, Butler is one of best players in the country,” gushed Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “He’s a great player and a clutch player. Nobody has hit as many big shots as this kid. He loves the moment.”
“When your best player is the best person and unquestionably is your hardest worker you’re going to be good,” WVU coach Bob Huggins said during Monday’s Final Four conference call.
Butler was named a Second Team All-American by the Associated Press earlier this week. So, too, was Duke’s own Jon Scheyer.
Brothers in arms
Nobody is going to confuse this Duke team with any of the most talented Krzyzewski has ever coached, but these Blue Devils are not relying on basketball skills alone to get the job done.
“This team will really be brothers forever,” Krzyzewski told the Durham Herald Sun. “It’s as close a team as I’ve had. They’ve been spectacular to coach.”
“We have a genuine love for each other,” added senior Lance Thomas. “We know that we need each other to win. Not one guy is going to lead us to victory in a game.”
With that love comes an acceptance of roles, embodied by Thomas himself. The 6-foot-8 forward scores a mere five points per game, but his eight offensive rebounds against Baylor made the undisputed difference in last weekend’s South Region final.
On a team that sees three players (Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith) combine for 53.2 ppg, Brian Zoubek contributes only 5.4 ppg (still good four fourth on the team). But the 7-foot-1 center has grabbed 35 rebounds in Duke’s past three NCAA Tournament victories.
“I think people have grown into knowing the value of their roles,” Krzyzewski noted. “They take value from what we see as value, but that takes maturity. These kids are very mature, so they understand that.”
Defence wins championships
West Virginia has limited six of its last seven opponents to fewer than 60 points. Even though Kentucky eclipsed that mark for 66 in the title game of the East Region, the Wildcats shot an unbelievably bad 4-of-32 from three-point range and turned the ball over 16 times.
“We don’t like being scored on,” forward Devin Ebanks told the Times West Virginian. “We try to limit everybody’s scoring and limit their touches. It’s fun knowing that you can shut the other person down and outrebound the other team, just outman them, out-tough them. It’s a fun way to play.”
Duke has held three of its four NCAA Tournament opponents to fewer than 60 points (Baylor scored 71). The Blue Devils have not allowed more than 74 points since giving up 89 to Georgetown on January 30. Ten of their last 15 opponents have not reached 60 and four of their last 10 opponents did not even pass 50.
Common opponents
The Blue Devils went up against three teams from the Big East during the regular season—Connecticut on a neutral court, St. John’s at home and Georgetown in Washington. Duke dispatched the Huskies 68-59, beat St. John’s 80-71 and trailed Georgetown almost the entire way in an 89-77 loss.
West Virginia fell at Connecticut 73-62, crushed St. John’s on the road 79-60 and swept Georgetown (81-68 at home on March 1, 60-58 two weeks later in the Big East tournament final).
The one other common opponent this season was Long Beach State. The Mountaineers eased their way to an 85-62 road win back in November and the Blue Devils—at home—scored a similar 84-63 victory over the 49ers.
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The Mountaineers are 4-0 ATS in their four NCAA Tournament games, 5-0 ATS in their last five non-conference contests and 5-1 ATS in their last six against ACC opponents.
The Blue Devils are also 4-0 ATS during this NCAA Tournament, but they are just 1-6 ATS in their last seven against Big East opposition.
West Virginia (15-19 O/U) has been a decent under play this season and the under has definitely been the way to go with Duke (15-22 O/U). The under is 7-1 in WVU’s last eight overall and 4-1 in Duke’s last five overall.