Final Four Game 1 Preview

Tonight from Detroit the Final Four tips off with Michigan State and UConn facing off in the first game and Villanova and North Carolina in the late night matchup. First I need to brag as I correctly picked 3 out of the 4 teams, only missed out on UConn (picked Missouri). So for once I will have a rooting interest, if MSU-UNC make the championship I will win the big pool I am in, if UNC wins it all but its against UConn I finish in 2nd. So GO HEELS! With my luck UConn and Nova will win tonight, so if you are gambler put your money on the Cats and Huskies. Now that I am done patting myself on the back, time for a short preview of Game 1.

#2 Michigan State vs. #1 UConn

Out of the 4 teams left in the tournament, UConn has looked the strongest. However one could argue they have also had the easiest road to Detroit. They have also had to deal with some off court issues regarding the recruitment of Nate Miles. Michigan State on the other hand has had a tougher road. They squeaked out victories vs. USC and Kansas, but dominated the 2nd half in their Elite 8 victory over the overall #1 seeded Louisville Cardinals.

There are two matchups that I will be keeping an eye on tonight: Gorat Sutan-Haseem Thabeet and Kalin Lucas-AJ Price. Thabeet is the best defensive big man in college basketball, but Sutan has been very impressive in the tourney against some stiff competition (KU's Aldrich and UofL's Samuels). I actually like Sutan in this matchup because of the range in his offensive game. He has a good outside shot which will have to draw Thabeet out from under the basket which should open up the lane for his Spartan teammates. But if Sutan's shot isn't falling MSU could be in deep trouble. Kalin Lucas is the Big 10 MVP and has also had a good tournament thus far. So far his toughest competition has been KU's Collins, while Lucas didn't shoot well he did a good job of getting to the line (7-7 from the line) and finding open teammates (7 assists). AJ Price is a score fist point guard (has scored in double figures in 18 of the last 19 games) but also has good vision (averages 4.8 assists per game). I like Price in this matchup as Lucas doesn't have as much expereince going up against agressive and savy veteran PG's like Price. The only game where Price struggled this tournament was vs. Mizzou, but MSU favors a slower, half court pace while Mizzou likes a full court, pressing style.

MY PICK:
Even though UConn has been quite impressive so far this tournament, I picked MSU to get to the championship and I am not backing off now. I like Sutan to have a big game which will open up a lot of things for his teammates and with the game being in Detroit the crowd could be a big X factor for the Spartans. Michigan State will need to force their slower style of play and if they do they will be moving on to the championship. MSU 68 UConn 64