And now it's anyone's game. Both teams in tonight's Southeast Regional Final contest weren't well-regarded in a fairlly weak bracket, but now they stand one win away from the Final Four, and anything can happen. Let's take a look at both teams.
Ken Pomeroy says ... 16th best team. 15th best offense, 29th best defense. Very slow tempo. Pretty great offense and pretty good defense that plays at a very slow tempo; great two point offense and good three point offense to go along with solid three point defense. Good at forcing jump shots and keeping teams off the line. Florida gets a lot of rebounds (particularly offensive boards).
The weaknesses for Florida are they don't shoot many free throws, and when they do, they don't shoot them very well (which might not be that much of a weakness if you think about it enough). They are a pretty good jump shooting team, but if they're in a close game late, this could be an Achilles heel.
Ken Pomeroy says ... 46th best team. 37th best offense, 62nd best defense. Slow tempo, but not as slow as Florida's. They're good at handling the ball, they're a solid shooting team, good free throw shooting team, don't get many of their shots blocked or stolen. They're also a strong defensive rebounding team.
The weaknesses of Butler is that they let teams get to the line. They also don't force many turnovers.
Prediction: This Butler team has been making a habit of making me look foolish. They turned the tables on Wisconsin's offense by forcing them into one of their coldest streaks of the season. They somehow turned terrible luck into terrific luck against Pitt in an unbelievable final two seconds.
Well, here we go again. Florida. I know this is a fairly weak bracket, but I don't see Butler beating three of the top four teams in their region, and the Gators are the most complete team they'll play. Winning the rebounding battle on both sides should be a big advantage, they should get some looks at the line (for better or for worse), and they should be able to shut down the three point shot.
(In other words, be prepared to bet the bank on Butler.)