With the Final Four on Saturday, it’s time to take a look at the players that carried these teams throughout the tournament with a chance to win at the NCAA National Championship.
A lot of credit has gone to the underdog VCU for taking out some big teams, but Kentucky has arguably had the toughest road with top-seeded Ohio State in the Sweet 16 and No. 2 North Carolina in the Elite Eight. The Wildcats are led by Brandon Knight, who is averaging nearly 16 points per tournament game and has hit all the key shots down the stretch. They are the deepest team in the tournament and have a veteran coach with John Calipari who has coached in Final Four games with UMass and Memphis. Kentucky is a young and inexperienced team but they have talent surrounding Knight. Josh Harrellson is averaging nearly 15 points and 9 rebounds per game. Terrence Jones is averaging more than 10 points and six rebounds. Darius Miller is averaging 9.5 points. Doron Lamb is averaging more than six.
Kemba Walker is the favorite to win the Final Four MVP after carrying Connecticut through the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament. He won the Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional with 20 points and seven assists against Arizona. He is averaging nearly 27 points per game in the NCAA Tournament. Jeremy Lamb is averaging more than 18 points per game for the Huskies. Alex Oriakhi is averaging more than six points and eight rebounds.
Mid-major Butler actually has the most Final Four experience and made it to the championship game last season. Senior Matt Howard is averaging 16 points and seven rebounds per game, and has hit some huge shots for the Bulldogs. Junior Shelvin Mack is third in the MVP odds and is averaging more than 21 points. They don’t have the athleticism of Kentucky or Connecticut but they know how to win close games.
Last is VCU, who many thought didn’t even deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament. The Rams have used the underdog card as motivation to get here but if they go back to their regular-season form of average shooting and being out-rebounded, they will be in trouble against Butler. They have four candidates for MVP because they share the ball well and a different player steps up for VCU each game. Brandon Rozzell is averaging 16 points per game with Bradford Burgess averaging 15, Jamie Skeen averaging 13 and Joey Rodriguez averaging 10 points and seven assists.
Final Four MVP Odds (provided by William Hill)
Kemba Walker (Connecticut): 9/4
Brandon Knight (Kentucky): 3/1
Shelvin Mack (Butler): 13/2
Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut): 9/1
Josh Harrellson (Kentucky): 10/1
Terrence Jones (Kentucky): 10/1
Matt Howard (Butler): 11/1
Jamie Skeen (VCU): 12/1
Darius Miller (Kentucky): 18/1
Alex Oriakhi (Connecticut): 18/1
Doron Lamb (Kentucky): 20/1
Joey Rodriguez (VCU): 20/1
Brandon Rozzell (VCU): 25/1
Bradford Burgess (VCU): 25/1