Final Four 2012 predictions

Kentucky logo - Flickr - Tach_RedGold&Green

With the final week of March is approaching, many NCAA fans are in anticipation for who will be crowned the champion of the NCAA tournament. The Kentucky Wildcats will win the competition by beating Ohio State Buckeyes. They have a great shooting average of 49.2%, the highest of the Final Four. Another reason is because earned their spot in the tournament with a record of 32-2.

Their forward Anthony Davis will be the key player in these games, with an average of 14.3 points per game with a 63.3% shooting percentage so far. Of all the competing teams, Davis has the highest shooting percentage and it will definitely be a big factor in Kentucky’s road to being the champion.

Kentucky to win NCAA championship

Wildcats in a previous game- Tachs_RedGold&Green-Flickr

The Kentucky Wildcats have high chances of becoming NCAA national champions. Kentucky’s unique talent gives it a special edge against other teams and with their skillful players and experienced coach, the Wildcats will be victors next week.

Kentucky, ranked second in the ESPN preseason poll, has played phenomenally as a team. With only two losses this season, they went on to defeat every NCAA opponent by double digits, the first team to do so since 2009. Freshman Anthony Davis, who received preseason All-America honors, is expected to be the star of the game. Forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is no less, scoring 24 points and grabbing 19 rebounds in their previous game against Louisville.

With their 15th appearance in the Final Four, there is no doubt some credit goes to their coach, John Calipari, the former NBA, UMass, and Memphis head coach. His ability to recruit high-caliber players has allowed the Wildcats to reach the Final Four.

Even technology foresees Kentucky’s victory. USA Today computer analyst Jeff Sagarin ran four billion computer simulations, and predicts that Kentucky will defeat Ohio State to win the national championship. He explains to USA Today, "Quite frankly I think this Kentucky team is a little better. The way Kentucky plays together; they are probably the most unselfish team I've seen in quite some time … I'd be very, very surprised if they get beat.”

The Wildcats will probably be national champions on Monday, for the first time since 1998.

VCU to take it all

VCU Rams / XJohnx/ Wikimedia Commons

The NCAA tournament this year has shocked many with its lack of #1 and #2 seeds in the Final Four. The Rams of Virginia Commonwealth hurdled tremendous obstacles to get to their current position in the tournament.

In order to get to the Final Four, the VCU Rams needed five wins, as they were required to win a play-in game to even have a spot in the round of 64. They had the tough task of defeating higher ranked teams every step of the way including Southern California, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and regional number one seed Kansas, which they dominated by a whopping twenty points. Despite being the lowest ranked team in the Final Four, VCU will win the NCAA tournament mainly because of its three-point scoring ability. In their last game against Kansas, VCU hit twelve three-pointers, shooting almost 50% from behind the arc.

In addition to having good shooting, the Rams show a balanced offense where four or five players do the scoring, as opposed to having their offense centered around one player. Their bench does well in supporting the starters, as 22 points were scored by the bench against Kansas. The Rams two key players, Joey Rodriguez and Jamie Skeen are the generals of the team. Rodriguez is one of the quickest point guards in the college basketball, who has great range and can hit shots from 24 feet, especially in clutch situations. Skeen is a forward who can play almost the whole game while avoiding foul trouble, and in this tournament is averaging 21 points per game on 51% field goal shooting.

The Rams are backed by an intense desire to prove to the world that VCU has a great basketball program. Head coach Shaka Smart said,."Our guys have done a phenomenal job of putting all the doubters aside, all the people that didn't believe in us, and going out to do their job." They have sold out their allotted tickets the past few games, giving them a "home-crowd" advantage no matter where they play.

Story of the underdogs

Wikimedia Commons

The results of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament have been a shocker to everyone. All of the number one and two seeds are eliminated, but the most surprising news is that Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is in the Final Four. VCU was the 11th seed and had to play USC to even participate in the round of 64. After beating USC, VCU was able to eliminate sixth seeded Georgetown University. The VCU Rams went on to upset third seeded Purdue University and advance to the sweet sixteen for the first time. Their winning streak continued with the Rams defeating tenth seeded Florida State University. The biggest upset might have been the game against Kansas; the VCU Rams annihilated Kansas by 17 points.

VCU has proven that they are the underdogs that could take home the trophy. Next up, VCU prepares to play eight seeded Butler University in the Final Four. VCU has two main specialties; the ability to make three pointers and the ability to make easy fast break points. It won’t be an easy task, but with the help of their star player Jamie Skeen, the Rams might pull it off.

The debate on paying college athletes

This week marks the start of one of the most lucrative college sporting events of the year, the NCAA Men's Division 1 basketball tournament. Scheduled to bring in over $100 million dollars in revenue to member institutions, there is no doubt that "March Madness" is big business. With the tremendous amount of money that is changing hands while the student-athletes push for a spot in college basketball immortality, the debate continues about whether or not college athletes should get a piece of the action.

In addition to our viewpoints on this topic, we are also presenting a few recent ESPN.com articles that discuss this very question, "Should college athletes be paid?"

Should college athletes be paid? - Robert Lipsyte and Dan Shanoff

College athletes already paid in full - Jason Whitlock

Pay college athletes? No. - Johnette Howard