Final 4 Free Pick – SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010 NATIONAL SEMIFINALS AT INDIANAPOLIS
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Team records:
No. 2 West Virginia Mountaineers (31-6, 13-5 Big East)
No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (35-5, 13-3 ACC)
West Virginia vs. Duke Odds
The odds makers have the Blue Devils as -2 ½ -point favorites.
The Over/Under is 131.
Mountaineers vs. Blue Devils Preview:
The No. 2 West Virginia Mountaineers will prepare to do battle with the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Mountaineers knocked the Blue Devils out the NCAA Tournament 76-67 on their way to a Sweet 16 appearance the last time these two teams met back on Mar 22, 2008. This year’s meeting should spawn a ferocious rematch, as both teams have several players who played in that matchup.
The Blue Devils are finally back in the Final Four for the first time since 2004 after defeating the Baylor Bears 78-71 on Saturday. Nolan Smith posted a career-high 29 points, including a three-pointer with just over three minutes remaining to give the Blue Devils the lead for good, while senior guard Jon Scheyer came up big by adding five three-pointers and scoring 20 points in the win.
The Bears were the first team in the tournament to successfully shut down Kyle Singler, keeping him from making a single field goal. Duke won the battle of the boards by six, as Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek grabbed nine boards apiece.
In the meantime, West Virginia is the only No. 2 seed team remaining and by winning the Big East Tournament, recorded their first conference championship since winning the Atlantic 10 in 1984. Coach Huggins’ packed his Mountaineers’ suffocating defense in the paint forcing John Calipari’s anemic shooting offense to try and win from outside en route to a 73-66 victory over the favored Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday.
The victory lifted WVU to their first Final Four appearance since 1959. Da’Sean Butler led the charge with 18 points while Joe Mazzulla scored a career-high 17 points in his first start this season. Mazzulla started the game as a replacement for the injured Darryl Bryant, whose status remains uncertain for Saturday’s contest as the team tries finding a way to get him back on the court including a specially made shoe. No official announcement has been made on whether or not he will play in Saturday’s contest. 
This year’s Duke team hasn’t got the flash of year’s past, but they have suddenly become the favorite for the NCAA title after the other three regional No. 1 seeds have been dispatched. They have won 11 of their last 12 regional finals, but haven’t won a national title since 2001.
Duke has the talent and ability to win, but they need to try to avoid foul trouble as much as possible. The Devils will need to make sure they don’t settle for the long ball and try to take advantage of West Virginia’s thin backcourt depth. Duke should be able to throw enough post players at West Virginia to be effective in the middle as well.
WVU will counter by manning up with Duke to take advantage of their athleticism and length. The Mountaineers will not only rely on standouts Butler and Devin Ebanks to get the job done, but will need another stellar performance from Mazzulla, as well as from seven-footer Cam Thoroughman, who had a big defensive game against the Blue Devils in the last meeting and is likely to get the start in Saturday’s contest to provide more size inside. A lack of depth could be the poison dart for the Mountaineers.
This game may be the true national championship since whatever team wins will go into the finals as the favorite.
Betting Trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of West Virginia’s last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Duke’s last 5 games
West Virginia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
West Virginia is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Duke is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Duke is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Blue Devils vs Mountaineers Free Final Four Pick
I expect Duke to win this since their backcourt looked so good in the Elite Eight and their frontline has really become formidable.
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Matt Martz is a freelance writer located in Central California. Blessed is the gambler who expects nothing, for ye shall not be disappointed.
