The Cardinals had just lost to Notre Dame to fall to 7-4 in Big East play. In an effort to motivate his team and lift its spirits, the legendary coach promised his players that if they won the national championship, he would get a tattoo.

Well sure enough, the Cardinals steamrolled the competition in the NCAA Tournament and defeated Michigan in the title game to win it all.

A close-up of Rick Pitino’s tattoo (Credit: Twitter/ @KKcards)

Give credit to the former Knicks coach. The 60-year-old stayed true to his word and got inked up. The photos were tweeted out by Louisville sports information director Kenny Klein.

Pitino’s championship in 2013 was the second of his career. He also won with the University of Kentucky in 1996.

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ATLANTA (97.1 The Ticket) ”Everybody’s down a little,” an obviously emotional Mitch McGary said in the locker room after Michigan’s NCAA championship loss to Louisville.

McGary, whose high-flying play earned praise from the Fab Five’s Jalen Rose, among many others, said his only plan for Tuesday was to “wake up and get back at it.”

But he sidestepped one big question — Will he return to Michigan next season?

“I don’t really know,” McGary said. “I’m not going to answer that question right now.”

Discussing Michigan’s special season led by a roster of young players, McGary said the loss at the end doesn’t shade the whole year, saying, “Just to go through the season and make it this far, to fight through that adversity, is just a tremendous accomplishment for this team.”

He added the coaches told players after the game to keep their heads high. “A lot of the coaches, players said they wish they could have been part of this, going off that, that’s something special when people like Cazzi Russell, the Fab Five are saying that and wishing they could have been part of this,” McGary said.

Hundreds streamed onto Cardinal Boulevard after Louisville’s 82-76 victory over Michigan on Monday night, screaming, dancing and lighting off small fireworks in revelry that lasted into the early hours.

The celebration got briefly out of hand as it was winding down, with an attack on a police officer that prompted authorities to send in other officers using riot gear. Students quickly fled the area but several scuffles ensued and bottles were thrown, to which police responded with tear gas. Order was restored about 2:30 a.m. after an armored carrier was brought in.

The citywide party could be repeated Tuesday night if the Cardinals’ women’s team beats Connecticut for the NCAA championship in New Orleans. For now, the area is savoring the Cardinals’ men’s achievement.

“This means everything,” said Connor Millay, 19, a Northern Kentucky University student who traveled to Louisville despite facing two tests Tuesday.

“I’ve been waiting for this my whole life,” Millay said. “My dad experienced this. My grandpa experienced this. I needed one of these.”

Elsewhere around town, Cardinals faithful partied in dormitories and around campus, in bars and restaurants and in living rooms after Louisville claimed its third national championship.

Most chose the quiet comforts of home over the noisy crowds that assembled in the Fourth Street Live! entertainment district. But when Louisville emerged victorious at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, emotions were felt everywhere.

“We’ve been waiting for this for the past 27 years,” said Joe Barnes, 61, a University of Louisville alumnus who walked among the thousands of students on Cardinal Boulevard. “This has been one of the best teams that U of L has had. Ever. They’ve showed more spirit, more hustle. They believe in each other.”

Standing ready were a combination of Louisville and campus police and sheriff’s deputies, prepared for large crowds and celebrations that have been commonplace since the Cardinals reached the Final Four and then beat Wichita State in Saturday night’s semifinal.

University spokesman John Drees said more than 5,000 people were estimated to be packed onto Cardinal Boulevard.

“Everybody’s happy,” he said. “Everybody’s celebrating.”

He said police arrested 10 people on charges of drunken and disorderly conduct. Several were injured, two on falls and one with a cut foot.

However, things got out of hand around Cardinal Boulevard and Third Street as the celebration was winding down.

Riot police were called in after an officer was attacked. Students quickly fled the area but several scuffles ensued and bottles were thrown, forcing police to use tear gas. The armored carrier was brought in and order was restored before 2:30 a.m.

The citywide party could be repeated Tuesday night if the Cardinals’ women’s team beats Connecticut for the NCAA championship in New Orleans. For now, the area is savoring the Cardinals’ men’s achievement.

“It’s huge,” said freshman Paul DeNeve. “We have not only won tonight but the women’s team plays tomorrow.”

Including the football team’s Sugar Bowl win over Florida on Jan. 2, he said, “we are arguably one of the nation’s best sports universities right now.”

The men’s championship was a nervous watch for Louisville’s fan base, which saw the Cardinals trail by 12 in the first half before rallying to 38-37 at the break. Louisville eventually went ahead and led by 10 in the second, withstanding Michigan’s attempts to come back.

At halftime, the near-capacity crowd at Cluckers bar was on their feet, leaping in unison after the Cardinals erased that deficit. That boosted confidence in closing the deal on Louisville’s first title in a generation — not to mention, anticipation for how to toast it.

“It’s going to be a party,” said Elliott Benjamin, 21, of Jeffersonville, Ind. “Not like Kentucky (last year). But it’s going to be something.”

Krissy Van Laan and friend Lindsay McDaniel had their spots at the Ri’ Ra’ Irish Pub, staying all the way through and witnessing the mayhem that unfolded immediately afterward.

“Everybody was so excited. It was unbelievable,” Van Laan said. “Once it got down to 4 seconds left, I knew we had it. People were running out in the streets and excited. This is just unbelievable.”

Police officers were stationed in areas where rowdy outdoor celebrations were expected, as they were on Saturday night after Louisville’s win over Wichita State in the national semifinal.

Louisville assistant chief Kenton Bucker said additional police were moved to a two-block area of West Broadway because of fighting and disorderly behavior there this past weekend. There were nine arrests in the area, and crowds stayed out until around 1 a.m.

Buckner said about 200 police officers, sheriff’s deputies, corrections officers and medical staff were working at sites where crowds were likely to gather.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Luke Hancock produced another huge game off the bench, scoring 22 points, and Pitino became the first coach to win national titles at two schools when relentless Louisville rallied from another 12-point deficit to beat Michigan 82-76 in the NCAA championship game Monday night.

This title came on the same day Pitino was announced as a member of the latest Hall of Fame class, a couple of days after his horse won a big race on the way to the Kentucky Derby, and a few more days after his son got the head coaching job at Minnesota.

This was the best feeling of all. The Cardinals (35-5) lived up to their billing as the top overall seed in the tournament, though they sure had to work for it.

Louisville trailed Wichita State by a dozen in the second half of the national semifinals, before rallying for a 72-68 victory. This time, they fell behind by 12 in the first half, though a stunning spurt at the end of the period wiped out the entire deficit.

“I had the 13 toughest guys I’ve ever coached,” said Pitino, who plans to follow through on a promise he made to his players if they won the title – by getting a tattoo.

No one was tougher than Hancock, named the most outstanding player. He came off the bench to hit four straight 3-pointers after Michigan got a boost from an even more unlikely player.

Freshman Spike Albrecht made four straight from beyond the arc, too, blowing by his career high before the break with 17 points. Coming in, Albrecht was averaging 1.8 points a game and had not scored more than seven all season.

While Albrecht didn’t do much in the second half, Hancock finished what he started for Louisville. He buried another 3 from the corner with 3:20 remaining to give the Cardinals their biggest lead, 76-66.

Michigan wouldn’t go away, but Hancock wrapped it up by making two free throws with 29 seconds left.
While Pitino shrugged off any attempt to make this about him, there was no doubt the Cardinals wanted to win a national title for someone else – injured guard Kevin Ware.

Watching again from his seat at the end of the Louisville bench, his injured right led propped up on a chair, Ware smiled and slapped hands with his teammates as they celebrated in the closing seconds, the victory coming just 30 miles from where he played his high school ball.

Any pain he was feeling from that gruesome injury in the regional final, when he landed awkwardly, snapped his leg and was left writhing on the floor with the bone sticking through the skin, was long gone as he hobbled gingerly onto the court with the aid of crutches, backing in a sea of confetti and streamers.
Louisville again came out wearing Ware’s No. 5 on the back of their warmup jerseys, which said “Ri5e to the Occasion” on the front. When the title belonged to the Cardinals, Ware put on a championship cap and got a big hug from Pitino. Then, they lowered the basket so the injured player could cut a strand out of the net.
This one belonged to him as much as anyone on the court.

“These are my brothers,” Ware said. “They got the job done. I’m so proud of them, so proud of them.”

Peyton Siva added 18 points for the Cardinals, who closed the season on a 16-game winning streak, and Chane Behanan chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds as Louisville slowly but surely closed out the Wolverines (31-8).

Michigan was in the title game for the first time since the Fab Five lost the second of two straight championship games in 1993. Players from that team, including Chris Webber, cheered on the latest group of young stars.

But, like the Fab Five, national player of the year Trey Burke and a squad with three freshman starters came up short in the last game of the season.

The first half might’ve been the most entertaining 20 minutes of the entire tournament.

Burke started out on fire for Michigan, hitting his first three shots and scoring seven points to match his output from the semifinal victory over Syracuse, when he made only 1-of-8 shots.
Then, when Burke picked up his second foul and had to go to the bench for the rest of the half, Albrecht took control. The kid whose nickname comes from his first pair of baseball spikes showed he’s a pretty good hoops player, knocking down one 3-pointer after another to send the Wolverines to a double-digit lead.
When Albrecht blew by Tim Henderson with a brilliant hesitation move, Michigan led 33-21 and Louisville was forced to call timeout. The freshman was mobbed on the Michigan bench, like the Wolverines had already won the national title, with one teammate waving a towel in tribute.
Not so fast. Not against Louisville.

The Cardinals kept coming back.

“We just went into war right there with a great Michigan team,” Hancock said. “We needed a rally and we’ve been doing it for a couple of games straight, being down. We just had to wait and make our run.”

Burke, who played only six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, finished with 24 points and did his best to give Michigan its first championship since 1989. But he couldn’t do it alone. Albrecht was held scoreless after the break, and no one else posted more than 12 points for the Wolverines.
Still, it was quite a run for a fourth-seeded team that knocked off No. 1-seeded Kansas with the greatest comeback of the tournament, rallying from 14 points down in the second half to beat the Jayhawks in the round of the 16.

But they came up against the ultimate comeback team in the final.

“I’ve had a lot of really good teams over the years, and some emotional locker rooms, and that was the most emotional we’ve ever had,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “The team unity we had, the sacrifice we had from five seniors who did not get to play very much, to these young guys buying into the team concept.

“We feel bad about it. There are some things we could have done better and get a win, but at the same time, Louisville is a terrific basketball team. We have not seen that quickness anywhere.”

Louisville had already pulling off a stunning rally in the Big East championship game – down by 16 in the second half, they won by 17 – and another against Wichita State. They surged back again behind their own ace off the bench.

Hancock matched Albrecht from the 3-point stripe. Then, trapping the youngster and knocking the ball away, he set up a fast break that ended with Siva flipping up a lob that Montrezl Harrell slammed through for a dunk, capping a stunning 16-3 run in less than 4 minutes that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the night, 37-36.

Glenn Robinson III made two free throws with two seconds left to give Michigan a 38-37 lead at halftime.
But everyone knew this game was just getting started.
And when it was done, Pitino, Ware and the Cardinals were celebrating in the middle of the mammoth Georgia Dome, assuring the national title will stay in the bluegrass another year.

Last season, it was Kentucky winning it all, the same team that gave Pitino his first title in 1996.
Now, he’s got another one – right down the road in Louisville.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - University of Michigan basketball fans in Ann Arbor took the heartbreaking loss as well as could be expected.

Inside the M Den, the crowd was in high spirits, and just like their home team — fans tried every trick in the book to bring home the title game.

From hat tricks to Hail Marys, students like Thomas Stephenson remained hopeful up until the last seconds that U-M had a fighting chance.

“Trey Burke needs to start heating up, that’s why we’ve got the rally caps on,” he said.

And while the prayers did seem to help bring the score up in the final half, all the spirit fingers in the room weren’t enough to bring home the victory. Louisville rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat Michigan 82-76 in the NCAA championship game Monday night.

Outside, fans began to trickle out and tell their tale of sadness. Student Daniel Cohen said he’s coping, but it’s tough.

“We had a great run, though. I’m not depressed by their effort, they made a great run, I mean, no one expected this, I didn’t expect this,” he said.

The bittersweet ending for some students carried over to the campus’ Diag. Ann Arbor police made three arrests and responded to a handful of furniture fires, but otherwise said it was just a typical night.

For many students, however, it was a night to remember.

“We’re on hunger strike until we win the championship. It’s about the ring, it’s about that championship. We’ve got to get that ‘W,’ you know what I’m saying,” said sophomore Connor Anderson.

MORE: Louisville Beats Michigan 82-76 For NCAA Title

Fans Celebrate Tourney Run, Look Forward To Next Year

A Great Night For Michigan Basketball

Luke Hancock’s knack for making big shots was on display well before he transferred to Louisville.

In 2011, Hancock played for George Mason and knocked down a late three-pointer to beat Villanova in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The stage was big, but Hancock wanted more.

He craved something bigger.

He finally got it last night.

Trailing by 12 late in the first half against Michigan in the national title game, Hancock single-handedly propelled Louisville back to within striking distance. The stone cold wing knocked down four three-pointers in the first half, and got the Cardinals to within a single point of the Wolverines at half time.

Hancock finished with 22 points and he only took six shots.

Louisville finished with a national championship.

“These are the 13 toughest guys I’ve ever coached,” said Louisville coach Rick Pitino, who became the first coach in history to win titles at two different schools.

But the toughest guy of the bunch is Hancock.

Peyton Siva was the heart of this team, but the feisty senior point guard doesn’t have Hancock’s ability to make big shots.

Chane Behanan tallied a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds), and was relentless on the backboards, but he doesn’t have Hancock’s consistency.

The former George Mason wing was named a co-captain for Louisville before he ever played a game for the Cardinals.

He’s a special player that continues to play special in big situations.

The NCAA Tournament is about providing a forum for student athletes to leave a mark.

That’s just what Hancock did over the last two games.

By winning Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four, Hancock now has a seat at the table alongside college basketball royalty.

Pitino has called his crafty wing “Cool Hand Luke.”

After a performance like this, who could really blame him?

Your thoughts on the NCAA title game? Sound off in the comments!

ATLANTA (AP) — Rick Pitino capped the greatest week of his life with the prize he wanted most of all.

Luke Hancock produced another huge game off the bench, scoring 22 points, and Pitino became the first coach to win national titles at two schools when relentless Louisville rallied from another 12-point deficit to beat Michigan 82-76 in the NCAA championship game Monday night.

This title came on the same day Pitino was announced as a member of the latest Hall of Fame class, a couple of days after his horse won a big race on the way to the Kentucky Derby, and a few more days after his son got the head coaching job at Minnesota.

This was the best feeling of all. The Cardinals (35-5) lived up to their billing as the top overall seed in the tournament, though they sure had to work for it.

Louisville trailed Wichita State by a dozen in the second half before rallying for a 72-68 victory. This time, they fell behind by 12 in the first half, though a stunning spurt at the end of the period wiped out the entire deficit.

“I had the 13 toughest guys I’ve ever coached,” said Pitino, who plans to follow through on a promise he made to his players if they won the title — by getting a tattoo.

No one was tougher than Hancock, who matched his season high and was named the most outstanding player — the first sub ever to win the award. Coming off a 20-point effort in the semifinal victory over Wichita State, he came off the bench to hit four straight 3-pointers after Michigan got a boost from an even more unlikely player.

Freshman Spike Albrecht made four straight from beyond the arc, too, blowing by his career high before the break with 17 points. Coming in, Albrecht was averaging 1.8 points a game and had not scored more than seven all season.

Albrecht didn’t do much in the second half, but Hancock finished what he started for Louisville. He buried another 3 from the corner with 3:20 remaining to give the Cardinals their biggest lead, 76-66. Michigan wouldn’t go away, but Hancock wrapped it up by making two free throws with 29 seconds left.

While Pitino shrugged off any attempt to make this about him, but there was no doubt the Cardinals wanted to win a national title for someone else — injured guard Kevin Ware.

Watching again from his seat at the end of the Louisville bench, his injured right leg propped up on a chair, Ware smiled and slapped hands with his teammates as they celebrated in the closing seconds, the victory coming just 30 miles from where he played his high school ball.

Any pain he was feeling from that gruesome injury in the regional final, when he landed awkwardly, snapped his leg and was left writhing on the floor with the bone sticking through the skin, was long gone as he hobbled gingerly onto the court with the aid of crutches, basking in a sea of confetti and streamers.

Louisville again came out wearing Ware’s No. 5 on the back of their warmup jerseys, which said “Ri5e to the Occasion” on the front. When the title belonged to the Cardinals, Ware put on a championship cap and got a big hug from Pitino. Then, they lowered the basket so the injured player could cut a strand out of the net.

This one belonged to him as much as anyone on the court.

“These are my brothers,” Ware said. “They got the job done. I’m so proud of them, so proud of them.”

Peyton Siva added 18 points for the Cardinals, who closed the season on a 16-game winning streak, and Chane Behanan chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds as Louisville slowly but surely closed out the Wolverines (31-8).

Michigan was in the title game for the first time since the Fab Five lost the second of two straight championship games in 1993. Players from that team, including Chris Webber, cheered on the latest group of young stars.

But, like the Fab Five, national player of the year Trey Burke and a squad with three freshman starters came up short in the last game of the season.

“A lot of people didn’t expect us to get this far,” said Burke, who led the Wolverines with 24 points. “A lot of people didn’t expect us to get past the second round. We fought. We fought up to this point, but Louisville was the better team today, and they’re deserving of the win.”

The first half might’ve been the most entertaining 20 minutes of the entire tournament.

Burke started out on fire for Michigan, hitting his first three shots and scoring seven points to match his output from the semifinal victory over Syracuse, when he made only 1-of-8 shots.

Then, when Burke picked up his second foul and had to go to the bench for the rest of the half, Albrecht took control. The kid whose nickname comes from his first pair of baseball spikes showed he’s a pretty good hoops player, knocking down one 3-pointer after another to send the Wolverines to a double-digit lead.

When Albrecht blew by Tim Henderson with a brilliant hesitation move, Michigan led 33-21 and Louisville was forced to call timeout. The freshman was mobbed on the Michigan bench, like the Wolverines had already won the national title, with one teammate waving a towel in tribute.

“That was honestly, probably back to high school days,” Albrecht said, remembering when he’s had a stretch like that. “Coach Beilein doesn’t play guys with two fouls in the first half, so I knew I was in the rest of the half, and I was fortunately hitting shots. Teammates were finding me. That’s about it.”

It didn’t last. Not against Louisville.

The Cardinals came back one more time.

“We just went into war right there with a great Michigan team,” Hancock said. “We needed a rally and we’ve been doing it for a couple of games straight, being down. We just had to wait and make our run.”

Burke, who played only six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, finished with 24 points and did his best to give Michigan its first championship since 1989. But he couldn’t do it alone. Albrecht was held scoreless after the break, and no one else posted more than 12 points for the Wolverines.

Still, it was quite a run for a fourth-seeded team that knocked off No. 1-seeded Kansas with the greatest comeback of the tournament, rallying from 14 points down in the second half to beat the Jayhawks in the round of the 16.

But they came up against the ultimate comeback team in the final.

“I’ve had a lot of really good teams over the years, and some emotional locker rooms, and that was the most emotional we’ve ever had,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “The team unity we had, the sacrifice we had from five seniors who did not get to play very much, to these young guys buying into the team concept.

“We feel bad about it. There are some things we could have done better and get a win, but at the same time, Louisville is a terrific basketball team. We have not seen that quickness anywhere.”

Louisville had already pulling off a stunning rally in the Big East championship game — down by 16 in the second half, they won by 17 — and another against Wichita State. They surged back again behind their own ace off the bench.

Hancock matched Albrecht from the 3-point stripe. Then, trapping the youngster and knocking the ball away, he set up a fast break that ended with Siva flipping up a lob that Montrezl Harrell slammed through for a dunk, capping a stunning 16-3 run in less than 4 minutes that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the night, 37-36.

Glenn Robinson III made two free throws with two seconds left to give Michigan a 38-37 lead at halftime.

But everyone knew this game was just getting started.

And when it was done, Pitino, Ware and the Cardinals were celebrating in the middle of the mammoth Georgia Dome, assuring the national title will stay in the bluegrass another year.

Last season, it was Kentucky winning it all, the same team that gave Pitino his first title in 1996.

Now, he’s got another one — right down the road in Louisville.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

By Andrew Kahn

Tonight, the No. 1 overall seed takes on a team once ranked No. 1 and now playing its best basketball. On one side is Louisville, the favorite when the field was announced, trying to keep the national championship trophy in the state of Kentucky. On the other is Michigan, riding a crop of underclassmen that rival the Fab Five. Louisville’s men will vie for the title on Monday night, and the women play in the title game on Tuesday.

Cards find a way

Peyton Siva was the preseason Big East Player of the Year, but has been inconsistent all season. Louisville has found ways to win when its point guard doesn’t play well. They beat Oregon in the Sweet 16 despite Siva tallying as many turnovers as points (four). He went 1-for-9 against Wichita but the Cards won again, 72-68, to reach the title game. A question Louisville fans would rather not see answered: Can Louisville beat Michigan if Siva struggles? He doesn’t need to outplay Trey Burke, but he can’t disappear either.

Reserves shine for Wolverines

Back-up point guard Spike Albrecht may have played the most impactful four minutes of the college basketball season on Saturday night. He nailed two contested three-pointers—one from outside the Georgia Dome—in the first half and helped Michigan handle Syracuse’s full-court press in the final minutes. Caris LeVert had played 15 minutes all tournament before logging 21 minutes against Syracuse. He hit 3 of his 4 shots (including two threes), grabbed four rebounds, and played solid defense in Michigan’s 61-56 win. Both Albrecht and LeVert are freshmen.

Shockers can’t withstand run

Wichita was able to hold off Ohio State’s furious rally in the final minutes of the regional final. Such was not the case on Saturday, as the Shockers lost their 12-point lead over the final 13 minutes and lost 72-68. Wichita’s hot three-point shooting went cold (6 for 20) and two Louisville reserves—Luke Hancock and Tim Henderson—drained huge threes during the run. A controversial jump-ball call that gave possession to Louisville in the final seconds didn’t help. While many of the high-profile jobs have already been filled, there is still speculation that Gregg Marshall may land somewhere else after this magical run.

Orange offense stalls

Fifteen seconds left, Syracuse down three. Brandon Triche had just fouled out, joining fellow backcourt starter Michael Carter-Williams on the bench. Who would Jim Boeheim turn to for a bucket? After a timeout, freshman reserve Trevor Cooney attempted a low-percentage shot that was rebounded by Michigan. Game over. The Orange overcame subpar offensive performances against California and Indiana, but couldn’t against Michigan. Due to graduation and potential early departures, offense will once again be a question mark for ’Cuse next year in the ACC.

Title game preview

Louisville opens as a small favorite against the young Wolverines. Louisville’s depth is definitely a concern; the fact that Tim Henderson was counted on to make baskets against Wichita is telling. While the Cardinals don’t rely on turnovers as much as VCU, a team Michigan dominated in the second round, they still like to play fast and turn defense into offense. Michigan protects the ball better than any team in the country. Power forward Chane Behanan is a tough matchup for most teams, but Glenn Robinson III is especially vulnerable in the paint. How he holds up will be a key to the game. Louisville’s Gorgui Dieng is taller than Mitch McGary, but McGary is stronger and playing with a lot of confidence. If he can get Dieng in foul trouble, it would open up more driving lanes for Michigan.

Andrew Kahn is a contributor to CBS Local who has written for ESPN the Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. He writes about college basketball and other sports at http://andrewjkahn.com. Email him at andrewjkahn@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @AndrewKahn.

Vegas says Louisville will win by four. It’s familiar territory for this young Michigan team; they’ve been the underdog since late in the regular season. Many people looked at South Dakota State as a possible Cinderella story; Shaka Smart’s VCU was going to roll over the maize and blue. Then Kansas was the impossible opponent, then the Gators were going knock them out. National media carried on about the Syracuse zone like they were 1985 Bears and gave Michigan little chance, a seeming foregone conclusion that Michigan’s offensive firepower would be smothered under a blanket of stifling defense. 

Michigan wasn’t always the underdog. Through the early months of the regular season, the Wolverines looked like they could be built for a deep run in the tournament. The schedule was helpful, they faced tomato soup cans for the first two months of the season. They hung 100 points on Slippery Rock, 88 on CMU, 94 on Northwestern, 95 on Iowa. They looked unstoppable at times but many said the same thing: They haven’t played anyone yet.

The first stiff competition came in Columbus on January 13th, when the Buckeyes brought them the season’s first loss. It was only a preview, because the last two months of the season were far less kind. They lost to Indiana and Wisconsin before they went into the Breslin Center, where MSU dismantled them. The twenty point margin in the final score doesn’t really give an accurate impression of what a beating occurred on prime time national television. The game wasn’t close and sent even the most ardent Wolverine supporters into the corner to lick their wounds.

Then they lost to Penn State, a team that didn’t have a win in the Big Ten yet.

When the season is later examined, there will be some debate about where the season reached its low point, either in East Lansing or Happy Valley. You might also point to the heartbreaking loss at home to Indiana. Either way, they were all horribly humbling humiliations for a team that was once ranked number one in the nation. They looked lost and John Beilein looked ill equipped to help them find their way.  Some people said that Beilein could be on the hot seat.

The Big Ten tournament didn’t offer any hope either, they were bounced by Wisconsin. Everything, especially when they drew South Dakota State in the first round of the tourney, looked like a repeat of last year when they were bounced in the first round by Ohio. Those who were still rooting for the Wolverines, and there were very few at that point, braced for the worst case scenario.

Michigan spent an entire month getting in their own way. They lost in especially embarrassing fashion many times. They absolutely limped into the tournament, not looking at all like the team who beat up on all those aforementioned soup cans early in the season. They looked like the same team who took all those dumb shots last year, throwing prayers from the three-line.

Then in the first round of the tournament, Mitch McGary woke up. They moved the ball better than they ever had during the season, they showed patience to wait for the open look. Burke was suddenly just as likely to send a pass to the low post; they looked like they could play physical near the basket. They certainly picked a good time to exercise all their earlier problems on the post.

Vegas is taking Louisville. Blue finds themselves in a very familiar position, maybe the best one for them. For the first two months, Michigan looked at as the dominant team in the most dominant conference. Then February happened. They’ve been climbing out of the pit since then. In almost every game of the tournament, they’ve been the underdog.

It sounds like they may have the Cardinals right where they want them.

The season that none of us could predict is set to give us a title game that none of us will forget.

In a year where college basketball was dominated by unpredictability, two high-level schools — Louisville and Michigan, led by two high-level coaches in Rick Pitino and John Beilein – are set to give us a battle tonight that should be everything that everyone who follows the sport deserves.

Pitino is in many ways the standard in the coaching profession.

He took Providence to the Final Four in 1987. He made Kentucky a dominant force in the 1990s before heading to the NBA. And now, in his third trip to the Final Four at Louisville, he’s chasing the one thing that’s eluded him since he returned to college coaching — a national championship.

Beilein meanwhile, is a throwback. This is a man that’s never been an assistant, and is still known as a guy who cuts in his own grass. He’s a coach’s coach, and maybe that’s why so many people have such an affinity for him.

Beilein has reached the pinnacle of his profession by doing the only thing he knows — grinding.

He won at Canisius, and then Richmond, before making his mark nationally at West Virginia. When Michigan called, Beilein didn’t even look at the campus before accepting the job.

Now, he’s going against Pitino for the sport’s richest prize.

Louisville has been the best team in college basketball for the majority of the season, but the tragic loss of reserve guard Kevin Ware, who suffered a gruesome leg injury against Duke, affects the Cardinals’ perimeter depth.

Will Michigan benefit?

No question.

The Wolverines have the best back court in college basketball in Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr., while burly big man Mitch McGary has blossomed into a burgeoning prospect.

Louisville is the the team that was expected to be here. Michigan is the team that destiny put here.

Down 12 in the Sweet 16 against Kansas, the Wolverines got a deep three from Burke to tie the game late in regulation and send it to overtime. Ever since then Michigan has been like a runaway train.

Is Louisville the team to slow it down?

We can’t wait to find out.

TALE OF THE TAPE

LOUISVILLE

Record: 34-5
Coach: Rick Pitino
Starting Five: Peyton Siva, Russ Smith, Wayne Blackshear, Chane Behanan, Gorgui Dieng
Top Reserve: Luke Hancock
Strength: Front court depth
Weakness: Half court offense

MICHIGAN

Record: 31-7
Coach: John Beilein
Starting Five: Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III, Mitch McGary
Top Reserve: Jordan Morgan
Strength: Outside shooting
Weakness: Front court depth

PREDICTION: LOUISVILLE 71, MICHIGAN 67

Who do you have in Monday night’s title game? Make your prediction in the comments!

It would give everyone a reason to stay connected. It would create a lifetime bond.

To drive that point home, the Louisville coach showed his team the documentary on North Carolina State’s improbable title in 1983, the one that left coach Jim Valvano running around the court looking desperately for someone to hug, the one that his players still get together to reminisce about — on and off camera.

“We weren’t Cinderellas like N.C. State,” Pitino said. “But I wanted them to understand that because (the Wolfpack) won a championship, for the rest of their lives they will sit around that table. Every year, they will get together — for the rest of their lives.”

Michigan coach John Beilein is surely trying to instill a similar urgency in his young team, which faces the No. 1 seeded Cardinals in the national championship game Monday night.

“It’s really an eerie feeling,” Beilein said. “This is it. There’s two teams playing, and it’s us and Louisville.”

The Cardinals (34-5) have lived up to their billing as the tournament’s top overall seed, blowing through their first four opponents before rallying from a dozen points down in the second half to beat surprising Wichita State 72-68 in the national semifinals.

It’s been quite a run for the Louisville athletic program, in general. The women’s basketball team will be playing for a national championship Tuesday night, while the football team won a Big East title and stunned Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

“It means a lot,” said Louisville forward Chane Behanan. “We haven’t been to the national championship since I don’t know when, probably before I was born. I’m very glad to be a part of this tradition.”

Even so, the Cardinals still feel a bit overlooked in their own state. The Kentucky Wildcats are the blue bloods of the bluegrass; Louisville is the school that knows it must work a little harder for a little love.

“We’re not a who’s who like Harvard and Yale in the alumni world,” Pitino said Sunday. “We’re a blue-collar school that supports each other. One of the coolest places I’ve ever worked.”

Football rules on the Michigan campus — rightly so, said Tim Hardaway Jr., given that program’s long, storied history.

“We still have a ways to go,” said Hardaway, the Wolverines’ junior guard. “Football has a lot more national championships than we do.”

Maybe so, but the Wolverines (31-7) haven’t exactly been pushovers on the hardwood.

They won a national title in 1989, beating Seton Hall in overtime. They’ve lost three other times in the championship. The program is best known, of course, for the Fab Five, that group of five stellar recruits who led Michigan to back-to-back finals appearances in 1992 and ’93.

This team is cut from the same mold, with three freshmen starters and two other first-year players who made big contributions in a semifinal victory over Syracuse.

“The Fab Five was a great team. I mean, a really great team,” said freshman guard Caris LeVert, who came off the bench to score eight points against the Orange. “They did some great things for our school.”

But these guys can do something the Fab Five never did — win it all.

“Just making it to the Final Four, we are going to hang up a banner in the Crisler Center,” said another freshman, Glenn Robinson III. “But we aren’t done. Having the chance to hang another one up for a national championship … is all kind of surreal to us.”

Both teams got to this point with crucial assists from the backups.

LeVert and Spike Albrecht — yep, another freshman — both hit a pair of 3-pointers in Michigan’s semifinal win, points that were desperately needed with player of the year Trey Burke struggling through a brutal night. The sophomore guard went 1-for-8 and finished with seven points, just the second time this season he’s been held in single digits.

Burke said he’ll gladly cede scoring duties to someone else again Monday if the Cardinals take a similar approach to Syracuse.

“Pretty much every time I got the ball, I had two people in my face,” he said. “I tried not to force anything, but I probably forced two or three shots. That 3 I hit (from way out and his only basket of the game) wasn’t a good shot. But I try not to force things and just look for different ways to find the open man.”

Louisville, inspired by the gruesome injury to Kevin Ware but needing others to step up while he’s down, got an even bigger contribution off the bench than Michigan.

Luke Hancock scored 20 points. Walk-on Tim Henderson, moving up in the rotation because of Ware’s broken leg, knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers that turned the momentum when it looked as though Wichita State might pull off another shocker.

There’s always a chance for the more obscure players to step up on the biggest stages.

“Those guys, not that you don’t pay attention to them, but your strategy is not toward them,” Pitino said. “We’re all trying to stop the great players defensively, choreograph our defensive plan to stop the great players.”

But there’s no doubt that Michigan needs Burke to have a much better game, especially against Louisville’s fearsome press, just as the Cardinals will be counting on Russ Smith to lead the way. He scored 21 points in the semifinals despite a woeful night at the foul line.

Smith is on the verge of completing quite a personal journey, considering it looked for a while like he might not even finish his career with the Cardinals. Unhappy with his playing time and constantly sparring with Pitino, the now-junior guard considered transferring after his freshman season.

Boy, he’s sure glad he stayed.

“I was leaving, but I talked to my dad and decided to come back,” Smith remembered. “I decided to work hard and try to earn some minutes.”

He still gets into it with Pitino from time to time — remember, the coach dubbed him “Russdiculous” for some of his wacky shots and perplexing antics — but it’s hard to envision where this team might be without him.

“I just try to make winning plays,” Smith said. “I don’t look at myself as a point guard or a shooting guard. I look at myself as a winning player.”

Pitino is certainly a winner.

He’s already the first coach to lead three schools to the Final Four. Now, he’s got a chance to become the first to win national titles at two schools, having led Kentucky to a championship in 1996.

Pitino isn’t worried about personal accolades.

He’d rather have a lifelong connection with this team.

“I haven’t thought about it for one second,” Pitino insisted. “Everything we do is about the team, about the family. I’d be a total hypocrite if I said (winning another title is) really important. It really is not important. I want to win because I’m part of this team. That’s it.”

What’s your prediction for Louisville-Michigan? Sound off in the comments!

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

That doesn’t mean the Huskies are going to be brimming with confidence about their chances of winning an eighth NCAA national title on Tuesday night against the Cardinals.

After all, Louisville (29-8) has become the master of the upset.

The Cardinals beat Cal 64-57 in the semifinals in the latest game they weren’t supposed to win, rallying from 10 down to do it. Louisville stunned defending national champion Baylor and knocked off perennial power Tennessee just to get to New Orleans.

Next up are the Huskies, who know how little one should read into previous meetings. UConn (34-4) lost to Notre Dame three times this season, only to beat the Irish handily, 83-65, in Sunday night’s other semifinal.

“We’ve got a problem Tuesday night, I think, because I think Louisville really thinks they’re the best team in the country right now,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “After the way they’ve played and what they’ve done in these last couple weeks, they probably think there’s nobody that can beat them.”

If the Louisville women pull off a fourth-straight upset and the men’s team beats Michigan on Monday night in Atlanta, then Louisville would become the first school to win men’s and women’s NCAA titles in the same year since UConn did it in 2004.

“If it were easy, it would have been done a lot of times, but the fact it’s only been done once shows you how difficult it is to do,” Auriemma said. “At the same time, this has been a magical year for Louisville. … It’s just amazing what they’ve been able to do, so I think we’re playing against Louisville and we’re playing against a certain karma maybe.”

Incidentally, that 2004 women’s title for Connecticut came in New Orleans.

The last time Louisville made it to a title game was in 2009, losing to — that’s right — Connecticut, 76-54.

Louisville coach Jeff Walz has a simple answer when asked what changed between the end of the regular season and the NCAA tournament to make his team so tough to beat.

“We’re playing our best basketball at the end of the year and that’s all that matters,” Walz said. “We’re figuring out a way to pull them out and win and play well at the right time.”

Still, there are reasons to wonder how Louisville will manage to do it against UConn. They will need to deal with Stewart, who poured in 29 points against Notre Dame on Sunday night. She did not play when the Huskies beat Louisville by 14 points nearly three months ago.

UConn is a complete team, strong on defense (allowing about 50 points per game) with an array of scoring options.

“She’s gotten stronger mentally, she’s gotten stronger emotionally,” Auriemma said of Stewart. “Stewie really takes things to heart and puts a lot of pressure on herself. When she wasn’t playing well, she wasn’t strong enough mentally and emotionally to put it aside.”

Four of their starters average double-figures in points, including 6-foot forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis at about 17 per game (she had 16 against the Irish) and 6-5 center Stefanie Dolson, who’s averaged nearly 14 points.

Advantage UConn?

The Cardinals aren’t all that concerned with history, unless they’re the ones making it. By beating Cal, the Cardinals, who were seeded fifth in the Oklahoma City Region, became the first team seeded worse than fourth to win a game in the women’s Final Four.

Louisville has been carried mostly by its offense in the tournament, with Antonita Slaughter hitting a lot of 3s — six against Cal — and Shoni Schimmel hitting from all over the court. Schimmel’s younger sister, Jude, has also been a clutch play-maker in a reserve role.

“Right now anything can happen,” Walz said. “Why not us?”

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ATLANTA (CBSNewYork/AP) — Start studying, Louisville… Michigan is coming.

Michigan spoiled what would have been one heck of a going-away party for the Big East on Saturday night, beating Syracuse 61-56 to earn a spot in Monday night’s championship game against top-seeded Louisville. Now the Cardinals have less than 48 hours to get ready for a team they haven’t played since 1978.

“We don’t have to prepare too much if we play Syracuse,” Pitino, trying to become the first coach to win national titles at two different schools, said after Louisville rallied for a 72-68 victory over ninth-seeded Wichita State. “We’ve got a lot of preparation if we play Michigan.”

Louisville (34-5), which has won 15 straight, is an early 4½-point favorite over Michigan (31-7).

This is Louisville’s first appearance in the championship game since 1986, when it won its second title. The Wolverines are back in the title game for the first time since 1993, when Chris Webber and Co. lost to North Carolina. Who did Michigan beat to reach that title game? None other than Kentucky, coached by Pitino at the time.

“It’s going to be a great matchup,” said Mitch McGary, who had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Michigan.

Louisville got its first real scare of the tournament from ninth-seeded Wichita State, falling behind by 12 in the second half. Nothing was clicking for the Cardinals on offense, they were getting in foul trouble and Kevin Ware, who can normally be counted on to give Louisville a lift off the bench, had been reduced to spectator, his broken right leg sustained in last week’s win over Duke propped up on the seat next to him.

But the Cardinals can grind it out, too, a fact that was all but forgotten as they steamrolled through their first four games of the NCAA tournament. Louisville had come back to win five games already this year after trailing by nine points or more, including the title game at the Big East tournament, and the Cardinals knew they had another run in them. Sure enough, Luke Hancock knocked down one shot after another, walk-on Tim Henderson made back-to-back 3s and the Cardinals forced seven turnovers in the final seven minutes during a 30-13 run.

Wichita State would give Louisville one last scare, pulling within 68-66 on Cleanthony Early’s tip in with 22 seconds left. But the Shockers were forced to foul, and the Smith and Hancock made theirs to seal the game.

“I never think we’re going to lose,” Pitino said. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to win. We have lost. But that’s the attitude: Pressing teams have to stay in there. We were fouling too much. Then we started making some steals, picking up the heat. Then, of course, the guys were brilliant.”

It didn’t hurt that Malcolm Armstead, who earned Most Outstanding Player honors in the West Regional after averaging 15.5 points in the first four games, was ice cold, finishing with 2 points on 1-of-10 shooting. The Cardinals won’t be able to count on that against Michigan.

Though AP Player of the Year Trey Burke had only 7 points on 1-of-8 shooting, Tim Hardaway Jr. led three Wolverines in double figures with 13 points.

“We know Trey is our leader,” Hardaway said. “He’s not going to have a game like he’s been (having) the whole season. That’s when our team steps up and just tries to pick him up.”

Much was made of Syracuse’s suffocating 2-3 zone, which had made more than one tournament team look inept. But the Wolverines rendered it ineffective early on by making shots from long range, including four 3s in the first half. They got sloppy down the stretch, allowing Syracuse to all but erase Michigan’s 8-point lead with 3:54 left.

Trailing 58-56, the Orange had a chance to force overtime. But Brandon Triche was called for a foul when Jordan Morgan stepped in to take the charge with 19.2 seconds left. After Jon Horford made only one of two free throws, Syracuse called timeout and set up a play. But instead of going for a 3-pointer, Trevor Cooney drove the lane.

The ball was swatted away, Michigan snatched up the rebound and Morgan scored on a thunderous dunk with just over a second remaining.

“It was a close game throughout the whole game,” Burke said. “I just kept telling the guys, coming out of halftime, ‘Syracuse is a really talented team, and they’re going to go on runs.’ This is a game of runs.

“A lot of people would crack under pressure when you’re in that type of situation.”

Now Michigan will face a different kind of pressure against Louisville — the Cardinals’ stingy press.

“Louisville is going to be a difficult game,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “We’ve played against Rick’s teams and Kentucky one time, when I was at Canisius, and at West Virginia a few times. He’s a great coach with great schemes and it’s going to be very difficult.”

Who’s your pick to win the big NCAA title game? Share your predictions below…

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Were you surprised to see Wichita State hang with Louisville for as long as they did?  Let us know…

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What do you make of Ware becoming a sudden celebrity? Share your thoughts below…

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The Cardinals are not only the favorites to win the national championship, they’ve become sentimental favorites, as well, after rallying around Kevin Ware, the guard whose compound leg fracture in last week’s regional final turned stomachs, while also warming hearts and setting the story line for this week in Atlanta.

“With Kevin going down, especially the way he did, it’s just making us play harder,” Louisville forward Wayne Blackshear said Friday.

In Saturday’s opening national semifinal at the Georgia Dome, the Cardinals — No. 1 seeds in the entire tournament — play ninth-seeded Wichita State, which has sprung upsets of Gonzaga and Ohio State en route to that program’s first Final Four appearance since 1965.

The second semifinal pits a pair of No. 4 seeds, Michigan and Syracuse, two programs with plenty of tradition but largely considered subplots in a week dominated by Louisville and Ware. (To say nothing of the news going down at Rutgers, where video of coach Mike Rice hitting players led to his ouster, the departure of the athletic director and other problems.)

Ware’s injury even captured the attention of First Lady Michelle Obama.

“I’m just glad to know Kevin Ware now even more because he’s probably the most famous person I know,” Louisville guard Peyton Siva said. “You know, when you have Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama call you, it’s pretty good to say you know that person.”

Wichita State has one player (Carl Hall) who salvaged his career after working in a light bulb factory and two more (Ron Baker and Malcolm Armstead) who paid their way to come to school and started on the team as walk-ons. Its coach has invited fans into the locker room after big wins. In most years, this would be the school with all the makings of a team the whole country can get behind.

Problem is, in this case, Louisville and Ware are already tugging on America’s heart strings.

“We’re brothers for life,” swingman Luke Hancock said. “I have that guy’s back in any situation. I know he has mine.”

Louisville (33-5) is a 10½-point favorite against the Shockers (30-8).

The second semifinal is expected to be more competitive. Michigan (30-7) is a 2-point favorite against Syracuse (30-9). The Wolverines are back at the Final Four for the first time since the Fab Five led them there in 1993. Syracuse returns on the 10-year anniversary of its only title, led by Carmelo Anthony.

The featured players in this game: For Michigan, Trey Burke, The Associated Press Player of the Year. And for Syracuse, well, it’s coach Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone defense.

How will Boeheim try to stop Burke, whose long-range 3-pointer against Kansas sent the game into overtime and set the stage for the Wolverines run to Atlanta?

“I don’t pay attention to matchups,” Boeheim said. “It’s teams. Teams play.”

Indeed, during interviews Friday, the Syracuse players sounded plenty confident that their team could stop Burke and the rest of the Wolverines, who followed their victory over top-seeded Kansas with a 20-point blowout of Florida in the regional final.

“It’s tough to go against our zone when you’ve never seen it before,” forward C.J. Fair said. “We want to force him to do some things he’s not done before.”

While Burke may be the most-watched player in the second game, all eyes figure to be on Ware in the opener, even though he’ll never touch a basketball.

He lives near Atlanta and traveled with the team for the Final Four. When the Cardinals arrived Wednesday night, he was in a wheelchair and the plan is for him to be on the bench for the game.

Louisville faces some practical concerns not having Ware in the lineup.

He was the main substitute for Russ Smith and Siva, the guards who guide the Louisville press and its offense, as well.

“Our players totally understand the challenge that lies ahead with this Wichita State team,” coach Rick Pitino said. “We understand with Kevin out that we not only have to play very hard, we have to play very, very smart.”

Is Louisville still the clear favorite to win the NCAA tourney? Share your thoughts below…

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Michigan’s current talents are brushing off any comparison to the Fab Five.

Besides, the Wolverines have a chance to do something that group never did.

Win a national championship.

Michigan, making its first Final Four appearance since the Fab Five era, takes on suffocating Syracuse in a national semifinal Saturday night that presents a clear contrast in styles.

Not so fast.

“We’re nowhere near the Fab Five,” said Michigan forward Glenn Robinson III, son of the former NBA star. “They changed the face of college basketball. We try to stay away from all that.”

Michigan hasn’t been to the Final Four since 1993, when the squad featuring Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson lost in the championship game for the second year in a row.

These Wolverines have some of that same vibe, with a lineup that features three freshmen — Robinson, Nik Stauskas and Mitch McGary — and a sophomore leader, Associated Press player of the year Trey Burke.

A couple of weeks ago, King dropped by one of Robinson’s classes to talk about an era that is still remembered fondly at Michigan, even though the triumphs were eventually thrown out by the NCAA because of illicit payments to Webber.

“The Fab Five is such a tremendous story, five tremendous guys that did something special,” coach John Beilein said Friday, a day when all four teams got a chance to practice in the cavernous, 70,000-seat Georgia Dome that is normally home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.

Syracuse, of course, couldn’t care less about some Michigan team from two decades ago.

The Orange are ready to unleash their stifling 2-3 defense on this group of Wolverines.

“It’s going to take them a while to adjust to the zone,” said junior guard Brandon Triche, who, like the rest of his teammates, was brimming with confidence that defense is going to carry Syracuse to Monday night’s title game against either Louisville or Wichita State.

The Michigan players quickly got wind of the comments coming from Syracuse’s media session.

“It sounds like cockiness,” said guard Tim Hardaway Jr., another son of an ex-NBA star on the Wolverines roster. “But it’s not going to come down to just talent or who has the biggest players. It’s going to come down to heart and passion.”

Having a player such as Burke doesn’t hurt, either.

The sophomore already came up huge in the regionals, leading the Wolverines back from a 14-point deficit against Kansas with less than 7 minutes remaining. He knocked down a long 3-pointer at the end of regulation to tie the game, then finished off the upset of the top-seeded Jayhawks in overtime.

But Burke has never played against a defense quite like this.

“We’ve just got to try to find different ways to attack the zone,” he said. “They play a really good 2-3. It’s tough. We’ve got to make sure we knock down uncontested 3s.”

The zone is usually viewed as more of a passive defense.

Not the way Syracuse plays it.

Coach Jim Boeheim assembled a bunch of guys with impressive size and surprising quickness. When they’re all working together — waving those long arms and moving back and forth in unison, like the ocean lapping at the shore — it can be tough to get an open jumper and nearly impossible to work the ball inside.

Syracuse (30-9) has taken its trademark D to new levels of stinginess in the NCAA tournament.

The Orange have surrendered a paltry 45.75 points per game, holding Montana (34), top-seeded Indiana (50) and Marquette (39) to their lowest scoring totals of the season. Overall, Syracuse’s four tournament opponents have combined to shoot just 28.9 percent from field (61 of 211) and 15.4 percent from 3-point range (14 of 91).

None of those teams had a player like Burke.

That doesn’t seem to matter to Syracuse.

“It’s tough to go against our zone when you’ve never seen it before,” forward C.J. Fair said. “We want to force him to do some things he’s not done before.”

Michigan (30-7) prefers to get in the open court as much as possible, a style that is even more advantageous against a team such as Syracuse, which has a size advantage at almost every position.

The Wolverines are averaging 75.5 points a game on the season, even more (78.8) in their four NCAA games. Last weekend, after stunning Kansas, they romped past one of the nation’s best defensive teams, beating Florida 79-59 in the regional final.

They are certainly not intimidated by Syracuse.

“If their zone was unbeatable, then they would be 39-0,” Hardaway scoffed. “We’re just going to go out there, play our game, not worry about what they’re going to do, and just play Michigan basketball.”

Syracuse is playing in its first Final Four since the 2003 team won it all. This will mark the end of the Orange’s long tenure in the crumbling Big East (they’re moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season), and the players are keenly aware this might be the best chance to give Boeheim one more national title before he retires.

The 68-year-old coach has no plans to step down just yet, but certainly the bulk of his long, successful career is behind him.

Boeheim concedes that he’s a little surprised to be in position for another championship, especially after Syracuse closed the regular season with four losses in its final five games, including a 22-point blowout at Georgetown. The Orange were seeded first in both 2010 and 2012, but didn’t make it out of the regionals. This season, they advanced to Atlanta as a No. 4 seed.

“I wouldn’t have expected going into the tournament that we were going to be here,” Boeheim said. “This team has come together. Sometimes that happens at tournament time.”

Good timing.

Will tough-defending Syracuse shut down Michigan and advance to the championship game? Share your predictions below…

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

This weekend should be a celebration of collegiate athletics. College basketball fans should sit down on Saturday night and admire the drive, passion and work ethic of the student-athletes that have made their way through a grueling tournament to earn a spot in Atlanta for the Final Four.

Instead, it’s the exact opposite. The court of public opinion, vitriol and interest lies within Rutgers, a New Jersey school that hasn’t seen a Final Four in decades.

While our airwaves should be filled with callers empathizing with Louisville guard Kevin Ware’s ability to join his teammates in Atlanta, the story lies within Piscataway, New Jersey.

Mike Rice has stolen the show, lost his job and cast another ugly shadow over collegiate athletics. The role of athletic director Tim Pernetti — who is now out at Rutgers — in the ugly scenes, first shown on ESPN’s “Outside The Lines,” is harder to dissect.

But the problem isn’t unique: High profile college coaches and administrators think they are above the rules.

It seems like an athletic department scandal hits the newswire every six months. From covering up information to violence to illegal funds to circumventing recruiting rules, it’s hard to fathom that there are actually any athletic departments that are compliant with the current standards.

In New York, there are unique and interesting storylines to grab hold of on Saturday night in Atlanta.

NYC products such as Russ Smith and James Southerland have a chance to meet, in a Big East vs. Big East championship bout, on Monday night. Rick Pitino, the New York City-born coaching legend, has reportedly received induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

Yet they aren’t the story.

The national media can descend down to Atlanta for basketball breakdowns, Cinderella stories and great games. But what they’ll get are callers and readers glued to the Rice fallout who are wondering where the next program to get caught in a sticky situation lies.

As the years go on, it’s become harder and harder to enjoy college athletics. Unless you are a graduate of a school that consistently wins or is visible enough for that pride to shine on a regular basis, the sport is impossible to latch onto any longer.

Imagine trying to explain the truth about collegiate athletics, specifically bowl season and March Madness, to a child. You would either have to lie, leave out significant parts of the narrative or pretend that it’s something different than the present-day product.

Despite the $100 million contracts, private jets and lifestyle that the average person could never grasp, it’s easier to understand the process and product delivered by professional sports in 2013. From the NBA to NFL to NHL to MLB, business comes first. It drives decisions on both sides.

As the years have passed, fans have grown to realize that the exact same thing happens in the NCAA. Only there exists a front for the billion-dollar contracts: Academics.

Rice was in a position of power in Rutgers as a leader of students. Those students happened to be athletes. That allowed him to keep his job until the tapes and reaction spread like wildfire this week.

From Miami to Penn State to Rutgers to the next institution that places athletics and profit over the student, college sports are no longer fooling anyone smart enough to open their eyes.

The jig is up for the NCAA. No longer is the product pure or different than the money-grabbing, greedy professional product.

Enjoy the Final Four for what it is this weekend: Basketball.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Joe Giglio was the winner of Fantasy Phenom III in 2012. You can hear him on WFAN this Saturday from 1-3 a.m. Twitter? He’s on it @JoeGiglioSports.

Are incidents and scandals such as this one making you less of a fan of collegiate athletics? Let us know in the comments section below..

How do you score against the Syracuse 2-3 zone defense? Lately, there seems to be no answer.

More than any single player, it’s the amoeba-like creation crafted by Jim Boeheim over the past 37 seasons and honed to near perfection over the last month that’s turning into the team’s trademark.

With hundreds of college basketball’s brightest minds in town for a coaching convention that runs in tandem with the Final Four, The Associated Press picked out a handful and asked them this simple question: Given a week to game plan, how would you try to pick apart Syracuse?

“A week to prepare?” said Steve Robinson, a longtime assistant for Roy Williams, who also had stints as a head coach at Tulsa and Florida State. “Some people haven’t been able to prepare for that and they’ve had all season.”

Take, for instance, Syracuse’s last opponent.

Last week in the regional final, Marquette’s Buzz Williams faced Boeheim’s defense for the seventh time since becoming head coach at the Big East school. The Golden Eagles scored 39 points on 12-for-53 shooting.

“We collectively tried everything we knew to try,” Williams said after that loss. “It is the zone, and it is the players in the zone.”

Not that he’s alone.

Syracuse is allowing 45 points a game and 27 percent shooting in the NCAA tournament, making some of the scoreboards look like vestiges from the pre-shot-clock era.

“The 2-3 zone is one of the most basic zones you face,” explains Miami’s Jim Larranaga, named Thursday as The Associated Press Coach of the Year. “What makes Syracuse’s zone is the players. They’re long, athletic and they cover a lot of ground. So, what appears to be an open shot is almost always going to be challenged by an outstanding athlete.”

Boeheim started with the 2-3 back when he got the job at Syracuse in 1976. He started using it more in 1996 when 6-foot-8 forward John Wallace brought the Orange just one win shy of the national title. Syracuse won it all in 2003 with Carmelo Anthony leading the way but it was Hakim “The Helicopter” Warrick — the 6-8 forward with the 7-foot wingspan — who swooped from the middle of the zone to the wing to block a last-second shot and save a three-point victory for the Orange.

“Here’s a ’5″ man coming out and blocking a shot in the corner,” Larranaga said. “Not many teams have players with that size and the athletic ability to make that kind of play.”

Syracuse played man sporadically over the ensuing years. But after giving up 50 second-half points playing that way in an exhibition loss to Division II LeMoyne in 2010, Boeheim went almost exclusively to zone. He hasn’t changed since.

“It has certainly withstood the test of time,” said Michigan coach John Beilein, who faces Syracuse and its zone Saturday in the national semifinals. “Jim continues to work at it and tweak it in different ways.”

Anyone expecting the defense to look like it would if drawn up on a greaseboard — two, evenly spaced guards up top and three evenly spaced big men down low — will not recognize this 2-3.

“They’re not just standing around giving up shots and hoping the other guy misses,” said John Rhodes, an assistant at Duquense.

To counter-attack, Rhodes and the rest of the coaches interviewed by AP said an offense must work the ball inside — first to the high post, hoping two defenders will collapse and create a mismatch elsewhere, then down deep on the baseline, almost behind the basket, an awkward spot from which to get to the hoop.

“The high post guy either has to turn and shoot if he’s open, or turn and look down to the baseline, or get the ball out to the wings,” Air Force coach Dave Pilipovich said.

Pilipovich said getting a man on the low post to set ball screens for the ballhandler — a counterintuitive notion against a zone because there’s not always someone to pick off — is also a must for breaking it down.

“You’ve got to try to outnumber them on the perimeter, three against two,” he said. “Problem is, they’re very good at sliding under screens so they can take that away from you.”

Indeed, it is Syracuse’s length — guard Michael Carter-Williams is 6-foot-6 and Brandon Triche is 6-4 — that makes the Orange so difficult to break down. Hard to see over them. Hard to pass around them. They’re averaging six blocks and 11 steals a game in the tournament, almost unfathomable numbers for a zone defense.

Coaches also talk a lot about dribbling into the middle of the defense to break it down, but because of their wingspan, it’s hard to dribble past them.

“He recruits to it,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said of Boeheim. “He’s got guards who are 6-5, 6-6. I have a feeling no matter what defense you put them in, they’d be pretty effective, because they’re so athletic.”

Chris Crutchfield, an assistant for Oklahoma, works for Lon Kruger, who is considered one of the top tacticians in the game.

“We talked about that before we left,” Crutchfield said. “I don’t know how you do it.”

One obvious problem, Crutchfield says, is that teams don’t see the zone all that much during the season, so they don’t practice for it. Then, when they do — well, it’s hard to make it look like Syracuse’s zone.

“You don’t have the athletes they have to simulate it,” he said. “You can practice against it, you can talk about putting the ball in certain places, but you can’t simulate that. So, now, the gaps that you’ve seen in practice, you’re not going to see them because they cover up all those gaps. It’s really unbelievable.”

One team that did have some success this season was Louisville. The Cardinals went 2-1 against Syracuse in 2013. In their 78-61 win in the Big East tournament, they shot 40 percent — not great, but still better than any of Boeheim’s last seven opponents.

Rick Pitino’s strategy was to set up two men opposite each other on the high post and throw the ball into one of them. The other post man cuts to the hoop. The man with the ball then either looks to that cutter, or if that man is covered, throws to a guard who should be spotted up open in the opposite corner.

“If Louisville plays Syracuse in the championship game, you can look for the same strategy,” Larranaga said. “That’s not necessarily saying they’ll shoot it as well as the last time they played.”

In reality, all coaches agree that the only way to truly loosen up a zone is to make shots from the outside.

Michigan has a great candidate to do that — the AP’s Player of the Year, Trey Burke, who averages nearly 19 points a game and shoots nearly 40 percent from 3-point range.

Asked how he would game plan for Burke, Boeheim, not surprisingly, didn’t sound all that concerned.

“I don’t pay attention to matchups,” he said. “It’s teams. Teams play.”

Few play the team game better than Syracuse is playing it right now.

“It’s full time in terms of the way they play,” Robinson said. “They’ve established their niche and how they play, and it’s effective and it works for him.”

Tip-off for the Syracuse-Michigan contest will be at 8:49 p.m. on Saturday night.

What’s your prediction for this fascinating contest? Will the Wolverines be able to score enough to beat the Orange? Sound off with your thoughts and comments below…

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

TALE OF THE TAPE

LOUISVILLE

Coach: Rick Pitino
Record: 33-5
Starting Five: Peyton Siva, Russ Smith, Wayne Blackshear, Chane Behanan, Gorgui Dieng
Style: Frenetic
Top Reserve: Luke Hancock
Unsung Presence: Montrezl Harrell

WICHITA STATE

Coach: Gregg Marshall
Record: 30-8
Starting Five: Malcolm Armstead, Ron Baker, Tekele Cotton, Cleanthony Early, Carl Hall
Style: Grind
Top Reserve: Fred Van Vleet
Unsung Presence: Ehimen Orukpe

THE SKINNY:

Can the Shockers continue their surge? It all depends on how they handle Louisville’s relentless pressure. Look for Gregg Marshall to regularly use Malcolm Armstead and Fred Van Vleet together to offset the Cardinals’ tenacious defensive prowess. Wichita State has been able to punish opponents on the glass through their first four games in the NCAA Tournament, and that will end against Louisville. Rick Pitino’s team is too big, too talented, and quite frankly, too good.

PREDICTION: LOUISVILLE 62, WICHITA STATE 54

SYRACUSE

Coach: Jim Boeheim
Record: 30-9
Starting Five: Michael Carter-Williams, Brandon Triche, James Southerland, C.J. Fair, Rakeem Christmas
Style: 2-3 zone, accelerate on offense when available
Top Reserve: Jerami Grant
Unsung Presence: Baye Keita

MICHIGAN

Coach: John Beilein
Record: 30-7
Starting Five: Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway, Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III, Mitch McGary
Style: Spread
Top Reserve: Jordan Morgan
Unsung Presence: Spike Albrecht

THE SKINNY:

Talk about a contrast in styles. Syracuse is playing the best defense they’ve played in years while Michigan may have the perfect personnel to pick apart the Orange’s 2-3 zone. A big key in this game? Glenn Robinson III. The Wolverines’ talented freshman forward will play a key role manning the high post in hopes of finding seams in Syracuse’s defense. This has the makings of a truly special game, one that we see the Orange winning on the final possession.

PREDICTION: SYRACUSE 66, MICHIGAN 64

What’s your prediction for the Final Four? Which teams will move on? Be heard in the comments…

The Louisville guard was at ease as he presented the Top Ten list on the “Late Show with David Letterman” on Thursday night, even tossing in a barb at Letterman’s late-night rival Jay Leno.

“How about that for a kid? Kevin Ware!” Letterman said.

Ware has become something of a celebrity since his right tibia snapped during the first half of Sunday’s Midwest Regional final against Duke. His teammates were devastated by the horrific injury, with several collapsing to the floor in tears after it happened. But Ware told them to “just go win the game” before he was wheeled off the floor on a stretcher, and the Cardinals rallied to beat Duke 85-63 and earn a second straight trip to the Final Four.

Ware underwent surgery Sunday night, and was released from the hospital two days later. On Wednesday, hours after being cleared by doctors, he accompanied top-seeded Louisville to the Final Four — being played in his hometown of Atlanta.

Images of his road to recovery have already been retweeted countless times.

“This goes from a terrible tragedy to bit of a miracle, doesn’t it?” Letterman said, chatting with the sophomore before Ware read the top 10 list of “Thoughts going through Kevin Ware’s mind” after he broke his leg:

10. “What was that loud cracking sound?”

9. “I hope this doesn’t leave a bruise.”

8. “Hey look, my tibia!”

7. “Ouch.”

6. “Did it go in?”

5. “Oh boy, hospital food.”

4. “Tape it up, coach, I’m staying in.”

3. “They fired Leno?”

2. “Heat then ice? Or ice then heat?”

1. “At least my bracket’s not busted.”

In the interview, taped earlier Thursday at Louisville’s hotel, Ware told Letterman he still hasn’t seen a video of the injury — “And I don’t plan on it.” He also said his first concern when he got to the hospital was for his mother.

“I know she freaks out over the littlest things,” Ware said. “I called her and made sure she was all right.”

“We’re talking about a snapped tibia that actually protruded through the skin!” Letterman said.

That was awesome. Give it up for Kevin in the comments!

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

It happens seemingly every game of the NCAA tournament, most of the season, for that matter: Officials blow their whistles, huddle, then head over to the TV monitors to review a play.

Looking to see if the clock is right, a shot was a 3-pointer or if an elbow to the head warrants a flagrant foul, they watch the replays from all angles as coaches and players huddle, fans in the stands and TV wait for the action to start again.

The goal is to make sure the officials get the calls correct.

But in the process of trying to be right, they’re also disrupting the rhythm of the games, dampening excitement and possibly giving some coaches the advantage of an extra timeout.

“It’s bogging the game down too much, particularly with what we’re actually looking for,” said Turner/CBS analyst Steve Kerr, who will call his third straight Final Four in Atlanta this weekend.

Instant replay has been a part of college basketball since 1986, when the 3-point shot also debuted. The initial purpose was for replays to be used to correct timing and scoring errors and was later expanded to look at whether a player was behind the line on a 3-point shot and flagrant fouls.

Coaches, players and fans have debated the use of instant replay pretty much since the day it was put in place and scrutiny seems to have increased this season as officials have gone to the monitor more and more.

One of the biggest complaints, particularly during the NCAA tournament, has been about officials stopping games to check the game clock, then adding a few tenths of a second back.

A small amount of time like that can make a big difference when the clock is under a second because officials judge whether a player can catch and shoot or not based on certain time increments.

But if they’re stopping the game with 5 or 10 seconds left and adding 0.2 seconds to the clock, that’s a bit excessive for some.

“That’s something that should be talked about,” said Reggie Minton, deputy executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. “I’m not sure I’m an expert on these electronic timers that these officials have that are somewhat triggered by them, but at some point we need to trust the timing mechanism we have and those that are running them that we trust they are going to do the right thing. If it’s obvious something was missed and we’re talking about seconds, then I think we make sure that is corrected. But there maybe is an over-concern about a tenth here and a tenth there.”

Stopping the clock also may give some teams an unfair advantage, giving a coach what’s essentially an extra timeout to diagram a play while the officials look at the replay monitor.

In the second round of the NCAA tournament, Davidson was leading Marquette by a point when it lost the ball out of bounds against the Golden Eagles press. Marquette didn’t have a timeout left, but the officials gathered around the monitor to get the game clock right, giving coach Buzz Williams a chance to call his players over to draw up a play.

The officials added 1.2 seconds to the clock — to 6.7 — and Marquette’s Vander Blue scored on a last-second layup to give the Golden Eagles a 59-58 win and avoid the upset.

“Unfair advantage,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said after being asked about Marquette getting what was essentially an extra timeout. “Maybe (in that situation) they shouldn’t let them huddle.”

In the West Region semifinals, Arizona coach Sean Miller got extra time to set up a play after officials stopped the game to check the time on a 3-point shot by Ohio State’s LaQuinton Ross. The officials added a tenth of a second to the clock, but Arizona couldn’t hit the tying shot in the final 2.1 seconds.

Kansas had a similar situation late against Michigan in the South Region semifinals, when a review at the scorer’s table gave Jayhawks coach Bill Self extra time to set up a final shot. Like Arizona, Kansas couldn’t pull it off and lost in overtime.

“Whether Bill Self wanted a timeout or maybe he wanted his guys to get the ball and go before the defense could set up, either way the integrity of the game was compromised just so we could fix 0.2 seconds on the clock,” Kerr said. “Who cares?”

Another complaint has been the officials’ penchant to go to the monitor any time a player is hit in the head.

Coaches have bemoaned the overuse of reviews for flagrant fouls and it increased early in the NCAA tournament as players like Creighton’s Doug McDermott, Marquette’s Trent Lockett and Pitt’s Lamar Patterson were assessed flagrants after being called for offensive fouls.

“We do it too much on anything in the head area, we automatically look at,” Kerr said. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

The key is finding a balance between getting it right and, as Kerr put it, preserving the integrity of the game.

The NBA has geared back its use of instant replay and the process seems to go seamlessly, so the NCAA could look there. Or maybe, as was suggested to Minton, the NCAA can borrow from the NFL model, give coaches a flag to throw for challenging calls in the last two minutes of a game.

“At some point the rules committee is going to have to look at unintended consequences,” said Minton, who coached at Air Force and Dartmouth and was a member of the NCAA rules committee. “If the main concern is that it’s more important to get it right than it is to allow an unofficial opportunity for a timeout, so be it. I would think the overriding concern would be to get it right.”

After all the complaints this season, it’s a topic that’s sure to come up.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

- Give Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague credit. After firing Tubby Smith and striking out on Fred Hoiberg and Mick Cronin, Teague made a bold hire with Richard Pitino. Pitino has only been a head coach for one season, and had an 18-15 record this past year at Florida International — but Teague worked with Shaka Smart at VCU and has had a knack for spotting up and coming talent in the coaching profession. It looks like that was his line of thinking he decided to hire Pitino.

- Newly minted USC coach Andy Enfield has received in the neighborhood of about 300 phone calls in regards to openings on his staff, and will likely have things finalized in terms of his assistants in the next two weeks. Enfield led Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet 16 but needs to surround himself with people who know the ins and outs of Southern California to have a chance in the PAC-12.

- Cal shooting guard Allen Crabbe announced on Wednesday that he will forgo his senior season and enter the 2013 NBA Draft. The reigning PAC-12 Player of the Year is a prototypical NBA two-guard, and has all the requisites to be a starter at the next level. The 6-6 Crabbe averaged 18.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this past season.

- A big reason why Rutgers hasn’t been successful in basketball? They’re constantly changing coaches. After Wednesday’s firing of Mike Rice, the Scarlet Knights are now in a position where they have to hire a new coach for the third time in eight years. One thing you need to be a successful college basketball program is continuity, and that’s something that’s eluded Rutgers for a very long time.

- The old Big East is now named the American Athletic Conference? When I was young, my parents told me that nothing was forever. I guess they were right. Talk about a changing of the guard.

- Between transfers, waivers to play right away, hirings, firings, and the late signing period, college basketball in April has now become like NBA free agency in July. The news never stops. And that’s a beautiful thing.

- Jimmy Patsos and Siena are a perfect fit. The Saints need someone to rebuild their program, and Patsos has already proven he’s more than capable of doing that after the job he did at Loyola. When Patsos took over the Greyhounds’ program, they won one game the year before he was hired. This year, he just wrapped up his second consecutive 20-win season. Great move by Siena athletic director John D’Argenio.

- The toughest part of coaches being fired that not enough people talk about? The assistants. Head coaches who are relieved of their responsibilities can pick up and move on after a nice payday, but their assistants have a much tougher road. These guys have families and earn a modest salary in a profession where it’s extremely difficult to land steady work. College basketball isn’t a vocation where you can find employment by looking for ads in the newspaper. Remember this when you read about the next staff that’s been fired.

- The Jordan Brand Classic will take place on Saturday April 13th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The event will feature the Regional Game at 5:30 PM ET, and the All-American Game at 8 PM ET. If you like getting ahead on college hoops for next season, this is where you need to be to check out the best high school players in the country.

- Here is CBS Sports Network’s coverage from the Final Four in Atlanta:

4/4 Bracket Breakdown 7:30 PM ET
4/5 NCAA March Madness 360 12:00 PM ET
4/5 Bracket Breakdown 5:30 PM ET
4/6 NCAA March Madness 360 1:30 PM ET
4/6 Bracket Breakdown 11:30 PM ET
4/7 NCAA March Madness 360 12:00 PM ET
4/7 Bracket Breakdown 5:00 PM ET
4/8 NCAA March Madness 360 6:30 PM ET
4/9 Bracket Breakdown 12:00 AM ET

Your thoughts around the CBB scene? Be heard in the comments…

John Cahill, Tony Greene, Karl Hess, Lee Jones, John Higgins, Randy McCall and Mark Whitehead have all officiated previous Final Fours, while Mike Eades, Doug Simmons and Terry Wymer will have the opportunity to work their first semifinal or championship game.

The officials were recommended by John Adams, the NCAA’s director of officiating, and approved Monday by the Division I men’s basketball committee.

Three-man crews will work each game with a fourth official on standby. The assignments for the semifinals will be made Saturday morning with the championship officials announced Monday.

Louisville plays Wichita State in the first national semifinal Saturday night at the Georgia Dome. Michigan plays Syracuse in the other game.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Overcoming all sorts of adversity has been the norm for the Syracuse Orange of late.

Player eligibility issues, negative headlines, slumps at inopportune times — something seems to creep up each season for longtime coach Jim Boeheim.

He figures he’s not alone.

“There’s no team that doesn’t have distractions during the course of the year,” Boeheim, who guided the Orange to a school-record 34 victories last season with scandal swirling around his program, said Monday. “That’s part of life, that’s what you have to learn to handle. They focused well all year.”

In large part because of that singular focus, the Orange, seeded fourth in the East Regional of the NCAA tournament, are headed to the Final Four for the fourth time since Boeheim became head coach in 1976. And when they get in a groove with their stifling zone defense, especially at this time of year, they are tough to break down.

Led by versatile 6-foot-6 point guard Michael Carter-Williams, sharpshooting forward James Southerland, and do-it-all swingman C.J. Fair, the Orange are deep, motivated, and intent on bringing a second title to central New York. And this proud, blue collar town, where basketball’s shot clock was invented, is eagerly anticipating that again, just like in 2003.

“The Final Four seems to be very important. It’s a huge thing up here,” said Boeheim, 3-0 in national semifinals. “Our fans really support us, and they like what we do.”

What’s not to like about the past three weeks. Syracuse (30-9) made the Big East tournament final, losing to Louisville, then beat Montana, California, top-seeded Indiana, and third-seeded Marquette in NCAA regional play. It will meet Michigan (30-7) — the South Regional’s No. 4 seed — in the national semifinals at Atlanta on Saturday. Michigan beat Florida 79-59 Sunday to reach the Final Four.

“They have played tremendous basketball over a four-game period, which is not always that easy to do,” Boeheim said of his Orange.

It’s doubtful many saw this deep run into the postseason coming. Syracuse finished its final Big East regular season — the Orange are headed for the Atlantic Coast Conference in July — with four losses in the final five games.

Syracuse’s last home game was a five-point setback to Louisville, which snapped a tie in the final minute on a defensive breakdown. The Orange left Luke Hancock uncovered in the left corner and he drained a back-breaking 3-pointer.

Then, after easily beating DePaul, Syracuse was humiliated by archrival Georgetown for the second time in two weeks, dropping the season finale 61-39. It was Syracuse’s lowest scoring total in 558 Big East games and its fewest points in any game since a 36-35 victory over Kent State in 1962 — before shot clocks and 3-pointers.

There have been few breakdowns since. In the Big East tournament, Syracuse reeled off victories over Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, and Georgetown before bowing to Louisville.

“Once we got to New York and started to play well, we felt we could compete with anybody,” Boeheim said. “We were always a good team. We obviously had a very difficult last part of our schedule and didn’t play particularly well. But our defense was good and once we got to New York and started to play there, we could see that we were fine.

“I wasn’t worried at all about the NCAA tournament. I felt we were in a good place and we would play well.”

Hard to imagine being in a better place, especially after the Bernie Fine scandal last year.

The former associate head coach was fired after being accused by two former ball boys of sexual abuse more than two decades ago but was never charged.

There also were academic issues that forced Southerland to miss six games this season.

In the regional semifinals, Syracuse had 12 steals and 10 blocks in a convincing 61-50 beatdown of Indiana, the lowest offensive output of the season for a team that was averaging 80 points. Then, with a berth in the Final Four at stake against Marquette, which eliminated Syracuse in the NCAA tournament two years ago and beat the Orange 74-71 during the season, Syracuse won 55-39.

The Golden Eagles’ 39 points were a record low for a team in an NCAA tournament regional final since the shot clock was introduced in 1986. Carter-Williams, a sophomore in his first full season and likely bound for the NBA in the near future, finished with 12 points, six assists, one turnover, five steals, one block, and eight rebounds, and was voted the East Regional MVP.

“He’s even picked up his play. Leadership, getting the ball to people, still being able to score when we need him to because we need him to score,” Boeheim said. “He had a great year, but he’s had an even better tournament. That’s hard to do sometimes for a young player.

“He’s really been good in terms of helping his teammates be better. He had eight defensive rebounds against Marquette. I’ve never had a guard get that many defensive rebounds. I’m not sure that there’s been many times that any guard, anywhere, has gotten eight defensive rebounds.”

Syracuse’s octopus-like defense has covered every inch of the court, eliminating passing lanes, consistently depriving opponents of easy baskets down low, and defending the perimeter with abandon. Its four tournament opponents shot just under 29 percent from the field (61 of 211) and a minuscule 15.4 percent (14 of 91) from behind the arc.

“This is the best that we’ve played it,” Boeheim said. “But Michigan presents more problems than anybody in the tournament. They’re the best offensive team in the tournament. We’ve played some really good teams, but we haven’t played anybody as good offensively as Michigan.”

It’s been a decade since a freshman named Carmelo Anthony led Syracuse to its only national championship. It’s such a big deal to the university — and a city that bleeds Orange — that the school has a continuous looping video replay on a television monitor of that 81-78 win over Kansas.

The TV monitor sits along one wall of the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center where the team practices, and smack dab in the middle of that wall is the national championship trophy.

Finding room for another shouldn’t be a problem.

“I think getting to the Final Four is a great thing for the fans and the city,” Boeheim said. “Non-basketball people get involved when we get to the Final Four. Of course, winning the championship is pretty big.”

___

Follow Kekis on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Greek1947

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

By Mark Chalifoux

A Louisville National Championship seems inevitable now. The Cardinals are the strongest team remaining and now have the emotional component of playing for an injured teammate after Kevin Ware’s gruesome injury Sunday. They have NBA prospects dotting their roster but there’s one player who has been the most integral to their success yet still gets occasionally overlooked and that’s guard Russ Smith.

Russ Smith, nicknamed Russdiculous for his frenetic style of play, has been simply wonderful in the tournament. Smith is a gifted scorer and a playmaker on defense (as evidenced by his 14 steals in the tournament) and has been the real driving force behind Louisville’s rise to the Final Four.

The 6-foot 1-inch junior guard from Brooklyn has averaged almost 19 points per game this season, but he has stepped his game up to another level in the tournament, averaging 26 points per game and shooting near 50 percent. He’s getting to the foul line at an absurd rate (10 or more free throws in his last three games) and his unconventional style has been near impossible for other teams to slow down.

He’s also done this while battling illness this past weekend and after seeing his teammate suffer one of the most unsettling injuries in sports history. His scoring prowess (31 points against Oregon and 23 against Duke last weekend) has always made him a fan favorite but Smith is starting to turn some heads in the NBA with his play in the tournament.

>>More NCAA Tournament Rising Stars

The knocks against him aren’t unfamiliar; he plays off the ball for Louisville and would have to play point guard in the NBA. His play at the point for the Cardinals has been less than inspiring. He’s not the greatest passer or the best decision maker, but his athletic ability has bailed him out in the college level because he can blow past defenders.

His defense stands for itself, however. Louisville is a tremendous defensive team and Smith is an absolute terror for opposing guards. His defense will help set him apart from other guards, but most scouts went into the tournament with plenty of doubts about Smith’s pro potential. Some of them have to do with his inconsistent outside shooting as well.

Smith has done all he can to change hearts and minds with his dominating play in the tournament. His head coach Rick Pitino has been trying to help change minds about him as well, calling him a poor man’s Allen Iverson, a description some pundits are starting to warm too.

One thing is for sure. We have not seen the best of Russ Smith just yet. As stellar as he’s been throughout the season and even more so in the tournament, Smith is poised to really break out in the Final Four. He’s a big time player and his play will decide just how easy it will be for Louisville to cut down the nets.

Russ Smith ties a career high in win over 12-seeded Oregon to advance to the Elite 8:

Mark Chalifoux is a college basketball contributor for CBS Local Digital Media and can be reached at mark.chalifoux@gmail.com and @markchalifoux on Twitter.

CHANE BEHANAN, LOUISVILLE

Built like a blacksmith, Behanan is a key member of the Cardinals’ front court. The 6-6, 250 pound power forward had struggled throughout the month of March, but the broad shouldered sophomore proved his worth in Louisville’s win over Duke. In 25 minutes against the Blue Devils, Behanan scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds, giving the Cardinals a bruising presence in the paint. Gorgui Dieng may be the focal point of Louisville’s baseline, but Behanan is a space eater. The sophomore would be a star in any other program, but at Louisville, he’s just a piece to the puzzle.

FRED VAN VLEET, WICHITA STATE

He’s not a freshman anymore. Van Vleet has played some his best basketball in the NCAA Tournament, and scored in double figures in two of the past three games. The 5-11 floor general was a Top-100 recruit coming out of high school, and has given Wichita State a second capable ball handler next to Malcolm Armstead. Look for Gregg Marshall to regularly use that duo together on Saturday in hopes of breaking Louisville’s tenacious full-court pressure.

BAYE KEITA, SYRACUSE

It’s not shots blocked, it’s shots altered. Keita is still incredibly limited offensively, but his presence in the middle of Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone has been enormous in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-10 big man forces opponents into low percentage shots each time they touch the ball in middle of the paint, and single handedly changes the complexion of the Orange defense. The native of Senegal has blocked seven shots in four NCAA Tournament games.

SPIKE ALBRECHT, MICHIGAN

How can a player that’s only scored 13 points in the last three games be so important? It’s real simple. Albrecht’s presence takes immense pressure off Trey Burke and allows the Wolverines’ star to play off the ball and attack more offensively. The freshman floor general is also a capable decision maker and a “ball mover” on offense. Michigan’s vast array of weapons is at their best when they’re getting high percentage looks, and Albrecht is a big part of that. This is an underrated piece for the Wolverines.

Who would you pick to be on this list? Sound off in the comments…

Cardinals coach Rick Pitino brought the Midwest Regional championship trophy when he visited Ware, who remains hospitalized after surgery to repair a gruesome fracture in his right leg.

“He was real excited about (the trophy),” Pitino said after visiting Ware again Monday morning. “I said to him, `You want me to bring it back or stay with you?’ He said, `It’s staying with me.’ I said, `All right, just make sure you don’t lose it.’”

During a 2-hour surgery Sunday night, doctors reset Ware’s broken tibia and inserted a rod into the bone. Because the bone broke through the skin, Pitino said doctors are monitoring Ware to make sure no infection develops. If there are no complications, he should be released Tuesday.

SIMS: What’s next for Kevin Ware?

The Cardinals plan to leave for the Final Four in Atlanta on Wednesday night, and Pitino said they expect to have Ware with them. Ware is originally from the Bronx, but he moved to the Atlanta area before high school.

“He gets to go home, be with his family and be with us on the bench,” Pitino said. “He’s in very good spirits and anxious to get out of the hospital and get back with the guys.”

Ware’s right leg snapped in the first half of Sunday’s Midwest Regional final when he landed awkwardly after trying to contest a 3-point shot. The horrific injury devastated his teammates, and several fell to the court crying. Chane Behanan, Ware’s best friend on the team, had to be helped to his feet.

But before Ware was wheeled off the court on a stretcher, he repeatedly urged the Cardinals to “just go win the game.” The Cardinals did, beating Duke 85-63 to reach their second straight Final Four, and they said afterward there was no way they could have let Ware down.

“Right before the surgery, when he was able to watch the players at the press conference, the nurses and doctors told me that was the first time he broke down and cried, when the players were talking about him,” Pitino said.

Ware’s injury dominated social media Sunday night, and Pitino said the sophomore guard has been moved by all the messages of support. Joe Theismann, whose NFL career was ended by a horrific broken leg in a Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants, has called Ware, Pitino said. On Sunday, Theismann tweeted, “Watching Duke/ Louisville my heart goes out to Kevin Ware.”

Television analyst Greg Anthony also called, and Pitino said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called him Monday to see how Ware was doing.

“A lot of really positive calls that are making him feel good,” Pitino said.

Pitino and his son, Richard, who recruited Ware while he was on his father’s staff, were at the hospital when the sophomore guard got out of surgery and went back Monday morning. Ware’s girlfriend stayed with him overnight, and his mother and her husband arrived Monday.

“She just needed to see him this morning,” Pitino said. “She was crying all night. Once she gave him a hug this morning, she was fine. Everything is good right now.”

Ware was back on Twitter early Monday, thanking everyone from Carmelo Anthony to Lil Wayne and other well-wishers. He wrote that he would be back “by next season” and quipped that he “should of blocked that shot.” Among his visitors was NCAA President Mark Emmert, spokeswoman Stacy Osburn said.

“He was there to see how the student-athlete was doing and offer words of encouragement,” she said of Emmert.

Kenny Klein, Louisville’s sports information director, tweeted a picture of Ware on crutches Monday. Richard Pitino, now the coach at Florida International, posted photos of Ware with his family and with the championship trophy.

“Again I’m thankful for all the support I’m receiving right now,” Ware tweeted. “Never thought I’d be the talk of the country.

While some have speculated that Ware could have had a previous stress fracture that left him predisposed to such an injury, Pitino discounted that, saying there was “nothing prior.”

“Basically his leg went one way and his shoe went another and the bone split,” Pitino said. “There’s no preexisting thing that makes it do that.”

Ware’s injury is similar to the one suffered by running back Michael Bush, who also played at Louisville. Bush recovered from the injury and has had a productive NFL career with Oakland and Chicago.

“It will be a long recovery,” Pitino said. “But we expect him to make a full recovery.”

Leave your well-wishes for Ware in the comments…

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Athletic director Pat Haden said Enfield has reached an agreement with the Pac-12 school. He will be introduced on Wednesday.

Enfield will sign on for six years, according to ESPN.

“Those in the basketball world have known of his abilities for a while,” Haden said.

He said Enfield’s success at FGCU wasn’t a flash in the pan and that his up-tempo style and stingy defense will be fun for both the Trojans players and fans.

“In meeting with Pat Haden, I was very impressed with his vision for the men’s basketball program,” Enfield said in a statement. “I am looking forward to bringing an exciting, up-tempo style of play to USC and building the men’s basketball brand into one that the fans and basketball community will enjoy and respect.”

The 43-year-old coach was 41-28 in his only two seasons as a head coach at FGCU in Fort Myers, Fla. He led the Eagles to a school-record 26 wins this season, including upsets of No. 2 seed Georgetown and No. 7 seed San Diego State as a 15th-seed in the NCAA tourney. They lost to Florida last Friday.

Enfield’s team earned the nickname “Dunk City” for its spectacular dunks and alley-oops. The Eagles scored 70 or more points 25 times this season, and ranked 16th nationally in steals with 8.9 per game.

They won the Atlantic Sun tournament, and had the league’s player of the year in Sherwood Brown and defensive player of the year in Bernard Thompson.

Haden called Enfield “a relentless recruiter and he has integrity and great character.”

Enfield takes over from interim coach Bob Cantu, who had a 7-8 record after succeeding Kevin O’Neill, who was fired in mid-January.

The Trojans lost their final three games, including a defeat in their first game of the Pac-12 tournament. Starting center Dewayne Dedmon and backup big man James Blasczyk were suspended indefinitely and missed the league tourney following allegations the pair was involved in a melee in Spokane, Wash., during the team’s final Pac-12 road trip of the season.

Cantu’s status wasn’t immediately clear. He has been on the Trojans’ staff through four coaching changes and is the longest tenured assistant in the Pac-12.

O’Neill had a 48-65 record during 3 1/2 years at the private school known primarily for its powerful football program after going 6-26 last year while setting a USC record for losses.

The move is a big step up for Enfield.

FGCU has about 11,300 students, plays in a 4,500-seat arena and has only existed for 16 years; USC has 37,000 students, the Trojans play at 10,258-seat Galen Center, and the school has a long tradition of sports success, especially with its nationally ranked football team.

The basketball team has long played in the shadow of cross-town rival UCLA, which hired Steve Alford from New Mexico on Saturday.

USC hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2011. The Trojans are 12-17 all-time, with their best results coming in 2007 and 2001, when they lost in the regionals, and in 1954, when they lost in the national semifinals.

Before going to FGCU, Enfield was an assistant at Florida State from 2007-11, where the Seminoles made the round of 16 in 2011. He began his coaching career in the NBA as a shooting coach for the Milwaukee Bucks from 1995-96, and was an assistant with Boston from 1999-00.

Enfield’s wife, Amanda, drew attention during the NCAA tournament for her model-looks. The couple has three young children.

Does Enfield have what it takes to coach in the Pac-12? Be heard in the comments!

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

By Andrew Kahn

Even with limited drama—none of the regional finals were particularly thrilling—the NCAA Tournament is a wonderful thing, the perfect blend of fairness and unpredictability. The No. 1 overall seed will head to Atlanta where they’ll face a 9 seed that came in second in the Missouri Valley. They’ll be joined by two talented 4 seeds that are peaking at the right time.

1. Final Four is in the Cards

Rick Pitino’s squad returns to the Final Four for the second straight year. Like the other Kentucky basketball powerhouse last season, Louisville is the big favorite to win it all. The Cardinals regrouped after a gruesome injury to a teammate and put together a monster second half against Duke on Sunday. Russ Smith finished with 23 points. It was a great day for Louisville basketball, as the women’s team shocked No. 1 seed Baylor on Sunday night to advance to the regional final.

2. Not that Kansas school

Cue the Shocker puns. Wichita is only the second 9 seed to reach the Final Four, joining the 1979 Penn team. To become the first to reach the finals, they’ll have to get by Louisville. That shouldn’t seem too difficult considering Wichita State has already taken down a 1 seed (Gonzaga) and a 2 seed (Ohio State), dominating their four NCAA Tournament opponents. The Shockers have caught fire at the right time. They hit 34 percent of their threes during the season, but have hit 27 of 60 (45 percent) over the last three games.

3. The New Fab Five

John Beilein has had great success in the NCAA Tournament. Coaching his most talented team of his career, John Beilein has reached his first Final Four. He will face a familiar foe in Atlanta: Jim Boeheim, against whom he is 0-7, most of those losses during Beilein’s West Virginia days. The Wolverines’ epic comeback against Kansas on Friday night—they were down 14 with less than 7 minutes left and five with 21 seconds left—is the Tournament’s best moment so far. Michigan carried that momentum to Sunday, blitzing Florida 13-0 and winning by 20.

4. Orange emerges from East

Syracuse showed signs they were getting it together when they advanced to the finals of the Big East Tournament. Their 2-3 zone baffled No. 1 seed Indiana on Thursday and they smothered cold-shooting conference foe Marquette on Saturday, winning 55-39 to advance to the Final Four. It is Boeheim’s fourth Final Four and his most recent trip since winning it all in 2003.

5. Kevin Ware

It was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts for Louisville’s Kevin Ware. The reserve guard was born in the Bronx but moved to Atlanta when he was 14. His team has advanced to the Final Four, but Ware suffered a horrific leg injury late in the first half of Sunday’s game against Duke. If you haven’t seen it, be thankful, and don’t seek out any replays. Ware’s broken leg left his teammates emotionally distraught. Chane Behanan wore Ware’s No. 5 jersey in the waning seconds of the victory.

Andrew Kahn is a contributor to CBS Local who has written for ESPN the Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. He writes about college basketball and other sports at http://andrewjkahn.com. Email him at andrewjkahn@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @AndrewKahn.

By now everyone knows about the gruesome open tibia fracture suffered by 20-year-old Louisville sophomore Kevin Ware in the first half of Sunday’s contest against Duke. Ware reportedly underwent successful surgery to insert a rod to fixate the tibia and repair the soft tissue wound caused by the protruding bone. Now he will begin a long convalescence followed by rehab.

Though everyone’s heart is with him and he is wished a complete recovery, what is less than certain is Ware’s prognosis. Injuries such as this, though rare in basketball, are less so in football or from traumatic events such as auto accidents. Outcomes vary remarkably. Joe Theismann’s compound tibia fracture suffered in 1985 (he also fractured the fibula) ended his football career, though he had already played professionally for 14 years — 12 of which were in the NFL.

Complications from a compound fracture, where the bone punctures the skin and is exposed to the elements, are more common than following closed fractures. The most common complication is infection as a result of this exposure. Early administration of antibiotics are crucial, though offer no guarantee that Ware will be free of infection during the healing process.

SECOND OPINION: The Latest On Kevin Ware’s Injury

Because the bone that sustains an open fracture results in significant displacement of the fragments, stabilization with a rod to correct the malalignment is required. The degree of displacement, or gap in the fracture, is another factor affecting the amount of healing time required for the bone to mend. Complications in bone healing include delayed or non-union, when the mending of the bone is slow or incomplete. The bone healing alone for a fracture such as Ware’s could take up to six months. That is why it has been estimated that his recovery would likely take a full year.

Fractures can be traumatic — as from a fall, a motor vehicle accident or a contact injury — or they can be due to pathology in the bone that creates a predisposition. Ware’s fracture occurred without contact, as he landed from a leap while attempting to block an open three-point shot. In the absence of trauma, some have wondered whether there were underlying bony issues such as undiagnosed stress fractures that had weakened Ware’s tibia. It is unlikely that he had stress fractures without also experiencing pain, and preexisting complaints have not been reported.

Other complicating factors that must be guarded against and assessed during the healing process are neurologic in nature. Any damage to the nerves of the leg could result in diminished strength, sensation and function of the area below the level of the injury.

Studies done on non-athletes with shaft fractures of the tibia demonstrated that a significant number (nearly half) experienced some functional limitations due to the injury even 12 months after surgery. This was in spite of a low complication rate. With youth on his side, let’s hope that Kevin Ware falls on the right side of that equation and has a long and rewarding basketball career ahead of him.

Offer your thoughts and comments in the section below…

The Louisville Cardinals.

While the other No. 1s have fallen by the wayside, the top overall seed romped to the Georgia Dome with four dominant wins in the NCAA tournament. And, if the Cardinals need any extra motivation, they’ve got it.

Sophomore guard Kevin Ware, who played his high school ball in the Atlanta suburbs, sustained a gruesome injury in Sunday’s regional final against Duke. Before he headed off to surgery, he courageously urged his teammates to finish the job.

Now, they would like nothing more than to win it all for Ware.

“We talked about it every timeout, ‘Get Kevin home,’” coach Rick Pitino said.

Pitino recalled Ware’s words during a halftime interview: “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be OK. You guys go win this thing.”

Next stop, the A-T-L, where three rather unlikely teams will be looking to knock off the mighty Cardinals.

First up, the surprising Shockers from Wichita State in the semifinals Saturday. The No. 9 seed has already pulled off two major upsets, but this would be the biggest stunner yet.

If Louisville makes it through to next Monday night’s title game, the opponent would be either Michigan, sporting a new group of Fab Wolverines, or Syracuse, which comes at you with the stingiest zone defense in college basketball. The two No. 4 seeds will meet in the other semifinal game.

All are underdogs to the Cardinals, who are winning by an average of nearly 22 points a game in the tournament.

“I thought we had a chance there, and then boom,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who watched Louisville pull away for an 85-63 victory in the Midwest Regional final. “That’s what they do to teams. They can boom you.”

In the other game Sunday, Michigan captured the South Regional with a 79-59 rout of Florida, leading from the opening tip. A day earlier, Syracuse shut down Marquette 55-39 to win the East Regional, while Wichita State punched its Final Four ticket with a 70-66 upset of Ohio State out West.

In the final year of the Big East before it splits into two new conferences, Louisville and Syracuse provided a fitting send-off to a league that quickly became a basketball powerhouse after it was founded in 1979.

Before it goes, this version of the Big East has a shot at one more national title.

With two teams, no less.

The Cardinals — who, like Syracuse, are moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference — shook off the incredible shock of Ware’s injury with about 6½ minutes to go before halftime and blew out the second-seeded Blue Devils. The sophomore snapped his lower right leg after coming down awkwardly while defending a 3-point shot. The injury occurred right in front of the Louisville bench, where the players gasped and turned away quickly at the sight of Ware’s dangling leg, which was broken in two places.

Russ Smith collapsed onto the floor, along with several players, and was crying as doctors attended to Ware. While Ware was loaded onto a stretcher, the Cardinals gathered at midcourt until Pitino called them over, saying the injured player wanted to talk to them before he left.

“All he kept saying — and remember, the bone is 6 inches out of his leg — all he’s yelling is, ‘Win the game! Win the game!’” Pitino said. “I’ve never seen that in my life. We’re all distraught and all he’s saying is, ‘Win the game.’ Kevin is a special young man.”

This is a special team. Smith scored 23 points. Gorgui Dieng had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

The Cardinals (33-5) simply refused to lose, breaking open a game that was tied at 42. They dove on the floor for loose balls. They pounded the boards ferociously. They contested every shot and swarmed around the Blue Devils like they had an extra player on the court.

In a sense, they did, as Pitino reminded them during every timeout.

“This is a gritty bunch,” the coach said. “From the beginning of the year to now, they’ve not had a bad game. I’m really proud of these guys.”

Wichita State was the most improbable team to advance. The Shockers lived up to their nickname in the West, knocking off top-seeded Gonzaga in the second round and No. 2 seed Ohio State in the regional final Saturday night.

Wichita State (30-8) built a 20-point lead on the Buckeyes, then managed to hang on through a nerve-racking final five minutes to pull off the latest upset in a tournament filled with them.

That other team from Kansas isn’t content yet.

“It feels very good,” said Cleanthony Early, a junior forward who, like most of his teammates, was passed over by higher-profile programs, “but we understand the fact that we’ve got to stay hungry and humble, because we’ve got two more games left to really be excited about.”

Old-timers might remember Louisville and Wichita State as former conference rivals. The Cardinals were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in the 1960s and ’70s, which meant annual games against the Shockers.

Louisville holds a 19-5 edge in the series, but the teams haven’t played since 1976.

Michigan (30-7) is headed back to the Final Four for the first time since the Fab Five era of the early 1990s, when the Wolverines lost in back-to-back national title games.

This team has the same youthful feel, led by sophomore Trey Burke, the Big Ten player of the year, and three freshmen starters. They were downright fabulous against third-seeded Florida, never seriously threatened after scoring the first 13 points.

“A lot of guys said we were really young and that we couldn’t get here,” said Burke, who scored 15 points against Florida but really came through in an improbable comeback against top-seeded Kansas in the regional semifinals. “We’re here now and we still have unfinished business.”

One of the freshmen, Nik Stauskas, hit all six of his 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead the Wolverines. Another of the youngsters, 6-foot-10 Mitch McGary, chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Florida became the first team to lose three straight regional finals.

The Wolverines will have their work cut out against Syracuse (30-9), a team that has totally stuffed its NCAA opponents with a stifling zone defense. The Orange are headed to their first Final Four since winning it all in 2003 largely because they have allowed fewer than 46 points a game in the tournament.

Syracuse leads the series against Michigan 8-5. Their last meeting was Nov. 26, 2010, when the Orange prevailed 53-50 in the Legends Classic at Atlantic City, N.J.

The schools have never met in the NCAA tournament.

Syracuse has been like an octopus when it settles in around the its own lane — shutting off passing routes, preventing anyone from penetrating, yet still managing to defend the 3-point line with quickness and long arms. Montana, California, top-seeded Indiana and Marquette combined to make just under 29 percent from the field (61 of 211) and a paltry 15.4 percent (14 of 91) outside the arc.

“We were as active these two games here in Washington as we’ve ever been,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said after Saturday’s win over league rival Marquette, which is headed to a new version of the Big East next season. “I just really can’t say enough about how good these guys played on the defensive end of the court.”

Which team is your pick to win it all? Be heard in the comments…

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

INDIANAPOLIS (CBSNewYork/AP) — With tears in their eyes and Kevin Ware in their hearts, there was no way Louisville was going to lose this game.

Russ Smith scored 23, Gorgui Dieng had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, and top-seeded Louisville put aside the shock from Ware’s gruesome leg injury to earn a second straight trip to the Final Four with an 85-63 victory over Duke on Sunday afternoon.

“All of us witnessed it right up close. He screamed for second. He was OK, and then he looked at his leg, and I looked at his leg. He screamed, and then I told him, ‘You’re going to be fine, you’re going to be fine.’ He kept chanting, ‘Just win the game, just win the game,’” said Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino.

As the final seconds ticked down, Chane Behanan put Ware’s jersey on and stood at the end of the Louisville bench, screaming. Cardinals fans chanted “Kevin Ware! Kevin Ware!”

The Cardinals rallied in support of their injured teammate.

“We won this for him,” coach Rick Pitino said. “We were all choked up with emotion for him. We’ll get him back to normal. We’ve got great doctors, great trainers.”

Ware played his high-school ball in Georgia and the Final Four is in Atlanta, just adding to the emotion for the victorious Cardinals.

“We talked about it every timeout, ‘Get Kevin home,’” Pitino said.

This was the first time Pitino and Mike Krzyzewski had met in the regional finals since that 1992 classic that ended with Christian Laettner’s improbable buzzer-beater, a game now considered one of the best in NCAA tournament history.

This game will be remembered, too, but for a very different — and much more somber — reason.

With 6:33 left in the first half, Ware, who has played a key role in Louisville’s 14-game winning streak, jumped to try and block Tyler Thornton’s 3-point shot. When he landed, his right leg snapped midway between his ankle and knee, the bone skewing almost at a right angle. Ware dropped to the floor right in front of the Louisville bench and, almost in unison, his teammates turned away in horror. Thornton grimaced, putting his hand to his mouth as he turned around.

Louisville forward Wayne Blackshear fell to the floor and Behanan looked as if he was going to be sick on the court, kneeling on his hands and feet. Luke Hancock patted Ware’s chest as doctors worked on the sophomore and Smith walked away, pulling his jersey over his eyes. The arena was silent, and several fans wept and bowed their heads.

Pitino had tears in his eyes as he tried to console his players. Dieng draped an arm around the shoulders of Smith, who repeatedly wiped at his eyes and shook his head. The Cardinals (33-5) gathered at halfcourt to try and regroup before Pitino called them over to the sideline, saying Ware wanted to talk to them before he left.

“Basically, the bone popped out of the skin. It broke in two spots,” Pitino said. “Remember the bone is six inches out of his leg, and all he’s yelling is ‘Win the game, win the game.’ I’ve never seen anything like that.”

News of the injury dominated social media. Joe Theismann whose NFL career ended with a horrific broken leg, said on Twitter, “Watching Duke/ Louisville my heart goes out to Kevin Ware.”

Fans chanted “Kevin! Kevin” as Ware was loaded onto the stretcher, and Pitino wiped away tears again as Ware was wheeled off the court.

“That was a tough one,” Pitino said.

Play resumed about 10 minutes later, but it was clear the Cardinals’ minds were elsewhere. They missed four of their next five shots along with two free throws, and were uncharacteristically sloppy. But they regrouped after a timeout, with Smith’s finger roll sparking a 12-6 run to finish the half that gave them a 35-32 lead.

Smith picked up where he left off at the start of the second half, making all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to give Louisville a 38-32 lead, its largest of the game to that point.

But just as he did against Michigan State, Duke star Seth Curry got hot after halftime, making two 3s in the first three minutes. Mason Plumlee dunked to tie the game at 42.

That, however, was all Louisville needed.

Clawing for every rebound, diving on the floor for loose balls and cranking the intensity up even higher on their ferocious defense, the Cardinals were not going to lose. And everyone, Duke included, knew it.

Smith, the most outstanding player of the Midwest Region, made a layup. Peyton Siva had a nice jumper at the top of the key, and then followed with a layup. Just like that, the Cardinals were off on a 20-4 run that sealed the victory.

Siva had 16 points and Luke Hancock added 10 for the Cardinals, who will play Wichita State in the national semifinals next Saturday. The ninth-seeded Shockers (30-8) added to their streak of upsets with a 70-66 victory over Ohio State on Saturday night.

Plumlee finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Curry added 12, all in the second half.

The Blue Devils (30-6) needed Curry to come up big as he did against Michigan State if they were going to have any chance against the Blue Devils. But Curry didn’t take a shot until almost nine minutes into the game, and missed each of his three shots in the first half.

This was only the second time the Blue Devils have reached the regional finals and failed to make it to the Final Four. The only other time? In 1998, when the Blue Devils lost to eventual national champion Kentucky.

The loss prevented Krzyzewski — for now — from tying John Wooden’s record of 12 Final Four appearances.

Is Louisville still your tournament favorite? Share your thoughts below…

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Could he generate enough offense to help the defense-first Orange get to the Final Four?

Could he take advantage of the NCAA tournament spotlight to improve NBA teams’ opinions of him?

There also was this on Carter-Williams’ mind, though: His family home in Massachusetts was hit by a fire last weekend.

“When I’m on the court, or when I’m in practice, all my focus is on my teammates and the team,” the sophomore said. “Outside of basketball, I think I can just be there for my family as much as I can. But when it comes time for basketball, everything else is kind of irrelevant. I’m just focused on the team.”

Carter-Williams did a terrific job of dealing with one thing at a time, so much so that he was chosen as the top player in the East Regional for helping No. 4 seed Syracuse beat No. 1 seed Indiana, then No. 3 seed Marquette, to make it to the Final Four for the first time since winning the 2003 NCAA championship.

After a dismal 1-4 stretch to end the Big East regular season, Syracuse (30-9) has won seven of its last eight games and will play Michigan (30-7) — the South Regional’s No. 4 seed — in the national semifinals at Atlanta next Saturday. Michigan beat Florida 79-59 Sunday to reach the Final Four.

“We’re starting off the games real well. Once we get a lead, we try to build on it. We don’t look back. We don’t get comfortable. We always put the pressure on the other team,” Carter-Williams said. “If they’re going to come back, they’re going to have to do something spectacular.”

That is thanks to him, in many ways.

For as much attention and praise as Syracuse’s 2-3 zone defense has received lately — and rightly so, especially after holding both Indiana and Marquette to season-low point totals — the Orange might not be where they are if it weren’t for Carter-Williams’ all-around game.

“He’s a tremendous, tremendous point guard. He really is,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who is 3-0 in national semifinal games and 1-2 in national title games. “He keys it for our team.”

In the East Regional final Saturday, Carter-Williams did a little bit of everything, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals and only one turnover as Syracuse beat Marquette 55-39. On Thursday, he scored 24 points in a 61-50 victory over Indiana in the regional semifinals.

“I think Michael Carter-Williams, over the last couple of weeks, may be playing the best he’s ever played,” Marquette coach Buzz Williams said, “and that says a lot, because he’s always been really good.”

Didn’t really get a chance to prove that last season, though.

As a freshman, Carter-Williams did not start a single game, averaging 2.7 points and 2.1 assists while stuck as Boeheim’s fourth choice at guard, behind Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche and Dion Waiters, who was the No. 4 overall pick in the first round of the NBA draft.

“He struggled at times in practice last year, playing against those guys. What you would figure would be normal. But he showed that he could be a good player last year. There was no doubt about that. This year, once he got his opportunity, from Day 1, he was really good,” Boeheim said.

“When his shooting gets better, he will be a great player,” Boeheim added. “He understands the game. He sees the game. He’s got a great feel for the game of basketball.”

All spindly arms and legs while out front of Syracuse’s zone, the 6-foot-6 Carter-Williams really blossomed this season, ranking third in Division I by averaging 7.6 assists and fourth with 2.7 steals. He also averaged 11.8 points.

Triche, a senior guard, enjoys playing alongside Carter-Williams at both ends of the court.

“He’s one of the most competitive guys that I’ve seen … going up as high as he can to get the rebounds, tough ones; getting steals and making every (play) possible to win the game,” Triche said. “He makes the winning plays — loose balls, things like that. It’s not all about points for him. It’s all about winning.”

So far, so good in that last category lately.

The championship trophy for the South Region is headed back to Ann Arbor, while another fabulous group of young Wolverines is going to the Final Four.

It’s there that the Wolverines will meet the Syracuse Orange, who are looking to spoil the party after the Orange steamrolled Marquette.

Led by Burke and sharp-shooting guard Nik Stauskas, one of three freshmen starters, Michigan controlled Florida from start to finish in a 79-59 win Sunday.

“It means the world — 20 years has passed and we haven’t been on that stage yet,” said Tim Hardaway Jr., the junior elder statesman in the starting lineup.

The last time Michigan made it this far was the Fab Five era of the early 1990s, what until now had been considered the program’s glory years.

Might be time to start rethinking that.

Once they got ahead Sunday, the Wolverines (30-7) maintained a double-digit lead against the experienced Gators (29-8), who won the regular-season title in the Southeastern Conference, but lost in a regional final for the third straight year.

“We’ve almost become numb to it now. Been here before,” Gators junior center Patric Young said. “I just really wish we were out there cutting the nets down.”

Stauskas scored 22 points while making all six of his 3-pointers. Burke, the South Region’s most outstanding player, scored 15 points even while dealing with some spasms in his upper back, and 6-foot-10 freshman Mitch McGary had 11 points and nine rebounds.

When the game ended, Burke and several of his teammates went to the opposite side of the court toward Michigan fans behind press row with fingers raised. Fans were chanting, “It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine!”

And great to be young.

“Seeing it all come together, I don’t what to say,” sixth-year Wolverines coach John Beilein said. “I’m a little bit speechless.”

Michigan hadn’t reached the Final Four since consecutive finals appearances in 1992 and 1993, the freshman and sophomore seasons of the Fab Five — Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King.

Webber was gone before that team’s 1994 regional final loss to Arkansas played in the now-demolished Reunion Arena in Dallas, with Rose and Howard following him to the NBA after that.

With four wins in this NCAA tourney, the Wolverines already have more tournament victories than their total (three) from the end of the Fab Five era to this season. They won a game in 1998, and then didn’t even make the field again until 2009.

Burke is from Columbus, Ohio, and grew up an Ohio State football fan while rooting for Duke basketball. The sophomore still knew of the Wolverines’ history and isn’t surprised to be back in the Final Four again so quickly after arriving in Ann Arbor.

“I said it in the summer and the coaches kind of got on me saying we can be national championship contenders. But that was coming from my heart,” said Burke, surrounded by the sons of three former NBA players. “I knew once we put the talent with the toughness and execution, then I knew this team could be special. We’re coming together at the right time.”

The Wolverines overcame a 14-point deficit in the final 7 minutes against top seed Kansas two days earlier, getting to overtime after Burke’s long 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation.

Despite being the only team to make regional finals each of the last three seasons, the Gators haven’t been to the Final Four since winning consecutive national titles in 2006 and 2007 for coach Billy Donovan.

Kenny Boynton and Erik Murphy, the four-year seniors who came in not long after those titles, will leave without one of their own. They were part of the only Gators class to win consecutive outright SEC regular-season championships, but came up short in the biggest games.

Florida is the first team to make it to three consecutive regional finals without winning at least one of them, according to STATS LLC. Wyoming lost in the round of eight from 1947-49, but that stretch ended two years before the NCAA tournament expanded to more than eight teams.

“I feel more upset for Boynton, (Mike) Rosario and Murphy, who don’t get a chance and have come so close,” Donovan said. “This one, we didn’t play well enough or deserve to win.”

Boynton and Will Yeguete had 13 points apiece for the Gators.

The Gators were able to recover from an early deficit against Florida Gulf Coast for a 62-50 win Friday night on the raised stage at Cowboys Stadium.

It was another story facing Big Blue.

After McGary started the scoring with a layup, Stauskas made a behind-the-back pass to McGary for a slam before making his first 3-pointer less than a half-minute after that.

Burke passed to McGary for a layup before driving for one of his own. McGary’s jumper made it 13-0 only 3:05 into the game.

Stauskas, who was 2 of 12 from 3-point range the first three games of this NCAA tourney, was on target against the Gators.

The 6-foot-6 guard from Canada put the Wolverines up by 24 points with 4:08 left in the first half after two consecutive 3s from the left corner in a span of 27 seconds.

Like he did on all of his makes, Stauskas came back down the court with a smile on his face, sharing the moment with the Wolverines fans who made the trip to North Texas.

“I can’t even explain the feeling. I was having so much fun,” Stauskas said. “I’ve been working and dreaming my whole life about something like this. To finally have it, I have a smile on my face and I’m enjoying the moment.”

Florida missed its first seven shots before Yeguete made a layup more than 3½ minutes into the game.

It was a rough finale for Murphy, who twice thought he had easy baskets in front of him only to have the shots blocked. Murphy had eight rebounds, but finished 0-of-11 shooting and was scoreless for the first time this season.

Murphy was clearly devastated, staring at the floor with slumped shoulder in the locker room after the game.

“Just missed shots,” Murphy said, barely loud enough to be heard, and answering in short spurts. “Our defense was bad.”

Even with an 11-2 run late in the first half punctuated by Boynton’s 3-pointer, the Gators were still down by 15 with a minute to go in the first half.

But the Wolverines were able to score even after it appeared that the half had ended; Burke was already heading off the court pumping his right arm toward the Michigan fans.

Stauskas was fouled on a 3-point attempt with .4 seconds left and, after officials reviewed the play, hit two free throws to give the Wolverines a 47-30 lead.

It was that kind of day for Michigan, and for Florida, as well.

Maybe that’s why it’s so easy to imagine the studious-looking coach with the specs perched on his nose reminding his often-overlooked team at halftime against Ohio State to “play angry,” and the Shockers riding that command to their first Final Four since Lyndon B. Johnson was president.

“First of all, they’re very good people. They let us coach them,” Marshall said shortly after the Shockers’ 70-66 victory over the heavily-favored Buckeyes on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

“They have great character,” Marshall said. “I mean, there are times when it’s not easy in our practice sessions, (but) they allow us to coach them. The team comes first.”

Indeed, there’s no Stephen Curry in this bunch of longshots. There’s no Doug McDermott piling up the points, or some other “name” player with the sure-fire NBA future.

No, the Shockers are heading to Atlanta after their upset of Ohio State — and of Pittsburgh and Gonzaga, lest you forget — on the broad shoulders of a bunch of industrious dudes from as near as Wichita and as far away as Nigeria, who have come together to create a team that is stacking up just fine with the likes of Syracuse and Duke and Louisville.

Even Tim Tebow has gotten into the spirit by delivering a pep talk to the Shockers.

On this team, everybody has the opportunity to be the star.

In their second-round win over the Panthers, it was Malcolm Armstead pouring in 22 points — his second-best performance of the season — and unheralded guard Tekele Cotton playing suffocating defense on Pittsburgh’s Tray Woodall that ushered the Shockers to an easy victory.

Two days later, matched up with top-seeded Gonzaga, the Shockers got 16 points from freshman guard Ron Baker — the pride of Scott City, Kan., population 3,796 — and some deadeye shooting from the perimeter in a victory that blew open the West Region of the NCAA tournament.

In a regional semifinal against another longshot, La Salle, it was senior forward Carl Hall — the glasses-wearing big man with the even bigger motor — who bullied his way through the smaller Explorers for 16 points and carried the Shockers to their first regional final since 1981.

And on Saturday night, it was Cleanthony Early and Fred Van Vleet who led the way against the Buckeyes, helping No. 9 seed Wichita State (30-8) build a 20-point lead and then hang on through a dramatic final five minutes to spring one more upset in a tournament full of them.

“It feels very good, and it feels even better that I can experience it with these guys, with their struggles they overcame, what they have to go through in life,” Early said.

Early, a junior forward, arrived at Wichita State from tiny SUNY-Sullivan, a community college in upstate New York, where he was passed over by most high-profile schools.

Now, he’s the leading scorer on a team headed to the Final Four.

“It feels very good,” he said, “but we understand the fact that we’ve got to stay hungry and humble, because we’ve got two more games left to really be excited about.”

It’s been a while since folks around Wichita State could say that this time of year.

Or anybody else from the Missouri Valley Conference.

With a school-record 30 wins, the Shockers are the first team from the Valley to reach the final weekend since Larry Bird led Indiana State to the title game in 1979. They’re also just the fifth team seeded ninth or higher to reach the Final Four since seeding began that same year.

Since seeding began in 1979, the lowest to ever win the NCAA tournament was Villanova, which was seeded eighth when it beat Georgetown in the final.

Perhaps Wichita State has taken some inspiration from VCU, who made a Final Four run as an 11-seed a couple years ago. Or maybe the ’65 version of the Shockers, who made the school’s only other Final Four but were soundly beaten by Gail Goodrich and eventual champion UCLA.

“It’s been a while, so to be able to go to the Final Four and represent all of us and try to win a championship, who knows?” Marshall said. “We’ve had a lot of people support us along the way in Wichita and at the university and in our community. They’re the best fans in the world.”

Make no mistake, all of Kansas seems to be rallying behind the Shockers.

They’re normally an after-thought on sports pages and airwaves dominated by the Jayhawks and fellow Big 12 heavyweight Kansas State, but might Kansas was ousted from the NCAA tournament by Michigan on Friday night, and the Wildcats didn’t survive the opening weekend.

That makes the Shockers the kings of the Sunflower State.

Now, they’ll head to Atlanta and try to become kings of college basketball.

“I feel like this team, we aren’t done yet, so it’s on to the next game,” Hall said. “We’re back to work again, so we’re just ready to go and make a run for this thing.”

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It’s 40 minutes of trapping and shot-challenging, of closing off angles, of trusting teammates from a determined Syracuse team.

“We showed,” senior guard Brendan Triche said, “that defense wins games.”

Yes, the Orange D certainly does.

With a second suffocating performance at the East Regional, No. 4-seeded Syracuse shut down No. 3 Marquette 55-39 Saturday to earn legendary head coach Jim Boeheim his fourth trip to the Final Four — and first since a freshman named Carmelo Anthony helped win the 2003 NCAA championship.

“A tremendous, tremendous defensive effort,” Boeheim said.

Fittingly, a matchup between schools from the soon-to-break-apart, rough-and-tumble Big East became quite a struggle on the offensive end. Syracuse (30-9) was led by senior forward James Southerland’s 16 points. Michael Carter-Williams, a 6-foot-6 guard who is out front in the zone, was named the regional’s top player after accounting for 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals and only one turnover Saturday.

Marquette (26-9) hadn’t scored fewer than 47 points all season — and, indeed, put up 74 in a victory over Syracuse on Feb. 25. But this time, Marquette kept turning the ball over, seeing its shots blocked or just plain missing.

The Golden Eagles’ 39 points were a record low for a team in an NCAA tournament regional final since the shot clock was introduced in 1986.

“They beat us from start to finish. We collectively tried everything we knew to try,” Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. “It is the zone, and it is the players in the zone.”

Much like what happened Thursday in the regional semifinals, when Syracuse knocked off top-seeded Indiana by limiting it to a season-low output, too.

“I don’t think we’ve played as good defensively as these last two games,” Triche said. “We held some good teams down.”

All told, Marquette made only 12 of 53 shots — 23 percent — and was 3 for 24 on 3-pointers. Vander Blue, who carried Marquette to the round of eight, was held to 14 points on 3-for-15 shooting.

“They cover ground really good. You’ve got to get the ball in the middle, you’ve got to play inside out, you’ve got to get to the free-throw line and wear them down with the 3-pointer when you can,” Blue said. “They’re really good at what they do in that zone.”

Consider these numbers through four games in the tournament: Syracuse is averaging 6.5 blocks and 10.8 steals, while forcing opponents into 29 percent shooting, including 15 percent on 3-pointers.

“We couldn’t get one to drop in from up close,” said Marquette’s Jamil Wilson, who was 0 for 5 on 3-pointers, 1 for 9 overall. “We couldn’t get one to drop in from outside.”

The next team to try to solve that defense will be the winner of Sunday’s South Regional final between Florida and Michigan. Syracuse is 3-0 in national semifinal games under Boeheim.

And to think: Exactly three weeks ago, in this very same building, Syracuse wrapped up its final Big East regular-season schedule before heading to the Atlantic Coast Conference with a bad-as-can-be performance in a lopsided loss to Georgetown. Syracuse’s 39 points that day were the Orange’s tiniest total in a half-century.

That was Syracuse’s fourth loss in a span of five games, a stumbling way to head into tournament play.

That night, Boeheim forgot to adjust his alarm clock to account for daylight saving time, and so showed up late for a pre-practice coaches’ meeting. His players, turned out, had organized their own session without supervision, starting the work it would take to get going in the right direction.

“I watched them for a few minutes and it was really a good thing. I thought our practices were really good after that,” Boeheim said. “You can turn things around in this game.”

Since then, Syracuse has won seven of eight.

“When you bounce back like that, that says a lot about your kids, your team and your character,” Boeheim said. “This is a heck of a bounce back.”

And the secret to success? Defense, naturally.

“We got the right personnel for each key position,” C.J. Fair said. “We got big long guards, we got big long forwards that can cover ground and our centers do a good job holding down the inside.”

Because of that, Syracuse really needed only one run on offense in the second half, making five shots in a row during a spurt that gave it a 41-28 lead with 9½ minutes left.

Last season, Syracuse fell a victory short of the Final Four, losing to Ohio State in the round of eight.

“We wanted to get over the hump,” Southerland said. “That’s what I told the guys: We’ve still got two more to go.”

With President Barack Obama — a basketball fan who picked Indiana to win the title — and NFL Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins sitting in the crowd, Syracuse harassed Marquette into missing 14 of its first 15 tries from beyond the 3-point arc.

Marquette started 1 for 10 overall on field-goal tries, with Blue’s 3-pointer about 1½ minutes in the only make. He celebrated as though it came at the end of the game, not the outset, punching the air and tapping defender Triche on the back while heading to the other end of the court.

After Blue’s 3, Marquette missed its next seven shots. There would be other such stretches. Six misses in a row. Six misses in a row. Even nine in a row.

The Golden Eagles also went nearly 6½ minutes without a single field-goal attempt in the first half. Forget about putting the basketball through the net; Syracuse was so smothering, Marquette did not even manage to shoot.

When Southerland hit a 3, off a pass and screen by Carter-Williams, the Orange led 24-18 at halftime.

After helping cut down the net to celebrate Saturday, Southerland was asked whether he thought this sort of thing was possible when his team was leaving the same arena on March 9 after losing meekly to Georgetown.

“We just did a good job of recovering from that,” Southerland explained, “and not sulking.”

Do you think ‘Cuse can go the distance?  Let us know…

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But coaches? Not a chance.

Saturday’s Marquette-Syracuse game will be the ninth time since the field expanded to 64 teams that two schools from the same conference played in the regional final.

The first of those nine times was in 1987. Georgetown, a No. 1 seed just four years from winning a national championship, met Providence, an up-and-coming program under up-and-coming coach Rick Pitino, in the South Regional final.

Georgetown coach John Thompson was asked Friday about playing a team from the same conference with such a big prize at stake.

Three times, he colorfully said that it was a pain in the posterior.

“They know you and you know them. There’s no surprise. No coach wants to get somebody from within your league,” said Thompson, who is working as a radio analyst. “When they watch tape it’s not Georgetown-Villanova or Georgetown-Syracuse, it’s Georgetown and you. You’re in the film as you’re watching it.

“It’s hard enough to beat a team you know nothing about. It’s a lot harder to beat a team that knows you really well.”

Neither Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim nor Marquette coach Buzz Williams described what they were about to face in the same terms as Thompson, but it was easy to tell they weren’t thrilled about the opponent.

“They know us, that’s a fact, they know how to play against us, they’re used to that, and we understand them, what they do,” said Boeheim, who is trying to the Orange to the Final Four for the fourth time. “So I think that’s all part of playing somebody that you know. They’re going to understand what to do and hopefully we will understand what we need to do as well.”

Syracuse is coming off a 61-50 upset win over the Indiana Hoosiers.

Williams, who is a win away from his first Final Four, didn’t mince words.

“I don’t want to play Syracuse again,” he said. “You know them and you know their zone, I know all that. I don’t want to play them. I would rather play somebody else. But it’s part of having so many good teams in our league that go to the NCAA tournament.”

Marquette won the only meeting this season 74-71 after trailing by as many as 11 points. It was their only meeting because of the unbalanced schedule that comes with a 15-team league.

In the past, some of the conference opponents playing for a Final Four berth had met three times before the tournament, and sometimes that had a lot to do with who moved on.

Will the Orange keep it rolling against Marquette?  Share your predictions below…

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Trey Burke never doubted he could lead Michigan to its deepest NCAA tournament run since the Fab Five era.

Not after a scoreless first half. Not when the Wolverines trailed top-seeded Kansas by 14 with less than 7 minutes left — or by 5 with 21 seconds left.

And definitely not when he got the ball in his hands and the seconds draining away.

Burke scored all 23 of his points in the second half and overtime, including a long, tying 3-pointer in the final moments of regulation as Michigan rallied to beat Kansas 87-85 in the South Regional semifinals Friday night.

“We never lost faith out there,” Burke said. “We stuck it out together.”

Ben McLemore had 20 points to lead the Jayhawks (31-6), who looked to be on their way to a third straight regional final before Michigan’s improbable rally. Instead, they became the third No. 1 seed to fall in this tournament, joining Gonzaga and Indiana.

“Well, this will certainly go down as one of the toughest games that obviously we’ve been a part of and I’ve been a part of,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “But props to Michigan for making all the plays late.”

That’s for sure.

The fourth-seeded Wolverines (29-7) were down five when Tim Hardaway Jr. missed a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left, but Glenn Robinson III won a scramble for the ball and hit a reverse layup to force Kansas to win the game at the free throw line.

The Jayhawks couldn’t do it. Burke’s tying shot — he pulled up from well beyond the arc just left of the key — came with 4.2 seconds left after Elijah Johnson missed a free throw and Michigan got the rebound.

Moments earlier, with 21 seconds remaining, Johnson had hit two from the line to keep the Kansas lead at five. Burke had scored on a layup to get Michigan back to within three.

“We never had the mindset that we were going to lose the game,” Burke said. “When we were down 14, we knew anything could still happen. It’s March, anything can happen.”

Michigan went to back-to-back championship games a generation ago with the Fab Five led by Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose. But the folks in Ann Arbor will be talking for years about the shot by Burke under the huge video board Cowboys Stadium, just down the road from where Howard and Rose played their last game together with Ray Jackson and Jimmy King in a regional final loss to Arkansas in 1994.

The Wolverines will play the Florida-Florida Gulf Coast winner the regional final Sunday.

“Just to be able to get this program back to the Elite Eight, it feels good,” Burke said. “But we want to go further.”

The lead changed hands five times in overtime — the first OT game of the tournament — the last when Mitch McGary, who led Michigan with 25 points and 14 rebounds, hit a short jumper with Johnson in his face to put Michigan ahead 83-82.

The Jayhawks got a stop and had about 9 seconds to tie or win, but a jumbled possession ended with Naadir Tharpe missing a running jumper at the buzzer.

“We played like we were trying to hold onto something instead of just continuing to play,” Johnson said.

Burke had eight points in the closing 14-4 run that tied the game, then gave Michigan its first lead since early with another long 3-pointer to make it 79-78 early in overtime. He hit a jumper on the next possession as well. After failing to score in the first 20 minutes, Burke ended his drought by scoring eight straight points early in the second half to momentarily cut the deficit to two.

“In the second half, coach told me to be more aggressive so I looked for my shot more,” he said.

But Kansas restored a 10-point lead built on controlling the paint, this time with a 3-pointer and a tomahawk dunk on a breakaway by McLemore and a three-point play from Johnson.

Johnson, who picked up three fouls in just three minutes of playing time in the first half, gave Kansas its biggest lead at 68-54 with a 3-pointer from the corner with just under 7 minutes left.

Travis Releford had 16 points for the Jayhawks, while Jeff Withey had 12 points and eight rebounds.

McLemore didn’t score again after going to the bench with his fourth foul with 8 minutes remaining.

“We had chance to seal the game, but we made some bonehead plays late,” Releford said.

Kansas pushed out to a 10-point lead early by dominating around the basket. McLemore’s first basket was the first outside the paint as the Jayhawks scored 34 of their 40 first-half points from inside while shooting 69 percent.

Withey put Kansas ahead 29-19 with a turnaround shot that had McGary shrugging at a teammate and saying, “I’m trying.”

McGary wasn’t having nearly as much trouble on the offensive end, leading the Wolverines with 11 points and five rebounds in the first half. He picked up where he left off in the third round against Virginia Commonwealth, when he had season highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds.

Michigan pulled within 40-34 at the half when Nik Stauskas hit a 3-pointer and had chance for a four-point play when McLemore bumped him on the shot. But he missed the free throw.

No matter. In the end, Burke was Fab-u-lous and the Wolverines are one win away from the Final Four.

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