'Its Alive.... Its Alive!!' Welcome to the Madness.

After watching the NCAA Tourney Selection on Sunday night and subsequently all the coverage on tv and in print media for the past two days, I decided that if I wrote everything down that has gone through my mind on this years tourney... then this post would rival 'War and Peace' in its length. Not really shooting for that record right now. So I am trying to condense my thoughts by breaking it down by region, with the occasional editorial on teams I like or disdain.

EAST: With UNC being the number one seed, fully healthy finally, and on a bit of a roll its hard to see how they do not make it to San Antonio for the Final Four. Tyler Hansbrogh is developing quite the legend for himself as a big time and clutch time performer. Just look at the ACC title game against Clemson..chases down a rebound and then turns around to hit the game winner. UNC is playing well on both sides of the ball right now and while I used to hate Dean Smith (and his huge nose and crappy four corners defense) and subsequently UNC... I always liked Roy Williams, so I now can stomach them. There are a couple stumbling blocks on the way Final Four for UNC though. The 2 seed Tennessee and the 3 seed Louisville. With Tennessee you have a well coached team that plays very good defense. Their offense can be a touch streaky but is generally solid. That would be a great Elite Eight match up Although someone should tell Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearle that those sherbert orange blazers he wears are absolutely hideous.. Louisville.. While I listed them as potential trouble for Carolina... I just don’t think they are. They are a good team.. Another one of Rick Pitino’s pressure teams that always create havoc and turnovers for opposing offenses with quick and speedy guards to facilitate transition. I think Pitino has just never been the same legend that everyone thinks he is since he came back from driving the Celtics franchise to deepest depths of hell. He was great, pre Celtics, at Kentucky and he is good, post-Celtics, at Louisville but does not seem quite the same. But one thing is for sure.. If you don’t protect the ball against his teams, they will get a grip of points off of your mistakes. Other teams in this region include George Mason, from 2006 Final Four Cinderella fame, Butler..winners of 13 of their last 14 and Indiana, who just seem headed for a first or second round defeat. Look for UNC to come out of the East.

SOUTH: Memphis is the 1 seed here and I know they have been arguably one of the top two teams all season, only losing once to Tennessee. There is no logical reason for me to not pick them to make it to the Final Four. However, their free throw shooting is just atrocious. I think this is going to cost them either in the Sweet 16 or the Elite 8. Inevitably every year, a top team gets involved in a dog fight with an unlikely opponent and free throws will be huge. And since Memphis really sucks with free throws, I see it as a potential Achilles heel for them. All the quickness and suffocating defense in the world if you can’t take advantage of free points. The 2 seed, Texas, does not scare me at all. They have had a decent year but were easily handled by Kansas in the Big 12 Championship..they don’t have the muscle to hang with the big boys. Same feeling about Stanford. However here is who I do like to come out of the South region... Pitt. Don’t forget they were playing really well earlier in the season, had a mid season swoon of sorts, and then picked it up again at the end of the year and in the Big East Championship, where they had a convincing victory over Georgetown. I like their combination of youth and defense. If they can get by a really hot Temple team in a potential second round match up, then I think they can make it to San Antonio.

MID WEST: A two or three horse race in this region between 1 seed Kansas, 2 seed Georgetown, and 5 seed Clemson. Kansas seems to be peaking at the right time..playing smooth and with ease. Georgetown was on quite a run until they ran into Pitt in the Big East Championship. They are anchored by big man Roy Hibbert in the middle giving htem a nice post presence on offense and defense. They have seasoned guards and young forward Patrick Ewing Jr..not much of a scoring threat but a good defender and passer off the bench. Clemson is playing really well taking out Duke in the ACC semi final and within a few seconds of doing the same to UNC in the final. Nothing makes me happier than seeing Duke lose. Coach Krykweoiwpmcxmski and his merry little band of preppies and over achieving do gooders have always made me sick. Is there any correlation between all the preppie goofy white kids he recruits that excel in college and the fact that those same preppie goofy white kids totally suck balls when they make it to the NBA? But I digress.. Back to Clemson..playing really well right now. I see them making it to the Sweet 16, possible a regional final. Btw.. I see a lot of talk about Davidson and Gonzaga. I say phooey. I see Georgetown and Kansas playing for a spot in the Final Four......with Georgetown pulling it out in a squeaker.

WEST: Last but certainly not least. UCLA is the 1 seed out here. The evil and totally lame Duke Blue Devils deservedly the 2 seed (even a backhanded compliment to Duke feels like I need to shower with a wire brush). U Conn is a 4 seed. This seems to me like a weak region that will come down to UCLA and Duke. Georgia, who made a great run in the SEC tourney, will not last. Arizona was 50-50 chance of even getting in the tourney and not playing well. If a no name team is going to make some noise this year it might be the 5 seed Drake...cruised through their regular season and demolished the competition in their conference tournament en route to a championship. U Conn could interject themselves into this mix but I think it will be UCLA and Duke for regional final. And I pray to the basketaball gods that UCLA extinguishes the life out of Duke and I see the Blue Devils cry on the bench while wiping their tears with Tommy Hilfiger t-shirts.

So there it is my Final Four: UNC, PITT, GEORGETOWN, UCLA. Oh.. You want my picks too? Pushy you folks are...... In the first Final Four semi I like UNC over Georgetown in a nail biter. In the second semi I like UCLA over Pitt. National Championship Game: UNC 72- UCLA 64. Hansbrough cuts down the nets and then rides off into NBA obscurity. I love this time of year. :)