Final Four to showcase contrasting styles
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Final Four's first semifinal Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium is likely to be decided by whether Auburn or Virginia dictates the pace of play.
"We're not going to compromise on how we play, but at the same time, our style of play is just to win," Virginia guard Kyle Guy said.
Uncompromising is a good way to describe Cavaliers coach Tony Bennet's philosophy, which was passed down by his father, former longtime coach Dick Bennett. The Cavaliers' pack line defense and milk-the-clock offense can lead to ugly games. When Virginia became the first No. 1 seed ever to lose an NCAA Tournament game to a 16-seed last season, critics of that style were quick to pounce.
The Cavaliers owned the UMBC upset and came back stronger this season, better than ever offensively under Bennett, but steadfast in their approach.
According to KenPom metrics that measure pace of play, Virginia is among the slowest in Division I.
"To be honest I feel like we just have to keep playing the way we've been playing, pushing the ball in transition," Auburn guard Bryce Brown said. "We may have to make more 3s than usual."
While facing Virginia is a test of patience, Auburn wants to make the opposition feel rushed.
The Tigers rank 153rd in the country in KenPom's pace of play metric, and 69th in average length of offensive possession at 16.9 seconds. Coach Bruce Pearl's team will take some chances defensively. That could lead to a forced turnover or a quick basket. Either way, the Tigers keep it moving.
"We turn people over almost 25 percent of the possessions," Pearl said. "They don't turn the ball but nine times in a game, and the more you try to turn them over, the better you make their offense."
The Final Four's second semifinal Saturday features Texas Tech, the team with the best defense in a generation, against Michigan State, the nose-in-the-dirt team whose coach used to put helmets and shoulder pads on his players for practice.
It's a non-glamour pairing pitting two teams that thrive on the grind. Texas Tech (30-6) has allowed more than 70 points only five times this season and not at all in the tournament. Michigan State (32-6), with the ninth-best defense in the country, got here by shutting down more-talented, more-star-studded Duke.
The over/under on the game is 132.5, meaning there's a good chance the first team to 65 will win.
"We try to guard at a high level," Red Raiders coach Chris Beard said. "It's been the identity of our teams at all different levels, and currently at Texas Tech. It's something we try to recruit to. We certainly coach and emphasize it."
His players are listening.
Jarrett Culver is the team's leading scorer (18.9 points a game) and main NBA prospect, but the defensive help comes from all places. Matt Mooney and Tariq Owens were named to the All-Big 12 defensive team. Owens was also a semifinalist for the Naismith defensive player of the year. His swoop-in rejection of Rui Hachimura was the game-sealer in the Elite Eight victory over Gonzaga last week.
Texas Tech's defense has the best points allowed-per-100 possessions ratio (84) since stat guru Ken Pomeroy started tracking the figure in 2002. The Red Raiders have held teams to 36.9 percent shooting this year, second-lowest in the country.
"The defense, you don't know until you go out there," Michigan State guard Cassius Winston said. "You've got to feel it out, but it doesn't take that long to figure out what you can and can't do at this point."
Michigan State's defense isn't bad, either. It's built around the hard-nosed lessons coach Tom Izzo has been teaching for years. Back when Izzo was making his first of eight appearances in the Final Four, he would suit his players up in helmets and shoulder pads for rebounding drills.
Guard Matt McQuaid is considered the team's best defender. In its media guide, Michigan State unfurls a long list of top players - including Purdue's big-scoring Carsen Edwards and pretty much all of the Big Ten - he has held under their season average. The Spartans were fourth in the nation in blocked shots (203) this season.
"This team is very connected," Izzo said. "It's like, when they move, they all move together, and that's why we've been pretty good defensively ourselves."