West champion capsule: Connecticut

West Region Champion: Connecticut (30-9)

Seed: 3

Conference: Big East

The strength: UConn?s greatest asset is the unyielding stamina of its primary offensive weapons, junior point guard Kemba Walker and freshman wing Jeremy Lamb. Walker rarely rests on the bench, and Lamb still can be found late in games working relentlessly to run around screens to free himself for scoring opportunities. Lamb does not perform like a typical freshman. He has a high-level understanding of offensive basketball and how to make himself useful beyond merely catching the ball and shooting it.

The weakness: This still is not an elite perimeter shooting team, with the Huskies hitting 33.7 percent. They?re poor from the field, actually, at 43.5 percent. It?s a little surprising more teams haven?t attempted to use zone defense to control the Huskies? plundering of the foul lane. Cincinnati did it in the second round but couldn?t score enough to support an adequate defensive performance. No team uses dribble penetration to greater advantage. Teams have tried to double Walker when he catches, or when he reaches the lane, but he?s too skilled a passer for that to be consistently effective.

Best player: Walker has been an All-America since the season began and has dominated March in a way we?ve rarely seen. The difference between his performance and that of, say, Davidson?s Stephen Curry in 2008 or Purdue?s Glenn Robinson in 1994 is that Walker made it all the way to the Final Four. He is blazingly quick with the basketball?not quite as absurdly dynamic as an Allen Iverson but measuring nicely in that category against ordinary humans. Walker not only has that electric first-step and immediate acceleration, but he also can stop in an instant, gain his balance and fire accurate pull-up jumpshots. That?s the skill that famously led Pitt?s Gary McGhee to stumble to the court at Madison Square Garden while Walker launched the game-winning jumper in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. Walker was widely criticized by statistical analysts during the season because, asked to carry a heavy offensive burden, he forced action and often shot a low percentage. What his critics missed, as with Iverson, is that even his misses could become positive plays if they occurred after penetration had rearranged the defense.

Super sub: Freshman point guard Shabazz Napier is actually a starter who comes off the bench, and he handles the ball much of the time so Walker can function more as a scorer than playmaker. Napier is a lefty who is strong on the ball, makes open shots and handles his defensive responsibilities. His contributions at that position helped restore Walker to greatness after a mid-season slump.

Coach?s M.O.: Pugnacious Jim Calhoun searches for battles even when there are none, but this year he didn?t always have to manufacture his fights. There was the NCAA hearing that took place on the first day of practice and ultimately led to sanctions against the program and the coach. There was the widespread expectation that the Huskies would follow last year?s disappointing season with a challenging rebuild. Aside from its motivational utility, it is impossible for Calhoun to justify taking offense to the low expectations, and yet he does. The Huskies underachieved last year, missed the tournament, and were starting over with the widely respected Walker, promising big man Alex Oriahki, a group of veterans who?d never contributed and a bunch of freshmen underrated by most everyone save Calhoun. This is what makes Calhoun great, but the act has grown a bit tiresome through the course of the season.

Season?s turning point: There?s a temptation to say it was the home loss to Notre Dame on the final day of the regular season. The Huskies blew a late lead and afterward regrouped and began their current nine-game winning streak. But none of this would have developed had not Walker taken command late in the Maui Invitational opener against Wichita State and delivered a comeback win. Without that game, there is no chance to outlast Michigan State in the semifinal and blow out Kentucky in the championship game. These were essential results in getting the Huskies seeded as a No. 3 after they finished just 9-9 in the Big East regular season.

Toughest tournament test: In the regional final against Arizona, the Huskies had to survive two attempts at game-winning 3-pointers by the Wildcats and prevailed, 65-63. They were fortunate that Wildcats star forward Derrick Williams was limited to 26 minutes because of first-half foul trouble.

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