For the first time ever all four number one seeds advance to the Final Four

SCOTT JACOBS

College basketball purists are in heaven right now.  Fans of the upstart and improbable Davidson Wildcats, wondering what could have been.  Everybody into the pool.  Because if you thought this tournament was top heavy, and you had the boring touch to pick it that way, your bracket is looking pretty.  If you wanted to see at least one lower seeded team try to wreck havoc, try again next year.

Davidson put up a valiant fight against Kansas, but  Stephen Curry ran out of gas.  The Wildcats never trailed by more than six points, the true measure of a great game, and held Kansas under 50% shooting, but they tired out as the bigger, stronger, faster Jayhawks wore down the small liberal arts school of North Carolina.

So everyone’s number one.  Kansas-North Carolina, UCLA-Memphis.  Of course, two teams get to wear white, and two teams will have to wear their roadies, but that’s about all that separates this from being the most dynamic Final Four foursome ever.  And how can it not be.  It’s the first time ever that the Final Four saw every top seed make it to San Antonio.

So while their won’t be the draw that George Mason was in 2006 (the, “o I’m a casual fan, but I want to see this cinderella story”), there should be great basketball.  Both games should be terrific.  Then again, I thought Memphis-Texas would be a fantastic game and the Tigers steamrolled the Horns.  But here’s the thing about this Final Four: basketball wise, there will be a ton of talent on the court.  The Bruins with Collison and Love, the Tigers with Rose, the Heels with Hansborough, and the Jayhawks with Rush.  And every team left is deep.  With no Davidson left, there is no one player to shut down and you win.  Nope, now it will take a team effort to take down a true team.

It’s strange too.  I picked three one seeds to go to the Final Four, and I am disappointed.  Why?  Because I really wanted my gutsy pick (Pitt) to make it more then anything.  By getting right what everyone else got right, that’s not fun.  If Pitt had stunned the Tigers and beaten the Horns I would have probably the best bracket in the country.  But ifs get you nowhere.  And if Davidson had been able to get up a better shot maybe they would have been in the Final Four and we’d be talking how amazing their story is.

But if was not meant to be for this tournament.  So while there was plenty of upsets, this weekend removed the hopefuls from the giants.  And we’re left with the top four teams in hoops for the first time ever.

Should be fun.  But upsets (If you consider the possibility of Kansas beating North Carolina an upset, I don’t) will be nowhere to found.  Everybody’s number one right now.

But come next Monday we’ll find out who the number one number one is.

Predictions anybody?  It’s okay to conform.  That’s all there’s left to do.

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