Three of the best teams in the country — Louisville, Pittsburgh and Memphis — have something in common with three of the worst teams in the country — Grambling, Alcorn State and New Jersey Tech.
Players from all six will be among the 343 other Division 1-A teams watching when No. 1 North Carolina takes on No. 3 Villanova and No. 1 Connecticut takes on #2 from Michigan State to compete for the right to meet in the 2009 NCAA National Championship game during March Madness in Detroit (MI).
A funny thing happened on the way to Final 4 in Detroit: 4 surprises happened.
No. 2-seeded Michigan State dominated No. 1-seeded Louisville in the second half to win 64-52. No. 3 seed Villanova received a last-second floater from Scottie Reynolds to beat No. 1 seed Pittsburgh 78-76. Villanova also crushed #2 seed Duke 77-54 before knocking out Pittsburgh.
Third-seeded Missouri outscored mighty second-seeded Memphis (33-4 entering) 102-91 in a no-defense run-and-gun game. It was no wonder Missouri was eliminated by Connecticut in their regional final, 82-75, after the Huskies defeated Purdue 72-60.
Pittsburgh had its hands full with Xavier, winning 60-55, and the Panthers’ luck ran out against Villanova. North Carolina crushed Gonzaga 98-77 and then gave Oklahoma the stats, played Tar Heel basketball and did it two in a row, winning 72-60.
Coach Roy Williams has North Carolina on a roll, reaching the Final 4 for the second straight year and a record 18 times overall, leading the Tar Heels out of a tie with UCLA in 17 appearances. North Carolina has a pedigree to envy with 4 NCAA championships (1957, 1982, 1993 and 2005), 27 Atlantic Coast Conference season titles, an overall winning 73% record and has the most consecutive 20-win seasons with 31 in a row from 1970 to 2001.
Coach Jim Calhoun has led his Connecticut Huskies to the Final 4 for the third time and demands a lot of attention as he won the national title on his first two trips in 1999 and 2004. Connecticut has been to 28 NCAA tournaments, won 10 championships of the Big East season under Calhoun and is currently tied for first among all colleges with 13 active NBA players. Villanova has 1 National Championship with his impressive win over defending champion Georgetown 66-64 in 1985.
Coach Rollie Massimino’s Wildcats, seeded No. 8 in that year’s March Madness dance, played what is often referred to as the “perfect game,” shooting 78.6% from the field (9-for-10 in the second half) without Villanova. The player missed more than 2 field goal attempts and the Wildcats made 11 free throws in the last 2 minutes to seal their victory.
Coach Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans aren’t bad either. This season marks Michigan State’s fifth Final 4 appearance in the past 11 seasons, the most appearances by any NCAA men’s team during that span.
Izzo, who is in his 14th season at Michigan State, guided the Spartans to their second National Championship in 2000. Michigan State won its first national title in 1979 when Earvin “Magic” Johnson led the Spartans past undefeated Indiana State and its legendary star Larry. Bird. Both Johnson and Bird and Michael Jordan (a North Carolina graduate) would ignite the popularity of the NBA during their playing days. Izzo and his Spartans seem harmless enough, but they just sneak up on you and before you know it, you help make his story successful. In his 14 years in the state of Michigan,
Izzo has led the Spartans to their 12th straight NCAA tournament, compiled a record of 335-136 (71%) and made 5 Final 4 appearances in 11 seasons. Every 4-year-old recruit who has competed for Izzo has made an appearance in Final 4 at the Big Dance called March Madness. Last year was an anomaly as all 4 No. 1 seeds in the Tournament made it to Final 4. Normally, only 2 of the 4 No. 1 seeds make it to Final 4, as was the case this year when #1 Louisville and #1 Pittsburgh were eliminated.
However, this year was unusual in that none of the Final 4 teams came through as Conference Tournament Champions, so all 4 are overall contestants, marking only the third time that has happened since the field expanded to 64. teams in 1985.
Here are the 2009 NCAA Tournament National Semifinal Matchups:
Saturday April 4:
#1 Connecticut vs. #2 Michigan State
#1 North Carolina vs. #3 Villanova
The two winners will play for the National Championship on Monday, April 6.
Here are the results of the 2009 NCAA Tournament Third Round Regional Semifinal:
Eastern Region:
#1 Pittsburgh eliminated #4 Xavier 60-55
#3 Villanova stunned #2 Duke 77-54
West Region:
#1 Connecticut eliminated #5 Purdue 72-60
#3 Missouri defeated #2 Memphis 102-91
South Region:
#1 North Carolina eliminated #4 Gonzaga 98-77
#2 Oklahoma eliminated #3 Syracuse 84-71
Midwest Region:
#1 Louisville eliminated #12 Arizona 103-64
#2 Michigan State eliminated #3 Kansas 67-62
Here are the regional final results from the fourth round of the 2009 NCAA tournament:
Eastern Region:
#3 Villanova defeated #1 Pittsburgh 78-76
West Region:
#1 Connecticut eliminated #3 Missouri 82-75
South Region:
#1 North Carolina eliminated #2 Oklahoma 72-60
Midwest Region:
#2 Michigan State defeated #1 Louisville 64-52
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley