NCAA Final Four: Unconventional Field Calls for an Unconventional Change

Forget the idea of an NCAA Final Four. For a year, forget the idea of one school being crowned national champion.

Stay with me, an explanation is on the way.

The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship is referred to as March Madness for a reason, and this has been the most insane and unpredictable tournament that we’ve seen in a long time.

The combined seeds of the 2011 Final Four is 26, with 37 combined losses. Half of the remaining field—Virginia Commonwealth and Butler—come from mid-major conferences. The other half—Connecticut and Kentucky—are two of the power six conferences' (ACC, Big 10, Big East, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC) most prestigious programs, but both are led by head coaches that are, well, not exactly known for being morally inclined.

John Calipari has had two Final Four banners removed, Massachusetts’ in 1996 and Memphis’ in 2008. Jim Calhoun has been under investigation since 2009 for various NCAA infractions. Because of this, it’s no guarantee that the national championship banner would remain in the rafters if Kentucky or Connecticut were to finish as the last team standing.

To those of you still reading, I propose an idea.

On one side are the mid-majors. On the other are two power-six powerhouses. What the NCAA should do, besides hope it never gets a field like this ever again, is throw out the Final Four and go right to the final.

Rather than have everyone participate, select the 10 best players between VCU and Butler, and UConn and Kentucky, and make the final an All-Star game. Mid-Majors versus the Power Six, or in this case, the Power Two.

Now try and tell me that wouldn’t interest you far more than this weekend’s games and any potential national championship that could be born from the semifinals.

You can’t.

Here’s who made the cut:

Mid-Majors:

PG- Shelvin Mack (Butler): 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists.

SG- Brandon Rozell (VCU): 11.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 40 3P%.

SF- Bradford Burgess (VCU): 14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 49 FG%, 42 3P%.

PF- Jamie Skeen (VCU): 15.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 52 FG%, 40 3P%.

C- Matt Howard (Butler): 16.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 49 FG%, 42 3P%.

Bench- Shawn Vanzant (Butler), Joey Rodriguez (VCU), Andrew Smith (Butler), Ronald Nored (Butler), Khyle Marshall (Butler).

Coach- Brad Stevens (Butler).

Power Two:

PG- Brandon Knight (Kentucky): 17.3 points, 4.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 38 3P%.

SG- Kemba Walker (Connecticut): 23.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.9 steals.

SF- Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut): 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, one steal, 48 FG%.

PF- Terrence Jones (Kentucky): 15.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 blocks.

C- Josh Harrellson (Kentucky): 7.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 61 FG%.

Bench- Doron Lamb (Kentucky), Darius Miller (Kentucky), Alex Oriakhi (Connecticut), Shabazz Napier (Connecticut), DeAndre Liggins (Kentucky).

Coach- Jim Calhoun (Connecticut).

First, let me explain my coach selections. I took Stevens over Shaka Smart because he’s been there and done that, while no one had heard of Smart until last week. Calhoun gets the nod over Calipari only because if the Power Two wins, there is a slightly better chance that it would get to hang on to whatever trophy or banner the NCAA rewards it with Calhoun calling the shots.

There isn’t any reason to break down the two rosters by numbers because let’s face it, on paper, the Power Two slaughter the Mid-Majors. I had trouble filling the last three spots on the Mid-Majors roster, but not half as much as I had deciding who should start and who should come off the bench for the Power Two. The Kentucticut Wildhuskies are loaded.

However, the reason the Final Four looks the way it does is being paper champion means nothing when two teams step onto the hardwood. Just ask the top eight seeds; they each have plenty of time to give a detailed answer as to why being the favorite is meaningless.

Butler and VCU are two of the stingiest defensive teams in the country, something each has proven throughout the past two weeks on the big stage. In five tournament games, VCU has allowed 62 points per game, and that’s against high-scoring offenses such as USC, Purdue and Kansas. Butler has allowed just over 63 points per game, an impressive number against a slate that included Old Dominion, Pitt, Wisconsin and Florida.

The Mid-Majors would stick to a defensive identity with Stevens at the helm, and as you can see by viewing the above statistics, all five starters are capable scorers and great three-point shooters. Size and depth are its big issues, as only one player off the bench stands above 6'7" (Smith).

There’s a lot to love about the Power Two. Knight and Walker are arguably the two best players at their position in all of America. Lamb has played Walker’s Robin admirably during the month of March, and Harrellson might be the best center in Houston.

While depth is a concern for the Mid-Majors, it’s a strength for the Power Two. Lamb, Miller, Oriakhi, Napier and Liggins would make up a very good starting five. They’re big, strong, fast and have three efficient perimeter shooters in Lamb, Miller and Napier.

There’s no reason to believe the Power Two wouldn’t win this game by 15 to 20 points, and that’s exactly why I’m picking the Mid-Majors to win.

They defend better and four, yes four, of five starters shoot 40 percent or better from three-point range. The three-point arc is the great equalizer in basketball, and it has carried both Butler and VCU to this point.

Most of you are probably laughing right now and saying that Walker alone would beat the Mid-Majors. Before milk comes out your nostrils, look at what other stud guards have done offensively against VCU or Butler defense:

Ashton Gibbs (Pitt) vs. Butler: 11 points.

Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin) vs. Butler: 22 points on 6-for-19 shooting, four turnovers.

Erving Walker (Florida) vs. Butler: 8 points on 1-for-10 shooting, 1-for-7 from three.

Austin Freeman and Chris Wright (Georgetown) vs. VCU: 16 points on 6-for-27 shooting, 0-for-13 from three combined.

E’Twaun Moore (Purdue) vs. VCU: 10 points on 5-for-15 shooting.

Tyshawn Taylor, Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed (Kansas) vs. VCU: 27 points on 8-for-25 shooting combined.

As you can see, nine very good guards had absolutely miserable nights against the perimeter defenders of Butler and VCU. Is Walker better than all of the above? No question.

Good enough to do what those players couldn’t and carry this mini all-star team to victory? Definitely. Would he have to carry that burden with this supporting cast? No.

Is all that enough for me to pick against Stevens and his crew of undersized and seemingly overwhelmed passovers?

No.

At this point, nothing could be more foolish.