Recap of the Final Four

Butler won tonight because of defense and rebounding. VCU had success in the tournament because of their plethora of players who can shoot from the perimeter. Butler was able to shut most of them down. Burgess played well in the beginning, but Rodriguez never got off. Rozzell also couldn't get on track. Only Jamie Skeen played well offensively for VCU, which was the case when they lost this season.

Butler did not do well when Wisconsin pressed at the end of their Sweet Sixteen contest. They also turned over the ball early against VCU's press. But they managed to settle down and protect the ball. Between rebounding well and limiting turnovers, VCU needed a diversified attack. As mentioned earlier, it didn't materialize tonight.

In the first half against UCONN, Kentucky took too many quick shots. They settled down by the second half. But their lack of depth and their poor free throw shooting was the difference. Back in the 2006 Elite Eight game between UCONN and George Mason, Mason essentially utilized only five players. The under-eight timeout didn't come until there was less than four minutes. An exhausted Patriots squad benefitted from having two long television breaks in a row.

Tonight, Kentucky found themselves in a similar position as Mason was in five years before. The Wildcats go with six players. The five on the floor were drained by the time the under eight timeout came, with less than three minutes left in the game. The under four timeout didn't come until there was less than a minute to go. Kentucky was gassed by that point and went through a drastic drought during that stretch.

While Kentucky shot far better than UCONN from three point range, they failed badly at the free throw line. This was crucial. The biggest free throws were missed during that long stretch when the under eight timeout wouldn't come. With tired legs, Kentucky wasn't hitting from the field. But the missed free throws were killers.