Final Four: Back to almost normal

The Final Four is almost back to normal. Michigan State, Duke and a Big East school. Nothing unusual about that. After two weeks of great finishes and great stories from the little guys, we’re left with more than we could ever hope out of a Final Four but not near what we dreamed about.

Butler carries the Cinderella flag into the Final Four, but it could have been so much more. Northern Iowa seemed capable of winning the regional and it was. Saint Mary’s seemed capable of winning the regional but it wasn’t. Cornell didn’t seem capable, but a nation can dream, can’t it?

So in the end, this is a Final Four we can sink our teeth into. A deserving Cinderella. An annual power, Michigan State, that is my favorite among the blueblood schools, since Tom Izzo seems to run a solid program and is America’s best coach. Duke, which I have no use for and which has a smug coach, but at least Mike Krzyzewski — the anti-John Calipari – flies in the face of the one-and-done culture. And West Virginia, which has a coach you can’t get behind (Bob Huggins) but at least hasn’t been to a Final Four in 51 years.

So I’ll take this Final Four. It’s better than most.