Final Four reminds Louisville, Kentucky basketball history is just that
Kentucky and Louisville basketball have rich histories. But, as Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May reminded us during March Madness, history is just that now.
INDIANAPOLIS — As college basketball gets further and further away from the old way of doing things, with the transfer portal, revenue sharing and name, image and likeness payments to players, the built-in advantages for traditional powers like Kentucky and Louisville in this new era are fading away too. That point was on full display Saturday at the Final Four . Michigan coach Dusty May chose the Wolverines over Louisville two years ago when the Cardinals looked to replace Kenny Payne .
With Michigan’s 91-73 win over Arizona, May sits on the verge of capturing his first NCAA men’s basketball title in just his second season as head coach. Although May hasn’t made it official yet, it would be hard to envision him leaving Ann Arbor for the North Carolina opening, given he has what all coaches want: a program with the resources to win a national title. Michigan will face Connecticut — the new money of college basketball right down to its brash, hate him or love him, coach Dan Hurley — in Monday’s championship game.
The Huskies will be going for their seventh title since wining their first in 1999 after beating Illinois 71-62 in the semifinals. UConn began to blow up the notion of blue bloods before everyone started doing it. And trust, a lot more schools are prepared to get in on the act.
While at the Final Four this weekend, Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd turned down North Carolina to stay in Tucson. The Wildcats have been a good, modern day basketball program, but are not what Carolina has been historically. None of that mattered to Lloyd, who got them back to the Final Four for their first time since 2001.