My Final Four Picks

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Alright, the time has arrived for the annual Final Four Predictions. In a year of extreme parity I think there are 7-8 teams that could win the National Championship. Having said that, I am more confident in my Final Four predictions this year than I have been in many years. Of course, that is most surely the kiss of death. So without further fanfare here are my picks.

Ohio State
The Buckeyes have been solid all year and only losses both on the road in the rough and tumble Big Ten. Their combination of three senior guard/wings and the best Freshman in the country (and arguably the best big man in the country) is incredibly powerful. While the East is considered the toughest bracket, I don't think the Buckeyes will be tested until the Elite 8 because most of the tough teams are in the bottom part of the bracket. They likely will meet Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen, but I think the Wildcats are over-rated this year. I expect the Syracuse Orangemen to test Ohio State in the Elite 8, but the Buckeyes will win a close game.

Connecticut
The Huskies run to the Big East tournament championship was very impressive. They are playing incredible basketball right now. If they can keep up that intensity for the next 6 games they could be the National Champs. Kemba Walker is the best player in college basketball because he does so much more than just score averaging 5 reb and 4 assists per game. Of course, when the Huskies need a basket, it is nice to have a guy like Kemba to rely on. However, this is not a one many team, Oriakhi played great under the basket during the tourney and he is a very consistent rebounding force. The emergence of freshman Jeremy Lamb is the real story for this team. He is extremely athletic and was a very dependable scorer during the tournament. He adds another go to wing scorer that makes it difficult to double team Walker on every possession.

Notre Dame
While I think Kansas is a very good interior team, I think experienced guard play wins National Championships. I think Kansas is going to lose to Louisville's pressure defense in the Sweet Sixteen and I think Notre Dame's experienced guard play is going to take them to the Final Four for the first time since 1980. This team has great, experienced guard play and has weathered the brutal Big East conference schedule with only 4 losses. It is a senior laden team that has been in the tourney before and understands what it takes to win. It will play its first two games in ND friendly Chicago in front of a largely partisan crowd.

Pittsburgh
In my opinion, Pittsburgh has the easiest path to the Final Four. Most of the top seeds int he Southeast bracket have big question marks. Kansas State has been a tale of two teams and it seems unlikely that they will string together 4 straight wins. Wisconsin is a very different team on the road than the home team that beat Ohio State and Purdue. Both BYU and St. Johns have lost key players for the tournament that drop them both down a peg. Florida comes from the weak SEC conference and has troubling losses to Miss St, South Carolina and Jacksonville during the year. In the end, Pittsburgh's experience, toughness and great combination of inside and outside play will be too tough for any other team in this bracket.

Ultimately, I wish Ohio State could play UConn for the championship as I think they are the two best teams, but the brackets did not play out that way. I think Pitt will be in the finals but ultimately lose to the winner of the Ohio State/UConn game. I think the OSU/UConn game is a pick'em game but I am going to lean toward UConn as the National Champion. I think Kemba is going to play a brilliant tournament and cut down the nets in Houston.