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 A look at the Final Four
Posted: Wednesday March 24, 1999 10:50 AM
Sports Illustrated college basketball writer Seth Davis chatted with CNN/SI anchor Johnny Phelps about the upcoming Final Four matchups. CNN/SI: Clearly, Seth, Duke has been a prohibitive favorite in the tournament all along. Michigan State was the first team Duke beat after its loss to Cincinnati, which started the Blue Devils' 31-game winning streak. So what hopes do the Spartans have this time? Seth Davis: I think they have a realistic shot at winning this game. Michigan State has some attributes that might give Duke some problems. First and foremost, their size. Duke is not a great rebounding team, I think Temple demonstrated that Sunday. Michigan State is a very good inside rebounding team, particularly with Antonio Smith on the interior. I think he'll do a good job on Elton Brand. 
Also, Michigan State has, of course, the great point guard in Mateen Cleaves. It's very important against Duke not to turn the ball over because the Blue Devils are excellent at turning their opponents' mistakes into points. It's going to be imperative for Cleaves to control the tempo, I think he might be able to do that and give Duke some problems. CNN/SI: You have three No. 1 seeds and Ohio State, which came out of the South Regional as a No. 4. But after last year, the thought of the Buckeyes in the Final Four was almost outrageous -- how have they done it? Davis: Well, of course with excellent guard play, you can start with Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd. We say it every March and it's very true: Guard play is the most important thing to have at this time of the year. And also, excellent coaching, I think, has played a part. Jim O'Brien has really done a magnificent job with this group of kids and if there is really one guy in this tournament right now you root for, it's O'Brien. He has had a rough couple of years; he lost his wife to cancer at an early age; he lost his job at Boston College, his alma mater, where he really poured his heart and soul into the program. For him to go out to Columbus and bring the Buckeyes back from last place in the Big Ten to the Final Four is a really great achievement. CNN/SI: What does it say about UConn, that Khalid El-Amin goes 0-for-12 from the floor in the regional final, and the Huskies still won it out West? Davis: Well, it says they know how to win. Let's face it: that's the point right now, to win your games, survive and advance. Really, this is nothing new for UConn. They've done this all year. They played through some injuries, earlier this season Richard Hamilton went through a shooting slump, but they only lost two games. They lost to Syracuse when two of their starters were out, and they lost to a very good Miami team only by two points. They won the Big East in very convincing fashion. There's a lot to be said to just finding a way to win, and I think a lot of that has to do with Khalid El-Amin. I think he's really a very tough kid, he runs the show for them, and the fact that he was able to overcome such a poor shooting performance on Saturday and still help them win that game goes a long way. The kid's a winner. And that's why I think they'll be able to win the game this Saturday for that reason. CNN/SI: So you're pointing to a Duke-UConn final, but so often the clear favorite doesn't come out on top. Why will the Blue Devils prevail? Seth Davis: I think the reason Duke will be able to avoid what's happened to favorites in the past is because of the experience of Mike Krzyzewski. The other three Final Four coaches are going there for the first time and it's the greatest thing that has happened to them yet. This is Coach K's eighth Final Four, he's coached in four national championship games, he won two of them. And I just think there are things you need to learn about preparing your team to play in a Final Four that you can only learn by being there. And I think, really, in the end, that's going to make the difference. Even with the history of favorites losing at this point of the season, I think Duke will be able to pull it out. Krzyzewski will be able to avoid a lot of the pitfalls that have befallen favorites in the past.
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