Final Four
Let’s start with the first semifinal.
#3 Florida vs. #11 George Mason
yes that’s right...George Mason has made the final 4. As I detailed in my last post the Patriots are on a dream run through the tournament. Patriot fever has swept the nation. On their way to the final 4, George Mason has defeated Michigan St., defending national champion North Carolina, Wichita St. and prohibitive favoriteConneticut . Unlike their opponent, Florida, George Mason hasn’t had a game decided by less than 10 points. Florida demolished their 4 opponents on the way totheir first final for since 2000. Florida took out South Alabama, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Georgetown and Villanova . Florida won their 4 matches by an average of over 16/game. Florida has benefited though from key upsets in the previous round by their opponent (Wisc-Milwaukee def. Oklahoma and Georgetown def. Ohio St.) but a 13 point win over #1 seedVillanova is very legit. Florida is a very big surprise too because they have been riddled with quick tourney exits with much of their recent success. Florida has been very good, except when they get to the tourney. On to the second semifinal.
#4 LSU vs. #2 UCLA
Throughout the tourney we’ve been hearing one name, Glen Davis. Doesn’t sound familiar? How about Big Baby? The name Glen “Big Baby” Davis forLSU is probably the second most talked about thing dealing with this tournament besides George Mason’s run. Davis leads a very young Tiger team to their first final 4 since 1986. Which ironically was the only other time that a #11 seed qualified for the final 4.LSU’s run ended in 1986 to eventual national champion, Louisville. On their way to the national semifinals, LSU arguably had the toughest road. They defeated Iona, Texas A&M, Duke and Texas. Duke was the #1 overall seed and Texas was the arguably the best #2 seed in the tourney.LSU hasn’t been squeaking by either, defeating each opponent by an average of almost 9/game. UCLA is back where they belong. Holder of a record 11 national titles, UCLA is making it’s first final 4appearance since their last title in ‘95. UCLA’s road has been full of nail-biters. Belmont, Alabama, Gonzaga and Memphis were all victims of the Bruins along the way. The Gonzaga-UCLA matchup was one of the best of the tourney.
As for my picks...well...like most people, my final four is all busted up. The first casualty was Pittsburgh who got knocked out in the2nd round by Bradley. My second victim was Boston College who got knocked out in the Sweet 16 by Villanova. And my other 2 qualifiers and championship game participants Texas and UConn lost to LSU and George Mason respectively. In fact...you might ask yourself, who would pick Florida, LSU, UCLA and George Mason to go to the final 4? Well according to the 3 most popular tournament pick-em sites (ESPN, yahoo and cbs sportsline ) exactly 5 people. 4 of them on ESPN alone. One was from Bellevue, NE.
As for my predictions on the final 4 I think that Florida will defeat George Mason and LSU will defeat UCLA. I think Florida will win it all. But I, along with most of the nation, wouldn’t mind seeing George Mason take it all.
PS: did you match up the teams to their connections that I stated above?
The alligator or gator is the nickname for Florida. The Wizard of Westwood is the nickname given to former UCLA hall of fame coach John Wooden. Shaq or Baby Shaq is the nickname given to Glen “big baby” Davis. Davis looks very similar to a former LSU basketball star, Shaquille O’Niell. And the cinderella of this quartet is obviously George Mason.
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