Elite 8: Look Beyond The Horizon

Butler vs. Kansas State

Halfway through the season I was asked who I thought off the bat would win the National Championship. Even after the overtime home loss to Kansas, my response was Kansas State. However, after a road loss to Kansas, where the Jayhawks pulled away heavily at the end, and a home loss to Iowa State to close the season, I thought maybe my National Champion goal for this team was a misread. Nonetheless, when I made my bracket I had them beating Syracuse in the Elite 8, with Butler losing to Vanderbilt in round 2. Fast forward a couple rounds, and Syracuse fell right into Butler's tempo trap, Vanderbilt never got that matchup and we all became familiar with a 30 win team from the Ohio Valley Conference that beat Vanderbilt and almost beat Butler as well. In the lower half of the West Region, I had Kansas State taking care of business, I knew their toughest game would be against Xavier and they barely got through that (I had Xavier covering, and won/pushed depending on how you played it). I predicted overtime on K-State/Xavier in the previous entry and the outcome didn't disappoint my read. The Kansas State Wildcats score alot in transition, and in general. This doesn't fit Butler's profile--they play both but have a tendency to a slowed down, half court game. With that being said, they are very well coached and execute their game plan well, as they did against Syracuse. This game will by no means be a blowout, Butler is in every game regardless of tempo, but today I doubt they control the pace. Butler is more versatile than Saint Mary's, but take a page from the Baylor game yesterday-transition baskets can kill against an offense that is set-reliant, in this case in particular Butler won't keep up. Kansas State (-3)

West Virginia vs. Kentucky

Mazulla looks to be managing the floor well at the PG spot for the Mountaineers in place of injured Truck Bryant, and they have so many scoring options that they really don't miss his presence. They also have a tenacious defense that will give Kentucky fits and crash the boards with them. The Kentucky Wildcats have been dominant throughout this tournament, but their two toughest games were against Wake Forest and Cornell. I expect a close, competitive game but I'm pulling for Huggins squad.

West Virginia (+5) or (+6).