Final Four

Well, we're a little more than a month away from selection Sunday, so what better time than today for me to unveil the four teams which will meet in St. Louis to decide the Men's Basketball NCAA Champion? I will tell you who will come out of each regional and maybe the few things the team may need to overcome to make its way on the Mighty Mississippi.

Before I begin, I will unfortunately be unable to watch the Duke/Wake Forest game tonight because I will be playing volleyball. It is very tough for me to miss a game of such importance, but luckily, there is a rematch. Go Duke!

Onto the list:

Albuquerque Regional- The Syracuse University Orangemen

I can't say what the Orange will be ranked in this regional, but I like them coming out of this regional. Yes, this is quite a trip for them, and the distance may play a factor, but you will see in the next three picks why Syracuse is in this regional.

The loss at Pitt will in the end help this Syracuse team, I believe. They now know that no team is ever out of a game, that they need to continue attacking and never stop playing at a top level. You would have thought the team learned no team is out of a game after their comeback against Rutgers, but apparently they thought they were the only team which could do such a thing.

Syracuse is led by a great coach in Jim Boheim and has a solid senior leader in Hakim Warrick. With Gerry McNamara hitting everything he puts up, the 'Cuse could make another run at a national title.

I just can't bring myself to give this regional to Boston College, yet. I don't know what it is about that team, but I am not yet a believer. All of this may change when Syracuse plays at BC on February 19. If Syracuse can win that game and McNamara and Warrick continue to play at high levels for 3 weeks in March, this is a tough team to beat. However, if they play a team with tough perimeter defense to negate McNamara's ability and at least one tough inside player to try and get Warrick in foul trouble (his only downfall this season), Syracuse could be an early out.

Syracuse Regional- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels

This is still one of the most talented teams I have seen this year. When this team is playing up to its ability, I don't think they can be beaten. That being said, the team came out in its biggest game of the year (Wake) and didn't play as well as they are able to. The players seemed to get flustered by the hostile crowd and lost some composure when the Deacons came back to take the lead.

Other than that game, this team has been rolling people. Unless they just come out plain flat in a game in the tournament against an inspired team, I don't see them having a game which is decided by less than 13 points in the first 3 rounds. The only thing which will beat this team before St. Louis is itself. No one should beat them in the tourney before they get to the Final Four, they're that good.

Unfortunately for UNC fans, Scorsese will go Oscar-less again this year (if you don't understand what I'm talking about, read this column), so you know what that means for Williams.

Chicago Regional- University of Kansas at Lawrence Jayhawks

Illinois is not coming out of the Chicago Regional basically because they can't. The NCAA Selection committee will probably not put a team that close to its home court. However, if Illinois is in this Regional instead of Kansas, then by all means, it will be Illinois.

Anyway, Kansas is a lot like UNC. The team plays so well together and is so talented that I can't see them losing in the tournament. This team has had a rash of injuries this season, and hopefully the bug won't bite again as the season winds down. The blowout win against Texas showed me this team has already forgotten the non-conference loss at Villanova. A huge step by teams trying to reach the Final Four is forgetting the ugly losses and moving on. Kansas is obviously more talented than Texas, but that was an important win.

Kansas also has tough games left against Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma. Not to mention the last game of the season at Missouri and the Big XII Tournament. We will see just how resilliant this Jayhawks team is during the next 5 weeks. If they can make it through the rest of the season without Simien getting hurt again, losing any more players to injury, or having a devastating loss (first round blowout in the Conference Tournament or something like it), this team should be primed and ready to go for the NCAA's.

Roy Williams couldn't lead Kansas to a title, Bilf Self just might.

Austin Regional- The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana Fighting Illini

I have said many things about this team. Here's another; they are a great college basketball team. All you have to know about this team is the wins at Wisconsin and Michigan State. No one in the Big Ten is beating them in the regular season. No one in the first four rounds of the NCAA tournament is beating them. Illini fans may as well make reservations now. I can see no scenario, unless all of their players come down with the same illness right before the start of the NCAA's and they have to forfeit every game, they aren't losing at least until St. Louis, if then. Have I jynxed this team enough yet?

Wildcards

There are a few wildcard teams.

Boston College- don't know much about them, but you can't doubt an undefeated team for too long. The game against Syracuse will provide some answers.

Duke- a great team for coach K, as I have already gone over. This team gets hot at the right time, watch out, they are a confident bunch.

Wake Forest- the enigma of the tournament. The Deacons have looked like the best team in the country at times, and have also looked like a second round upset. If they want to get to St. Louis, 101 points has to win a game. Defense has to get better.

Georgia Tech- we need to see last year's runner-up at full strength for once. BJ Elder coming back 100% healthy will help this team regain the identity it had during last season's run. The win over Wake may be the stepping stone for the Yellow Jackets.

Others which may end up being a 3, 4, 5, or 6 seed to make it on great play and a little luck; Alabama, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Washington, Arizona, and let's go for a long, long, long shot... Louisville.

-Until next time...