Basketball - NCAA

Open to the four winds
Significant event in the U.S., the University Final 4 will be held Saturday and Monday in Houston. It is impossible to designate a favorite among the four qualifiers, who all more or less surprised when arriving there.
L'équipe de Kentucky s'entraîne sur le parquet du Reliant Stadium. (REUT)
The Kentucky team trains on the floor of Reliant Stadium. (Reuters)
THE PROGRAM:

In the night from Saturday to Sunday
1:09: Butler - Virginia Commonwealth
3:49: Connecticut - Kentucky

On paper, these duels are poles apart. The first is between two universities whose basketball programs are far from national terrors. Butler was a finalist in 2010, beaten by Duke (61-59), But the Bulldogs return to the Final 4 was not expected, especially since their best player, Gordon Hayward, had gone to the NBA this season. This is nothing compared to VCU, whose very presence in the final tournament university had been discussed. Since then, the Rams came out the favorite, Kansas (71-61). The second is between two big names in college basketball. Kentucky won the title seven times, most recently in 1998, and Connecticut twice, in 1999 and 2004. Nevertheless, those two were not seeded No. 1 regional.

Players to watch:

Kemba Walker, Brandon Khight, Shelvin Mack ... Final 4 this could be dominated by backs. Fourth leading scorer this season (23.9 points), Walker has been the unwavering leadership of Connecticut in the tournament final from 36 points in round 3 and 33 at the sweet 16. Knight (17.3 points), who succeeded John Wall to the leads in Kentucky, succeeded decisive baskets and scoring 22 points against North Carolina during theElite 8. For Butler, Mack (15.9 points) forms a formidable duo with winger Matt Howard (16.7 points).
PLACE:

The Final 4 Men's college basketball, the second largest sporting event in the U.S. behind the Super Bowl is held in domed stadiums U.S. soccer. For the third consecutive year, the chamber contains more than 70,000 spectators. Reliant Stadium is usually that of the Houston Texans. In 2014, the Final 4 will be held in Arlington, where the All-Star Game had set a record with More than 100,000 spectators in 2009. - X.C.