In Saturday night’s first Final Four match-up, Butler will tip off against Michigan State at 6:07 P.M. Here’s a preview, courtesy of SB Nation’s resident college hoops expert, Chris Dobbertean.
Final Four, 6:07 P.M.: Michigan State, Butler Wage Battle Of The Five-Seeds
Having been in attendance at the 2000 Final Four at the now-demolished building once known as the Hoosier Dome, I can attest that Michigan State will be well supported in the Circle City. But thanks to the presence of the host Bulldogs, the Spartans won’t be the local favorite this time around.
But that’s enough about geography and fanbases. It’s time to talk about the ugly truth.
This will be the third Final Four in Indianapolis since the calendar flipped over to the year 2000. The previous two have each featured a National Semifinal that was completely unwatchable. In 2000, it was a Michigan State-Wisconsin game that put the “nap” in “Naptown.” That 53-41 Spartan triumph actually managed to put one my friends to sleep. Six years later, it was the second semifinal between UCLA and LSU, a 59-45 snoozefest that had us rushing for the exits at halftime.
Which brings us to this matchup in 2010, the plucky underdog who is perfectly capable of slowing the game down against a Big Ten team that’s frankly used to that style. This is not the formula for exciting basketball or riveting television, but considering both teams can go away from this mold, there’s hope. In his game preview, KJ over at our Michigan State blog, The Only Colors, writes that this is a fairly even contest, so intangibles could come into play.
On the Michigan State side:
I don't tend to talk about (or put much weight on) intangibles, but I do think the Final Four is a whole new ballgame. On the Spartan side, you've got a core of players that have been here before and shouldn't be intimated by the setting. (Raymar) Morgan has now played in 15 career NCAA Tournament games, (Chris) Allen and (Durrell) Summers have played in 13, and the team's sophomores ([Draymond] Green/[Korie] Lucious/Delvon Roe) have played in 10.
And for Butler:
On the other side, the Butler players being so close to home could be a double-edged sword, with the pressure of playing in the program’s first-ever Final Four in front of so many hometown fans (and media members) creating a little anxiety for the relatively young Bulldog squad (three sophomores in the starting lineup).
(Plus, as noted by LVS last night, [Gordon] Hayward has to go do math on Friday. Hopefully, the topic is the Möbius strip, and Hayward’s mental wiring goes haywire trying to wrap his mind around the concept.)
In my mind, this one boils down to one of two things happening. If the Spartans continue playing out of their minds without Kalin Lucas, thanks to that Tom Izzo coaching, they're hard to stop. As KJ points out, a slower pace may help MSU's key contributors stay in longer, increasing their prospects. But on the other hand, if the Bulldogs haven't been distracted by the media spotlight and they keep getting easy baskets and converting from the foul line, they'll advance. After all, they had to beat two teams better than a Lucas-less Spartan club to get here.
In the end, I think Butler may start slow, but the Spartans won’t be able to build a big enough lead, and the Bulldogs will get it together just in time.
My pick: Butler by a bucket
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