2011 NCAA Final 4 Predictions

Hello friends! Before I start I just want to take a moment and say that aside from Super Bowl weekend this weekend in my honest opinion is the most exciting weekend to be a diehard Sports fan! This weekend you have opening day baseball, the Final 4 of the Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament, and of course the biggest event in Wrestling WrestleMania 27! So with that here are my predictions for the Final 4! Enjoy! Virginia Commonwealth vs. Butler Our 1st game on Saturday features 2 proverbial Davids! VCU the 3rd 11th seed to reach the Final 4 joining George Mason in 2006 and LSU in 1986 have by far in my opinion the most impressive run to the Final 4 of all the Final 4 teams defeating 5 teams from 5 power conferences - USC (Pac-10), Georgetown (Big East), Purdue (Big 10), Florida State (ACC), and perhaps the most impressive win thus far Kansas (Big 12)! While Butler the #8 seed has defeated the likes of Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, and Florida to reach their 2nd consecutive Final 4! So who wins this battle of Davids? Well let me break it down for you all 1 time. VCU in my honest opinion is this year what Butler was last year - a plucky underdog who many people felt had no chance of going far in the NCAA Tournament! They are led by their star player Joey Rodriguez and their brilliant young head coach Shaka Smart who to me looks a lot like former WWE and TNA wrestler Shawn Daivari but anyways. On selection Sunday when it was announced that VCU had made the 68 team field a lot of people were not happy about it at all mainly ESPN analysts Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas! But over these last 2 weeks VCU has not only busted almost everyone's brackets but they have also made Dicky V, Jay Bilas, and countless other critics and haters eat a lot of crow! While Butler on the other hand are trying to prove to everybody that last year's run was not a fluke! Led by their dynamic duo Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard along with their brilliant young head coach Brad Stevens the Bulldogs are out to finish the job they nearly did last year in Indy win the National Championship! Now my gut tells me to go with Butler but my heart on the other hand is telling me to go with VCU. Aah this is so tough to call but in the end I am going to take a chance here and go with VCU to pull off yet another upset and continue their magical run but I would not be surprised in the least if Butler pulls this 1 out! Overall I am really looking forward to this matchup as I think that it will not only be 1 of the greatest Final 4 games in recent memory but also something damn special! Winner: VCU Kentucky vs. Connecticut So now we go from a battle of Davids to a battle of Goliaths! Kentucky the #4 seed has defeated the likes of Princeton, West Virginia, #1 overall seed Ohio State, and North Carolina to reach the Final 4 for the 1st time since winning their 7th and last National Championship to date back in 1998! UConn the #3 seed defeated the likes of Bucknell, Big East rival Cincinnati, San Diego State, and Arizona to reach the Final 4 for the 2nd time in the last 3 years! Not only is this a battle of Goliath powerhouses but it is also a battle of 2 coaching legends! Kentucky head coach John Calipari recently made history by becoming only the 2nd coach in history to take 3 different schools to the Final 4 (Rick Pitino who took Providence in 1987, Kentucky in 1996 and 1997, and Louisville in 2005) taking UMass in 1996, Memphis in 2008, and now Kentucky this year! However his 2 other Final 4 apperances were both vacated as UMass vacated their trip in 96 when it was revealed that Marcus Camby took $28,000 from 2 agents and Memphis vacated their magical run in 08 amid allegations of Derrick Rose's SAT. Of course this run will be scrutinized for the most part mainly because of his past schools transgressions but none the less I truly believe that coach Cal's run this year is his personal best coaching job ever and here's why! Last year he had an NBA calibur team that all left to go to the NBA and while this bunch may not be as fun and entertaining as last year's team was you still have to admit that this team has been unbelievable over these last 2 weeks! Led by Brandon Knight and Josh Harrelson the Wildcats are poised to win their 8th National Championship which would put them within 3 of tying UCLA's all time mark of 11 championships! UConn head coach Jim Calhoun like Calipari is also in the midst of his personal best coaching job ever and here's why! 1st off he lead UConn to 5 wins in 5 days to win the Big East Tournament and then add their 4 wins from this tournament and that equals 9 wins in 19 days which is remarkable in itself! Of course coach Calhoun is not alone as he is led by in my honest opinion the best player in the game today in Kemba Walker and Alex Oriaki as they look to lead the Huskies to just their 3rd National Championship to go with the 2 they won back in 1999 and 2004! So who wins this battle of Goliaths? Well I am going to go with the hot hand here and that is UConn because I think Kemba Walker will have another monster game which will be just enough to get by Kentucky and set up another David vs. Goliath battle for the National Championship against VCU! Overall I am looking forward to this game just as much as the VCU/Butler game as I think it will be an exciting game just like their last matchup back in the 2006 tournament was! Winners: Connecticut Now if it should indeed come down to VCU and UConn for the National Championship I would have to go with UConn to ride this momentum to capture their 3rd National Championship in a game that I think could top last year's epic battle between Butler and Duke but even if I get 1 or both of these games wrong we are still going to get a David vs. Goliath type matchup for the National Championship for the 2nd year in a row and enclosing I truly believe that this year's Final 4 will truly be something very magical and very special and I for 1 cannot wait to see how it all plays out! Well friends that's all I've got for now but be sure to join me right back here tomorrow as I will have my predictions for the biggest event in all of Wrestling WrestleMania 27! So until then you know the routine everybody thumbs up talk to ya later! YEAH!!!