ets. Beachum struggled early but recovered in the seco

Way back at the start of the season, amid all the whistles and fouls, the defensive-minded teams appeared to be in trouble, a seemingly dying breed hamstrung by the NCAAs new hands-free rules. As the season progressed, the top coaches and teams adjusted to the changes and found ways around the impediments. Now, after the all increases in scoring and shooting percentages and offensive flow, the season has come down to a Final Four of teams held together by one common thread: shutdown defences. "In general, its like most sports: Defence wins championships," said Bill Frieder, a longtime coach and TV/radio analyst. "You still need to score, but basically when it gets right down to it, you have to make stops. The teams that can make a stop or two back to back are the teams that advance." The Final Four teams in this wild ride of an NCAA tournament earned a trip to North Texas this weekend because they can do just that. Florida is the best defensive team in the country, allowing just 88.5 points per 100 possessions, according to the analytics of KenPom.com. The Gators can be downright dominating on the defensive end, swarming ballhandlers and luring shooters into a fall sense of security before rising up to swat shots back in their faces. Defence has been a cornerstone for Bo Ryan since he won four national championships at Division III Wisconsin-Platteville and its been the calling card -- along with that ultra-patient offence -- since he arrived at Madison. The Badgers are fundamental and fierce, allowing about 56 points per game to NCAA opponents -- nearly eight less than before the tournament. For all the flash of Kentuckys fabulous freshmen, these young Cats can get after you on D. Kentuckys latest one-and-done lineup is filled with long, athletic players who can harass on the perimeter and guard the rim -- 10th nationally with 6.1 blocked shots per game -- like few teams in college basketball. And for all the hype heaped on Connecticuts Shabazz Napier, the Huskies are pretty husky when it comes to defence. Ryan Boatright has become a point-guard stopper -- he had four steals and helped limit Michigan States Keith Appling to two points in the East Regional final -- and UConn seems to have an entire roster of rim protectors, ranking 16th nationally with 5.8 blocked shots per game. "We are predators out there," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. In most years, the high-scoring teams often get the attention, whether it was Florida Gulf Coasts Dunk City a year ago or back to Houstons Phi Slamma Jamma of the early 1980s. What usually happens at the finish? The best defensive teams end up with the hardware. Louisville rode its swarming, chaos-inducing defence to a title last season. The year before that, Anthony Davis and Kentuckys shot-swatting young Cats set an NCAA record with 335 blocked shots on their way to the national championship. In 2011: Connecticut 53, Butler 41. Great defensive teams litter the list of national champions throughout history, too. UNLV ran its wrecking crew through the bracket in 1990. North Carolina State and Georgetown let the air out of Phi Slamma Jamma in consecutive title games. Indiana played superb team defence during the last perfect season in 1976. Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton anchored the UCLA teams that ran off 10 titles in 12 years. Go all the way back to the 1950s and the San Francisco teams that won consecutive championships had a young Bill Russell dominating the middle before he went on to do the same thing for the Boston Celtics. "In the NBA, its always seems to come down to the teams that play the best defence and its no different in college basketball," Arizona State associate head coach Eric Musselman said. "At the end of the day, no matter how well you score, youve got to be able stop people." The Final Four teams have proven they can do it so far in the tournament. Wisconsin opened the NCAA tournament by holding American to 35 points and reached the Final Four by preventing Arizona from getting off a potential game-winning shot before the buzzer sounded in overtime. Kentucky held Kansas State to 49 points in its NCAA opener and held Michigan scoreless for nearly 4 1-2 minutes of a three-point Midwest Regional final win that sent the Wildcats to the Final Four for the third time in four seasons. UConn went toe-to-toe with one of the nations best defensive teams in the East Regional final, holding Michigan State to 39 per cent shooting and two field goals -- one at the buzzer after the game was decided -- over the final 5 minutes. Florida is the third team in NCAA tournament history to win four games by double digits and hold opponents under 70 points per game en route to the Final Four, limiting teams to an average of 55 points per game. "We just take so much pride into being able to disrupt the team and being able to lock down guys," Florida forward Patric Young said. So do the other three teams, a big reason why theyre all together in North Texas. Cheap Shoes Ireland Online . Over the course of his career Glenn is 79-71-1 in 151 starts for a .526 career winning percentage. Since becoming a Stampeder, he has elevated his play and raised his stock around the league. Fake Shoes Ireland . After a 10-game skid, winning sure feels good. Atlantas third error in the last two innings allowed Jackie Bradley Jr. https://www.shoesirelandsale.com/ . Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks were proof of that on Wednesday night. Shoes Ireland On Sale . -- The Kelowna Rockets earned their 16th straight win with a 7-2 rout of the Portland Winterhawks in Western Hockey League action Thursday. Wholesale Shoes Ireland .Kessy tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. The Steelers placed Brown on injured reserve on Tuesday, two days after Brown tore a triceps while warming up before a 19-6 victory over the Jets. Brown, acquired from the Arizona Cardinals last week, will need surgery and is done for the year. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin called the injury "freakish" in its timing. "Ive been in this league a number of years and this is probably only the second time Ive ever been around that," Tomlin said. The Steelers (1-4) also lost tight end David Johnson for the year with a wrist injury. This is the second straight season Johnson is headed to the injured reserve. Johnson didnt even play in 2012 due to a torn ACL in his right knee. Pittsburgh filled out its roster by signing free agent tight end Richard Gordon and promoted cornerback Isaiah Green to the practice squad and Tomlin didnt rule out the prospect of both players seeing time on Sunday when the Steelers face rival Baltimore (3-3) looking to win consecutive games for the first time in 11 months. While Johnson and Brown are gone, linebacker Sean Spence is back. More than a year after suffering a catastrophic left knee injury in the final game of the 2012 preseason, Spence has been activated off the physically unable to perform list and will work in a limited capacity, a stunning comeback for the former third-round pick whose career was in jeopardy after tearing two ligaments and dislocating his kneecap. Tomlin allowed it is possible Spence could play at some point this season. "Well see how he performs in practice and kind of let that be our guide in terms of how we progress," Tomlin said. Injuries to Larry Foote and Kion Wilson forced rookie Vince Williams to play alongside Lawrence Timmons at inside linebacker and Spence was considered the eventual heir apparent to Foote when Pittsburgh grabbed Spence with the 86th overall pick of the 2012 draft. Spence has spent the last four months either watching practice or working out on an adjoining field with other injured players. His presence in a helmet and a jersey should send a jolt through a defence that started to look like its old self against the Jets. The Steelers put together three sacks aand forced two turnovers and despite a substandard September ranks sixth in yards allowed.dddddddddddd "I think everybody played better," defensive end Cam Heyward said. "We executed a lot better, but I dont think we schematically changed what we needed to do. We had different guys in there almost every week, and we did a good job attacking their run and not just stopping it, getting guys back and all the guys flying to the ball." Pittsburgh will try to do the same against the erratic Ravens (3-3), who are still searching for the form that led them to their second Super Bowl title eight months ago. Tomlin downplayed any talk that one of the NFLs biggest rivalries has lost its lustre now that both teams find themselves trailing front-running Cincinnati (4-2) in the AFC North. "Obviously, theyre a talented capable team led by superstars in all three phases and theyre defending world champs," Tomlin said. "They dont need an endorsement from me." Neither does tackle Kelvin Beachum, pressed into service after Brown went down less than an hour before kickoff against the Jets. Beachum struggled early but recovered in the second half to help Pittsburgh put New York away. The fact the Steelers didnt go searching for another lineman following Browns injury is a testament to Tomlins belief in the adaptable Beachum, who has already played at centre, right tackle and tight end in his brief career. It appears Beachum is entrenched — at least for now — heading into a stretch that should determine Pittsburghs season. A win over Baltimore and another one next week in Oakland and the Steelers are in the mix. Two losses and the rebuilding process can begin in earnest. Tomlin isnt quite that far down the road. He likes what he saw against New York. Now hed like to find a way to repeat it against the Ravens, who havent lost in Pittsburgh since 2010. "Obviously, our focus is and will continue to be us and how we perform and prepare to give ourselves the very best chance to play A-ball," he said. "We believe that A-ball is enough to win under any circumstance, so thats what is guiding us as we prepare for this one." ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org ___ Follow Will Graves at www.twitter.com/WillGravesAP ' ' '