Sunday, April 7, 2013

NCAA Final Four preview: Louisville, WSU, Mich., and Syracuse will keep things lively

The Cardinals, Shockers, Wolverines, and Orange all average right around 70 points per game this season. Depending on your team or the style of play, college basketball fans should be entertained this weekend at the Final Four.

By Pat Murphy,?Staff / April 5, 2013

Michigan players work during practice before the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game against Syracuse, Friday, April 5, 2013, in Atlanta. Michigan plays Syracuse in a semifinal game on Saturday.

David J. Phillip/AP

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A pair of intriguing contests await the large crowd that will assemble inside Atlanta's Georgia Dome this Saturday evening for the 2013 NCAA Final Four.

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In the first game, scheduled to tip off just after 6 p.m. Eastern time, Louisville, the tournament's overall No. 1 seed out of the Midwest region, will meet Wichita State, a ninth seed and upstart champions of the West region.

This weekend, the 'Wheat' Shockers make their second trip to the Final Four. The last time Wichita State reached the national semifinals was 1965, when they lost to the repeating national champion UCLA Bruins.

Ironically, back in 1965, Wichita State and Louisville were both members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Cardinals left in 1975 to join what was then called the Metro Conference and has since morphed into Conference USA.

Wichita State defeated second seed Ohio State last weekend in Los Angeles, behind the outstanding play of Regional MVP Malcolm Armstead and Cleanthony Early. Carl Hall and Tekele Cotton also have made important contributions throughout the Shockers' season.

Louisville overcame the emotionally draining injury to backup guard Kevin Ware to prevail over second seed Duke in the Midwest Region final last Sunday. Paced by the terrific play of guards Peyton Siva and Russ Smith, the Cardinals are hoping to capture the school's third national championship.

The big question in the first national semifinal: What can the Shockers do to solve the Cardinals' full-court pressure and fast-breaking offense?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/hW3yHnBWYaM/NCAA-Final-Four-preview-Louisville-WSU-Mich.-and-Syracuse-will-keep-things-lively

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