2008 is winding down, the NBA season is rolling along, the NFL playoffs are right around the corner, and the college football bowls are in full swing. In just a few weeks we can start focusing on the most exciting and important sport, ever – men’s college basketball.
During the college hoops season you can watch exciting games every day & night, and you won’t find an event more action-packed and enjoyable than March Madness. While the heavyweights (like Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas, Connecticut) usually end up winning it all, the rest of the good teams feel like they at least have a chance. And you never can predict who will come out of nowhere to make some noise (remember George Mason and Davidson?)
Last season, we knew there were seven or eight teams who had a shot to cut down the nets. Ultimately, the four best teams ended up in the Final Four, with my beloved Jayhawks (finally) going all the way. Which brings us to this year…does anyone realistically think a team other than North Carolina has a chance to go all the way? A Final Four team from last year that basically returned all of their weapons, they’ve cruised so far this season and look like they are on another level (and most of their players will be getting paid to play on another level next year). But being a passionate college hoops fan for more than two decades, I feel like I’ve seen enough games to know a few things. For example, anything can happen, especially in March. Don’t forget, these are a bunch of 18 – 22 year olds and they don’t always bring their A-game every night. Also, having watched Roy Williams coach for nearly 20 years, something always seems to happen to his teams in the biggest game of the year – especially when they’re favored. He tightens up, they tighten up; they start missing free throws, missing shots. Some of the losses that come to mind: 1997 Sweet Sixteen vs. Arizona, 1998 2nd round vs. Rhode Island, 2003 Championship game vs. Syracuse, 2008 Final Four vs. Kansas.
UNC will have some very tough ACC regular season games vs. Duke, Wake Forest, Miami and others, so going undefeated this season will be very tough. Just making the Final Four again and winning a championship will be a challenge. I’m just glad it’s the time of year when we can start to talk/debate about it.
Final Four prediction (as of 12/23/08): UNC, Connecticut, Michigan St., Texas
Keywords: College Basketball, Connecticut Huskies, Duke Blue Devils, Kansas Jayhawks, Kentucky Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, North Carolina Tar Heels, Roy Williams, Texas Longhorns, UNC Tar Heels
