Final Four 2012: Full Coverage Of The NCAA Tournament Semifinals

Louisville lost that game in December 69-62, even though they played stellar defense and Kentucky put in their worst offensive game of the season. To beat the Wildcats on Saturday, Louisville will need to match that defensive performance while making quite a few more shots of their own.

For coverage of the Louisville Cardinals, stop by Card Chronicle. For more on the Kentucky Wildcats, check out A Sea of Blue. For all your 2012 March Madness needs, stay tuned to SB Nation’s dedicated NCAA Tournament hub.

Game Date/Time: 6:09 p.m. ET, Saturday, March 31

TV: CBS

While it may not be surprising that having Withey and Robinson on the floor at the same time gives Kansas the best chance, the dramatic difference with any other lineup combo is certainly eye-opening. And as Winn notes, those few extra possessions could be all the difference:

The officiating trio for the first game between Kentucky and Louisville will be Les Jones, Joe DeRosa, and Doug Shows. Jamie Luckie, Tom Eades and Patrick Adams will be working the nightcap between Kansas and Ohio State.

A quartet of programs that have combined for 49 Final Four appearances will take college basketball’s biggest stage Saturday night in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State and Kansas are four of the most storied names in college basketball, have some of the game’s brightest stars and most well-known coaches. Basically, this should be a lot of fun.

The Cinderella stories of the past few seasons have been nice, but it will be a nice change of pace to see the usual suspects battle it out for a shot at a national championship.

You can’t look to your left or right without seeing jean shorts and oversized Louisville and Kentucky jerseys. Every three seconds there’s a “C-A” chant that’s either met with an appropriate “T” or interrupted with an unwanted “R-D-S.” This is Bourbon Street in New Orleans on the night before the biggest basketball game in the history of a state obsessed with the game, and it’s pure insanity.

Louisville and Kentucky are about to face one another in the Final Four, a scenario previously known only during late-night “what would you do if” conversations with drinking buddies in the Commonwealth. Neither side really knows how to approach what’s currently taking place and what’s about to take place, so both seem to be turning to the comfort of alcohol and familiar cheers.

After a week without games, the Final Four matchups have been sliced and diced in almost every way. In the first game between rivals Louisville and Kentucky, the Cardinals’ stout defense hopes to disrupt a more talented Kentucky team with AP player of the year Anthony Davis. Sports Illustrated’s Luke Winn has an excellent graphic analysis of each Final Four team, and he highlights the offensive versatility of Davis:

Kentucky coach John Calipari insists that Davis will be a three at the next level, and much of Winn’s analysis bolsters that notion and reiterates his outside skills on the offensive end of the floor.

Juenemann told Brian Burnsed of NCAA.com:

Those losses sparked a fire, Juenemann says, which led the Jayhawks to a No. 2 seed and all the way to the Final Four. There are still seven players on the Kansas roster who experienced the consecutive early knock outs in the previous two tournaments.

While the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry may get all the hype and attention, the Ohio State-Kansas rematch is considered to be the better basketball matchup. The game lacks the outsized coaching personalities of the Commonwealth clash, but it does pit two evenly-matched teams led by two of the best power forwards in the country. While many in the media may focus on the ‘Cats and Cards, Andy Glockner of Sports Illustrated writes that there’s a reason CBS chose to schedule this game second in primetime. He provides some of the best reasons for why this game should have a spotlight of its own:

This is just one answer to “10 burning questions” Glockner has heading into Saturday night’s Final Four. Of course, more than a few of those questions focus on Kentucky-Louisville. But with the Buckeyes favored by less than three points, the second game of the night may have all the on-court drama which hoops fans will be talking about on Sunday.

Rob Dauster at SI.com offers a full position-by-position breakdown of how well the two teams stack up against one another. Here’s how he views the point guard situation of the two teams.

The entire article is thorough and illuminating and well worth the click-through, so check it out for yourself.

While wandering around the places where media is congregating before the Final Four gets underway in New Orleans, Amy K. Nelson ran into Bill Raftery, who disappointingly does not scream “ONIONS!” at the top of his lungs while in a professional setting. He does, however, offer some insight into who might win the national semifinals and how Kentucky and Louisville are going to play. Also, his favorite spots in New Orleans are apparently ‘personal.’

↵

Stewart Mandel of SI.com reports that Taylor has deep respect for Craft, but an even stronger confidence that his team will prevail.

The rest of the nation will see for themselves as well on Saturday. Only one team can advance. Perhaps Taylor’s confidence will be validated when all is said and done.

The first-overall seeded Kentucky Wildcats enter Saturday’s game with in-state rival Louisville with all the pressure on their backs. For more than a month they have been the favorites of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, and this weekend in New Orleans is all about whether or not they will fulfill expectations. They have the rock star coach, the roster full of lottery picks and the most loyal and rabid fan base in the country, which will surely be on full display at the Superdome. Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated penned a column highlighting the pressure on the ‘Cats and noting which team could shatter their march to a Big Blue party in New Orleans on Monday:

Rosenberg thinks the Buckeyes have the best shot of knocking off the Cats, but they’ll obviously have to get by Kansas first. With such a talented but young team, it will be interesting to see how UK responds to the hoopla at the Superdome on Saturday, especially given all the pressure and expectations coming down on them from “Big Blue Nation” and the college basketball punditry. They’ll start the weekend on Saturday as nine-point favorites against the rival Cardinals.

Rob Dauster of SI.com runs down the matchup position by position to determine whether Louisville has what it takes to pull off the upset.

The full article is well worth a read-through, so please click through to check it out for yourself.

Here is Saturday’s Final Four schedule:

No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 4 Louisville, 6:09 p.m. ET, CBS

Announcers: Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, and Steve Kerr

These are just a couple of the many friendships between players on both sides. Anthony Davis and Wayne Blackshear have a pre-existing friendship, and Peyton Siva and Terrence Jones have a relationship going back to their boyhood days in Seattle. It’s not exactly the blood feud that exists between the fans that has been highlighted in the run-up to their rematch. John Calipari noted this earlier in the week when he said almost all of his players hailed from out-of-state and were not caught up in the rivalry hype heading into the clash in New Orleans. Obviously, when the ball goes up Saturday evening, those friendships go out the window.

On The Floor today, SB Nation’s Dan Rubenstein and SBN college basketball expert Nick Fasulo examine the key factors in the Kansas/Ohio State and Kentucky/Louisville Final Four matchups, who the Superdome could most affect, as well as your daily dose of whimsy.

↵

Amy K. Nelson talks with University of Louisville President Dr. James Ramsey, who has no qualms about picking his Cardinals to go all the way.

↵

Connelly is taking the Buckeyes to win close, 73-72, on Saturday. For even more in-depth analysis, his breakdown of both Final Four games is a must-read. Also be sure to check out college basketball editor Mike Rutherford’s full recap of the previous meeting between the two teams, and what it can tell us about the game ahead.

Let’s compare the lineups of this Kentucky team and the Charlotte Bobcats, using each Bobcat’s stats from his final college season:

Okay, so that was closer than I anticipated. Let’s just move on before I start aching any further for the remaining NBA fans in Charlotte.

Much of the allure of the NCAA Tournament is the potential for the little guy to crash the big party, something which has happened in each of the past two seasons. Sometimes, though, the party’s a lot more fun when the usual suspects are the only ones in attendance. There’s plenty of room to mingle, no shortage of snacks, the potential for an unwanted encounter with an ex is greatly diminished, etc.

VCU and Butler were the stories of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, and deservedly so, but their presence at the Final Four resulted in two of the three games - including the national championship - being a less-than-stellar viewing experience. That shouldn’t be an issue this year, as four legendary programs that have combined for 49 Final Four appearances have provided college basketball’s biggest weekend with four quality teams.

Their best free throw shooter might be their 7-foot center. They don’t have a single 40-percent shooter from 3-point range. They are quite turnover-prone, and they don’t force turnovers nearly as well as in years past. They are thin, with only one bench player averaging even 12 minutes per game. They give up a lot more open 3-pointers than they have in previous years.

Bill Self’s 31-6 Jayhawks play an uglier brand of basketball this season than in years past, but they have also advanced further than prettier, deeper, more talented Kansas teams in the tournament. A skeptic could write their Final Four appearance off at least partially because of luck -- they beat three double-digit seeds (two by just three points each) and a North Carolina squad missing its heart-and-soul point guard; but the skeptic would be missing the simple fact that there is an art to knowing how to win ugly, how to survive and advance, and this Kansas team has mastered that art. They may take chances and fail, they may give up a few open shots, they may suffer some glitches in ball control, but when they need a stop, they get it. And when they need a basket, they get it.

It was March of 1992 in East Rutherford, N.J. John Calipari walked into the pregame press conference, sat down and told reporters, “I look like Rick Pitino, so I’m going to help you.” He pulled out a Rick Pitino mask, put it on, and asked the room, “Anybody have any questions for Rick?”

Calipari was at UMass then. “I know his suit’s worth $1,000,” Calipari said of Pitino. “Mine’s worth $150. He’s got Gucci shoes on, I got itchy shoes on.” He was facing Pitino’s second-seeded Kentucky team in the Sweet 16, and having a little fun with the moment. Kentucky won that Sweet 16 game, but even getting to the Sweet 16, eye to eye with Pitino and Kentucky, was a statement for Calipari. UMass had become a destination in college hoops.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Buckeyes and Jayhawks in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats should be the clear favorites based on talent alone. They earned the NCAA tournament’s top overall after compiling a 32-2 record through the regular season and the conference tournament. They are stacked with NBA-caliber talent at practically every spot on the floor, though freshman Anthony Davis has earned the most headlines for his 6-foot-10 frame and freakish athletic ability. He is averaging 14.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game this season, and is in line to clean up once postseason awards are doled out.

For more on Louisville, be sure to head to Card Chronicle. For news and updates on the Cardinals’ opponent, visit Kentucky blog A Sea Of Blue.