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Final Four Bound

SI's Seth Davis examines how Da'Sean Butler and West Virginia KO'd No. 1 seed Kentucky to reach the school's first Final Four in 51 years

West Virginia was the most impressive team in last Saturday's Elite Eight action. This is not a knock on Butler, which beat Kansas State 63--56 for a spot in the Final Four against Michigan State, but the Mountaineers faced a tougher opponent and looked like a champion, dictating how the game was played. You can criticize the young Wildcats for taking so many threes (32), but West Virginia didn't give them an opportunity to do much else. That was the Mountaineers' strategy: Cut off Kentucky's passing lanes, eliminate its driving lanes and choke off the post. It's impossible to penetrate against a 1-3-1 zone. West Virginia dared the Wildcats to win it from beyond the arc, and obviously they couldn't. Meanwhile, Butler (above) hit four of WVU's 10 triples. The Mountaineers perfectly executed their game plan, and now they're in the Final Four.

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