Final Four Begins Tonight!

I think it is safe to say that everyone's bracket is in complete disarray thanks to the Elite Eight surprise departure of Pittsburgh and Louisville. In all my brackets I did not have Villanova or Michigan State in the Final Four, but I did have Connecticut and North Carolina. UConn and Carolina are keeping my bracket alive and if they both loose tonight, then I am done! I have Carolina beating UConn in the championship game on Monday night by six points (73-67).

Enough of my bracket, lets quickly brake down these games tonight.

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2. Michigan State -----vs. ---1. Connecticut

The Spartans are a tough team and even though they do not have the star power like the Huskies, they are very versatile. It is not often you see a 6-10ft center hit 19 foot jumpers from the perimeter and rebound eight a game, but that is what Goran Suton does for Michigan State. That could cause a match up problem for the Huskies and Hasheem Thabeet. Thabeet is 7-3 and does not move much out of the paint. If the Spartans can get Thabeet out of the paint with Suton on a consistent basis, then will cause trouble for UConn.

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---------------------------------------Goran Suton

The Huskies guard play of A.J. Price will be the difference in this game. He played great in the Elite Eight game against Missouri and is on fire in this tournament. His counter part, Kalin Lucas does not have the skill nor the experience to play in big games as Price does. Lucas is talented but not nearly as good as Price and will be too much for the Spartans to overcome, especially in the fast break. The Huskies thrive in the fast break with Thabeet dominating the boards and Price or Kemba Walker starting in transition. Michigan State should not be able to stop the quick and athletic Huskies.

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--------------------------------------A.J. Price

In the end, I am picking UConn over Michigan State. Even though Suton can possibly take Thabeet out of the paint, I think the Uconn defense will make the Spartans run which they do not like. They have only scored 12 points in the Regionals and like to play it slow. UConn will take advantage of that and will come out with a win.

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3. Villanova----- vs -------1. North Carolina

Villanova is the highest ranked team in the Final Four with a three seed and it is safe to say they are the biggest surprise to be in the Final Four. The Wildcats would not be here if it was not for Scottie Reynold's lay-up at the buzzer to defeat Pittsburgh. Reynolds showed Pittsburgh and the rest of the country, what he is made of. He is athletic and talented, but matching-up against North Carolina is a little different...well actually, it is A LOT different.

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------------------------------------Scottie Reynolds

Carolina's point guard Ty Lawson is the best in the country. No argument. The Tar Heels were a different team with him out of the lineup for parts of the season with his injured toe. Now healthy, Lawson is back and full strength and will be too much for Reynolds to guard. Lawson is just to quick off the dribble and can create his own shots in a blink of an eye. Not to mention he is a play maker and distributes the ball the best in the country.

North Carolina is loaded with future NBA players including Ty Lawson. There is just way too much talent on this team for them to loose against Nova. Tyler Hansborough, Ed Davis, Danny Green, Wayne Ellington, and Deon Thompson are all names you will see in the NBA soon. All these guys contribute in different ways and will prove to be too much for Villanova. Too much inside game, perimeter shooting, defense, and ball control will bring the Tar Heels over the Wildcats.

So here is your national title game: 1. Connecticut vs. 1. North Carolina

Before the season started I picked North Carolina to win in all this year and like I said before I have them winning it my bracket as well. This game will be close, but in my opinion, too much team chemistry with the Tar Heels. They will overcome Hasheem Thabeet's big presence inside and A.J. Price's scoring threat to win.

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------------------------------Hasheem Thabeet

Thabeet will probably dominate Tyler Hansbourgh, but Ed Davis at 6-10 and Tyler Zeller at 7-0 will help out in the paint. Both Hansborough and Davis are very physical and could irritate Thabeet. Even though Thabeet normally owns the boards, I feel the Tar Heels do enough to win.

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------------------------------------Tyler Hansborough

Besides the Hansborough/Thabeet match up, the one other match up that will be interesting will be A.J. Price vs. Ty Lawson. Like I said before, UConn loves to run in the fast break, but Lawson plays great defense and could cause trouble for Price in transition. The Tar Heels key is to its transition defense. That means both Lawson, Bobby Frasor and Danny Green Both will have to step up. Price and Lawson are very athletic and quick, but Lawson even with coming off an injured toe, is still much better than Price.

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-----------------------------------Ty Lawson

With that said, I am sticking with my preseason pick with North Carolina winning the National Championship. They are just the best all around team and has way too much fire power. The Tar Heels lost last year in the Final Four to Kansas, but this year will be different. Tyler Hansborough, Ty Lawson, and Danny Green almost jumped last year to the NBA Draft, but all decided to come back for a chance to win a national title. It will turn out to be a good decision as North Carolina will hoist another banner in the rafters of the Dean Dome back at Chapel Hill.

I will check back here on Tuesday with my reactions to the title game...hopefully my predictions and brackets are correct!

Enjoy the games!

~Sabol