Once Michigan State lost their chance to move on to the final four in the NCAA tournament watching the games seemed like a waste of time. Who cares if it is not the Spartans, right? Well despite their unfortunate loss the NCAA tournament is still managing to pull off a pretty exciting finale. UConn defeated the University of Florida this weekend (thank god) and will now face off with the University of Kentucky, who defeated the University of Wisconsin, in the National Championship game. The matchup is one of the unlikeliest in the NCAA. Neither team was in the tournament last year but both surprised everyone this year.
Last year Connecticut was banned due to academic reasons (they had an embarrassingly low graduation rate that did not meet NCAA standards). This year a lot of people continued to count them out after they finished third in the American Athletic Conference. They came back strong though and with the leadership of All-American Shabazz Napier they are ready to take on the wildcats. As soon as the round of 64 began they started taking out powerhouses. They even managed to knock off the defense of Michigan State and Florida.
Kentucky had one of the best teams in the country a few years ago. Unfortunately all their talent decided to go pro which led to a disappointing season last year. This year, however, with a squad made up of mostly freshmen they have come to dominate. They have done well for the majority of the season but always manage to win by a very narrow margin. It will be interesting to see what is to come of this match in the championship game.