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NCAA.com – The Chosen Four

There will be a #5 seed in the final game, one way or another. It will be either Michigan State or Butler. Despite the #5 seed, Butler actually has the best record of the four remaining teams.

Neither of those #5 seeds is a true #5. They could easily have gotten a pair of 3s or even a 3-2. Here's how the teams finished in the final coaches' poll: Duke 3, West Virginia 5, Butler 8, Michigan State 12. If the NCAA simply seeded teams based on those rankings, Duke would be a #1, West Virginia and Butler would be #2s, Michigan State would be a #3. Having a 1-2-2-3 final four, which is really what we have, sounds much more impressive than a 1-2-5-5.

By the way, Michigan State somehow made it to the final four without ever facing a 1, 2, or 3 seed! That phenomenal record could actually continue all the way to the final game because they face a #5 next. If they beat the Fightin' Jeeves of Butler, they could make it to the national championship game without their best player - and without ever having faced a 1, 2 or 3 seed. In that case, they would have victories over opponents seeded 14-4-9-6-5. Amazin'