The NCAA Dust has Settled

Whew! Finally, with the participants in this year's Final Four determined, everyone should feel safe to come out. However, do not look at your respective brackets!

Here's a quick look at the quintessential quintet of college basketball:

MICHIGAN STATE: 10 years after taking his best team to The Final Four, Tom Izzo returns (again) with perhaps his most unlikely.

The Spartans literally "survived and advanced" every step of the way winning their first four tournament games by the skin of their teeth. A three-point victory over New Mexico State, a buzzer-beating three-pointer to down Maryland after surrendering a big lead, a tight squeeze of upstart Northern Iowa, and a tight win over Tennessee (perhaps the best played game of the tournament), brought Izzo and his Spartan regiment to Indianapolis.

In every win, Michigan State found a way to secure victory. This team has all the hallmarks of what Izzo's teams are known for: defense, rebounding, timely shooting, and more defense. If Korie Lucious can continue to minimize the loss of point-guard Kalin Lucas with solid play and direction of the offense it will be hard to envision State not making Monday's title game.

But first they have to get past...

BUTLER:

The Bulldogs defense is "smack your mama good." Butler has yet to allow an opponent to surpass 60 points in the tournament. Butler's highest point totals allowed during the regular season coincided with their biggest opponents (Georgetown, Minnesota, and Clemson).

Kansas State Head Coach Frank Martin's head exploded at least five times during his teams defeat at the hands of Butler. Is it us or does that man need Zoloft?

The Bulldogs and their coach, Brad Stevens, will certainly be homers this weekend playing within walking distance of their campus. Is it us, or is Stevens not of legal drinking age?

If Butler cuts down the nets Monday, prepare yourself dear passengers for a feature-film to hit theaters in 2012. Chances are that the movie will have a lot more love scenes than "Hoosiers"... sex sells everything in Hollywood nowadays.

It is for certain that two teams that play defense as good as Butler and Michigan State will make Saturday's first game a bloody affair of attrition.

DUKE:

In a tournament chocked full of feel-good stories, may we present to you... the villain.

The Blue Devils' path to The Final Four, comparatively speaking to the rest of the field, resembled the 1990 UNLV Runnin' Rebels scorched earth march through the tourney. With the exception of this past Sunday's seven-point win over Baylor, every Duke victory has been by double-digits.

That Baylor game was especially painful to watch if you are a non-Duke fan. College b-ball fans can be broken down to two types: Duke fans, and non-Duke fans. Every non-Duke fan hates the Blue Devils.

Baylor abandoned a rebounding mind set at the most critical time, allowing Duke second opportunities to score; and the Blue Devils cashed in, in spades. The Bears also had shortcomings in point-guard play, but we digress.

Like Izzo, Coach K returns to The Final Four with an unlikely group. Unfortunately Duke has just enough size and good shooting to pull this (winning it all) off against the rest of the remaining field. However they have to get past...

WEST VIRGINIA: Our Engineer tells a story (as he is PRONE to do) of a sweatsuit sporting fellow, who would hang out in South Philadelphia around 16th and Wolf, known as Bobby Big Huggs. He swears that this fellow coached a youth basketball team in South Philly before deciding it was more rewarding and lucrative to coach college basketball. He also swear that fellow is West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins.

Stereotyping a blustery looking man in a sweatsuit aside, the engineer keeps a train rolling down the line, so we abide with his tall tales.

Anyway, The Big Sweatsuit had a masterful game plan to defeat Jon Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats. The Mountaineers dared Kentucky to beat them with outside shots, and in doing so would collapse their defense to nullify DeMarcus Cousins in the lane.

If Kentucky would have went to The Final Four, their appearance would have had to have been vacated in a couple of years like Calipari's last two visits with UMass and Memphis anyway!

So a pull on the train whistle to Bobby Big Huggs and his charges for sparing us that. Hopefully, they can spare everyone the sight of Duke in Monday's title-game as well.

In the words of the great civil servant of fictional Hazzard County, Boss Hog, "Git dem Duke boys!"

Will either of the two Final Four mainstays, Duke or Michigan State, win out and restore the universe to proper order? Will Bobby Big Huggs strike a blow for all coaches who refuse to wear suits on the sideline? Or will the ButlerThe D-train Daily Staff is patiently checking www.imbd.com in preparation for the story of the 2010 Butler Bulldogs defensive-themed push to the National Title. "Lockjaw", coming Fall 2012.