The men’s NCAA basketball tournament resumes this weekend with the Final Four in Houston. Butler and VCU square off at 6:00pm in Saturday’s first semifinal, followed by Kentucky versus Connecticut.UK lost five players to the NBA draft after last season. The team’s top six players include three freshmen, but Coach John Calipari dismisses the notion that younger teams cannot win championships."I say if it’s experience or talent and I have a choice, I’m taking talent, and we’ll figure out how to make them play together, how to get them to defend, how to increase their toughness, how they have to play to win ballgames," he said.The Wildcats and Huskies will tip off shortly before 9:00pm Saturday. Connecticut won their last meeting in November at the Maui Invitational, 84 to 67.UK is seeking it's eighth NCAA title. Connecticut has won two championships, both under current coach Jim Calhoun. Butler and VCU are seeking their first title.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.