Sunday, April 1, 2012

Kentucky vs. Kansas - A heavyweight title fight

The past two years we have seen Butler reach the Final Four twice and VCU once. Six years ago it was George Mason that broke through and reached college basketball's ultimate stage. But for the first time since 2009, the midmajors failed to become "this year's George Mason."

Anthony Davis, Kentucky's National Player of the Year
This year, four superpowers punched their tickets to New Orleans: Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas and Ohio State. These are four of the most successful programs in the history of the game. These squads have combined for 13 National Championships, and Kentucky and Kansas are the two most winningest programs in college basketball history.

And guess which two moved on to the finals: Kentucky and Kansas.

Kentucky will be looking for their eighth National Title and Kansas will be seeking their fourth. In terms of tradition, there is certainly no underdog in this title fight.

That being said, there is without question an underdog in terms of current personnel: Kansas. This 2012 Kentucky squad is one of the most dominant teams ever in college basketball. Freshmen Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are likely the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, and senior big man Terrence Jones will be a lottery pick as well.

Kansas is a team that wasn't expected to do great things this year. They lost several key players, including the Morris twins, and were not ranked in the Top-10 in the preseason polls. Yet, they seem to play with great heart and passion and could perhaps be the team of destiny this year. They have come from behind in nearly every game so far in the tournament only to pull ahead in the final seconds.

The neatest part about this matchup is that the two best players in the country - Anthony Davis and Thomas Robinson - will be facing off in the championship game, a rare occurrence indeed.

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