How do you beat a team that has the kind of shooting night that Purdue had? First, you out-rebound them by eight. (skinny SG Kyle Guy had 10 boards). Second, you have only five turnovers, against 14 assists. Third, you make 17 of 20 free throws.

In short, you make the other team beat you, instead of beating yourself. Virginia made Purdue beat them. They almost did, but not quite.

Virginia is the only #1 seed left standing. I always root for the underdog. But, in this case the Tony Bennett and Virginia redemption story- losing to a 16 seed last year and then coming back to win the title the next season, might be the best "Hollywood" story of them all. I'll definitely be pulling for Virginia if they meet Michigan State in the final. Would be hard for me to pull against Auburn and Texas Tech, however.

Interesting match-ups from here on. Virginia slow vs. Auburn fast. Who controls: the accelerator or the brakes? MSU and TTU is blue collar deluxe.

I figure none of the remaining teams comes into the FF with significant pressure on them. None of them is in the "we have to win because we have elite talent" class. Virginia got the 16-seed loss monkey off their backs by going to the FF. MSU has a big advantage in coaching Final Four experience with Izzo, whatever that is worth.