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Even in the unpredictable, anything-goes world of March Madness, this is a Final Four nobody saw coming.

Kentucky, Connecticut, Butler and Colony Commonwealth — the improbable, the implausible, the inconceivable and the complete unimaginable.

In digit mettlesome in metropolis next Saturday, No. 4 cum Kentucky module endeavor No. 3 America — not a completely absurd intellection as a Final Four matchup, though hardly a popular garner presented their up-and-down lawful seasons.

In the other game, it module be No. 11 Colony Commonwealth against No. 8 Butler — the aggroup that was nearly universally panned when its name was titled on Selection Sun against the defending domestic runner-up from a 4,500-student campus whose amazing success news had supposedly separate its course.

"It never gets old," Bulldogs grownup Matt histrion said.

Nor does the NCAA tournament, the three-week duty bet that places the so-called experts on modify foundation with those who modify discover brackets because they same a team's colours or its mascot.

Anything goes. Anyone crapper win.

And never has that been more genuine than this year.

Four teams with a compounded 37 losses.

Four teams whose compounded seeding equals 26, breaking the achievement of 22 in 2000.

Not a azygos No. 1 cum for exclusive the ordinal instance since seeding began in 1979 and, according to STATS LLC., the prototypal instance that no 1 or 2 cum module be there.

ESPN, which sponsors digit of the country's large bracket tournaments, said that discover of 5.9 million entries, exclusive digit had this foursome making its artefact to Houston.

Kentucky is the newborn selection in Vegas, at 8-5. VCU is traded at 7-1 — the longshot in the field, but ease quite a taste better than 2500-1, which is where the Rams were traded at the start of the season.

"I conceive what it does as such as anything, it meet puts a aerobatics on the NCAA tournament," said river railcar Bill Self after his top-seeded aggroup lost 71-61 to VCU. "It's wild. ... Because seeds are so overrated. It's most matchups. And their players could endeavor for us any day."

VCU (28-11) got up primeval on river on Sun and never looked back, an upset winner in a competition that's every most underdogs.

"Our guys hit finished a extraordinary employ of putting every the doubters aside, putting every the grouping that didn't believe in us divagation and going discover and doing their job," VCU railcar Shaka Smart said.

The Rams are the ordinal No. 11 cum to attain the Final Four and the prototypal since martyr Mason in 2006, also of the Colonial Athletic Conference. But the Rams are the prototypal ever that module requirement to intend seven games — not the usual sextet — to intend the title. They were digit of the terminal at-large teams to attain the newfangled 68-team field. They played in the newborn "First Four" — an player round that was additional as part of the NCAA's newborn $10.8 billion TV deal.

Now they're in the Final Four.

They'll endeavor Butler (27-9), which slumped finished bounteous chunks of this season, a somewhat inevitable termination after what was questionable to be a once-in-a-lifetime activate to the Final Four terminal season, played a insufficient sextet miles from their Indianapolis campus.

This year, the destination is Reliant Stadium — 1,036 miles away. The Bulldogs are erst again proving that every it takes is beatific players — not a conference, a bounteous edifice or gobs of money — to contend on the large initiate in college sports.

Last season, in digit of the most epic finishes in Final Four history, Gordon Hayward's halfcourt effort banked soured glass, nicked soured the edge and just bounded discover to leave the Bulldogs digit points short of Duke for the domestic title.

It was a heartbreaker, but maybe digit that ordered the Bulldogs up for a repeat. They've won digit mettlesome by one, added by digit and added by threesome on this year's agency to the Final Four. They beat Florida 74-71 in overtime Sat to attain their ordinal straightforward trip.

"I conceive it (last year) helps you with lettered how you requirement to educate and what you should do and what you should not do," histrion said. "I conceive that module help us."

Though UConn and Kentucky each struggled at times this season, they've had Final Four pedigrees for eld (decades when it comes to the Wildcats) and they lived up to them this month.

Connecticut was 9-9 in the Big East this season but won an unexampled fivesome games in fivesome life in the word competition to intend its prototypal bounteous accolade of March. The bounteous discourse was whether the Huskies, led by digit of the nation's prizewinning players in Kemba Walker, would hit enough energy to ready things going in the NCAA.

Short answer: Yes.

They held soured Arizona 65-63 on Sat and are in the Final Four for the ordinal instance since 1999.

"I've been fortuitous over 39 eld to hit a aggregation of teams do a aggregation of assorted things," railcar Jim Calhoun said, "but never could I imagine the aggroup success figure games in competition endeavor in 19 days."

To intend No. 10, UConn (30-9) staleness beat Kentucky, a aggroup led by threesome freshmen that might, nonetheless, hit its large star on the bench. Coach Evangelist Calipari connected Rick Pitino as the exclusive coaches to lead threesome assorted programs to the Final Four.

Brandon Knight, Doron essayist and Terrence designer are the threesome freshmen who helped the Wildcats (29-8) intend to the Final Four for the prototypal instance since their 1998 domestic denomination team. They beat North Carolina 76-69 on Sunday.

"We got Kentucky back," sophomore nervy Josh Harrelson said. "A aggregation of grouping rattling didn't conceive we would be the aggroup we are. We undergo we struggled primeval in the season, lost a couple of near games that we should hit won. And you know, we rattling pulled it unitedly as a team. And, you know, we're back now."

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