And here is the conclusion, the Final Four. If you need to check out any of the other regions, the links are up top, or at the bottom of this post. Anyway, moving on.
Midwest Winner: Florida VS West Winner: UCLA
This would be a rematch of last year's title game, only I think it would be a lot more competitive, because UCLA is a better club this year than they were last year.
In the backcourt, Collison and Afflalo match up very well with Green and Humphrey. In fact, I'm not sure it would be outlandish to say that Afflalo and Collison are better offensively and defensively than their counterparts. At the 3, Brewer has the edge over Shipp, but Shipp is very solid.
Down low is where Florida would have the edge, but it's not as big as you think. UCLA's big men don't score much, but they are very, very good defensively. Plus, if Mbah a Moute can duplicate his performance from the Tounrnament last year, that's good prodcution.
Call me a homer, but I'll take UCLA.
East Winner: Georgetown VS South Winner: Texas A&M
These are two solid, well-coached teams, but I like Georgetown here.
First off, they have Jeff Green. He does a lot of things well, including scoring, rebounding, and he's one of the best passers in the country. But Georgetown is much deeper than that. They have solid big men, decent guard play, good defense, and they have a good offensive system that they run very well.
So in the end, I like UCLA vs. Georgetown to meet up for the title.
To spare the suspense, I'm taking the UCLA BRUINS in my pools. Why? Well, for one I'm a homer. Have to admit that.But more importantly, the Bruins are very well-coached, great defensively, and they are battle-tested. They know what it takes to the get to the championship, and I think they'll be on a mission to get one step farther than they got last year. It will be interesting.
Midwest | West | East | South | FINAL FOUR
What are your picks?