And then there were Four

If anyone out there can show me proof that they accurately selected this year's final four, please stand up. Now sit down. I've definitely had my fair share of hit and misses in this bracket as I went 1/4 in my final four with my champion having been eliminated in the elite eight. Sure, UNC played up to expectation as they cake walked into the Final Four with little trouble but I wouldn't say that for the rest of the remaining teams. A lot of questions lurked the season as the Heels (or should I say Rams) seemed to be the only arguable contender for the 2009 Final Four and other top teams looked to have too many flaws and doubts. Well you can sure as heck throw all those crazy assumptions out the window as the Big East proved to make some noise and teams like the Kansas Jayhawks, who lost more than enough players, demanded respect as they fought a good fight in the big dance. You can go as much as saying that many expected this season to go without much drama and for the trophy to simply get handed over to the Tarheels. We sure as heck were all wrong about all that because drama is college basketball's middle name this season.

So with all that said, why don't we take a look at the four teams' journeys to this final destination that every college player dreams of reaching.

The Spartans run home!
The Michigan State Spartans have reached another Final Four under their commander, Tom Izzo. What perfect timing it is to make yet another visit to this prestigious destination as this year's Final Four has been planned to be held in Detroit. Can you say home court advantage? That will be a huge advantage but let it be known, there was no advantage in reaching this platform. The season was long and rough as the players had plenty to learn.

The Spartans' grueling 30 game regular season faced plenty of challenges and lessons as they were taught how to deal with losses as they came out on the losing end in five match-ups, including a nationally televised beatdown by the Tarheels (A possible match-up in this year's championship game. Let's hope it's not the same outcome if this does match-up does happen, for the sake of Michigan State and CBS) Overall, five losses meant they had won 25 games and what a feat it was as the Spartans were the regular season Big Ten Champions. Coach Izzo's team was once again in the mix for championship contention.

The Spartans want to get that nasty taste out
of their mouth as they look to possibly
avenge the humiliation that
UNC had given them
earlier this season.

A lot of the respect soon withered and questions arose as Sparty and the team packed their bags early in the Big 10 tournament, falling to Ohio State in semis. (I think I saw Greg Oden slip on his old jersey during that first half. Did no one else see that? How could you miss him?) Even with the convincing depth in this roster, the lack of maturity level and consistency to win a title was addressed. Izzo and friends soon took care of all the mess and showed that they were ready to make a run as they politely handed their first round tournament opponent a 15 point loss. The second round showed a much tougher opponent in a USC team that was coming off a huge run including the Pac-10 tournament championship but the Spartans calmly stepped up to the plate and concluded the Trojans season. ("This is Spartaaaaa")













Anyways, Coach Izzo prepared his team for a sweet sixteen match-up that could have been one of the most exciting match-ups in the college basketball season. The thing is, the two teams had already met once and Michigan State took down the defending champion Jayhawks with ease. The difference in this re-match? Coach Self's young stars were far more developed and the stars in Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich were on the rise. In other words, Cole finally developed an offensive game (Even though his free throws still look uglier than Vince Carters dance moves) The high-octane battle began as Kansas cleared past ahead of Michigan State by double digits in the first half and the Spartans season looked to be on its last lifeline. Trailing the entire game, the talented young men gained a run here and there with a little bit of momentum on the side and pulled away in the final minutes, punching a ticket to the next round and sending the defending national champs home. (Well I wasn't too happy about this as some Michigan State fans were at Taco Mac that night and were cheering obnoxiously loud, aware of my loyalty to the Jayhawks)

Really? Notre Lame?
Come on...

Moving on...

Now was about the time that the Spartans would run into a wall, ending their run and causing a shortage in their stride to consistency. The Louisville Cardinals were the next challenge and the overall top seeded team had just come off a 39 point blasting of the Arizona Wildcats. (The NCAA should put them on probation for such a terrible game) The toughest anticipated match-up turned out to be one of the less stressful turnouts for Coach Izzo as they were able to pull away by double digits.

Spartans roll as Durrell Summers slams
one down Louisvilles throats.

So the Spartans find themselves in their home turf in Detroit as they prepare to face off 7'3" towering Hasheem Thabeet and the Connecticut Huskies. The road was long and difficult but Sparty has made it home. Let's see if they can finish their business.

No Jerome? No Problem.
The Huskies were once the top ranked team in the nation but failed to contain the load as they had to endure possibly one of the strongest seasons the Big East has ever displayed. With a defensive force down low in Hasheem Thabeet and a group of guards that really know how to play together, the Huskies looked to be a possible threat to the pre-season favorite Tarheels.

As the season didn't offer too much of a challenge for the Huskies, their own issues caused trouble as Dyson went down with a devastating injury. The junior had contributed with 13 points and 3 assists a game and the Huskies took a big blow as the starting guard went down. UConn quickly felt the absence of Dyson as they lost three of their last seven games before heading into the big dance.

Dyson went down in a season ending
blow that would hurt the Huskies.

Without one of their floor leaders, the critics and fans around the Huskies wondered if the team could manage the responsibilities of a #1 seed and possibly reach the final four. Well, those questions were quickly answered as it was obvious that the more than challenging season including a six overtime game loss to the Syracuse Orange in the Big East tournament prepared them for the dance.








It was as if the challenges thrown at UConn were too easy and the Huskies ran over their first two opponents by an average margin of 41 points. That's a lot of points. The next match-up showed much more of a challenge but Purdue didn't seem to place much of a threat as they played catch up while being down by double digits the entire game. Then came the Missouri Tigers who had just come off a mauling of the 2008 runner-ups in Memphis. The Huskies were quick to start in this one and it seemed like it was going to be a joy ride to the Final Four but Missouri closed in and placed a threat as it took almost the entire game for UConn to pull away with the win in their toughest challenge in the tournament yet.

So now UConn patiently awaits for their scheduled date with the hometown Spartans. Coach Calhoun better be ready because Izzo and his boys are going to come with a bang and plenty of confidence with a ton of green flooding the seats all around the gym. They DID just beat the Big East regular season champs. I'm sure UConn isn't worried too much. Thabeet will share you their own encounter with the Cardinals and how it was more than easy and he will maintain a nice fat smile while he's at it.

Thabeet doesn't have any worries as he smiles on with
teammate Jeff Adrien.

Roy's Baby Blue make it as Expected
The Tarheels have reached the Final Four for the second straight season but this time they plan to come out of the sweeter end. Last season's Final Four exit wasn't so pretty as Kansas sent the Heels packing after a convincing 84-66 demolishing. UNC was not only one of the best teams last season, but with the other three Final Four teams Memphis, Kansas, and UCLA losing almost their entire starting lineups and more, it was scary to imagine what the full returning lineup was capable of doing.

All eyes have been on Hansbrough and the preseason
#1 Heels since the Summer of 2008.

Capabilities? Oh they can do it all. With a speedy Ty Lawson controlling the floor at point guard, his presence alone causes more than enough issues for the opposing defense. Add in arguably one of the best college players to come in this decade in Tyler Hansbrough and you can already start worrying about match-up issues. But that's not it because Wayne Ellington and Danny Green would like some credit for UNC's success as the two wingmen can do some damage. I didn't even get to their tallest players yet... Eh whatever. So with speed, precision shooting, scoring, rebounding, size you could picture this as the ultimate basketball team. Well yeah, their regular season performance says just that.


The Tarheels stepped up to the challenge this season by juicing up their non conference schedule with teams such as Kentucky, Oregon, Notre Dame, and Michigan State. No one came close. In fact you could blame the Heels for the terrible seasons by Kentucky, Notre Dame, and Oregon. They were beat down so bad, they probably lost all confidence in themselves and self-destructed in the middle of the season. Well Michigan State is in the Final Four but you have to imagine that they are a little worried about how they performed in that first meeting. Anyways we are talking about the Heels here. Let's not get off topic.

So the Tarheels man-handled the non conference portion of their season as no team came within single digits. Pretty good start, wouldn't you agree? (Shoot, I was panicking in nearly every game that Kansas played in this season.) Unfortunately, the conference opener wasn't quite exactly how the UNC community pictured it to be. The team wearing white and baby blue jogged off the home floor into the locker rooms at halftime finding themselves down by six and the second half proved to be just as ugly as the team shot just 29% from the field and ended up losing by seven. You may all be wondering how the Tarheels could just fall apart all of a sudden but if you are a fan, you can think of this as an even better thing. It's pretty scary to imagine that a team shooting 29% in a half was only outscored by three points in those 20 minutes...

Roy Williams stands speechless as he can't
believe the 0-2 start in the ACC.

The boys continued their conference play by losing their second game to Wake Forest by three. What's going on? Is this fully loaded team just too much to handle for coach Williams? Just hold on for a minute. You're telling me they shot just 35% and managed to put up 89 points. Something just doesn't seem right... I hope no one has to face this team when they're shooting at least decently. Oh you don't even know... Roy Williams and his squad finished 12-1 in the rest of conference play before going into the ACC tournament with the only loss coming in overtime.

The regular season ACC champs didn't get as far as they planned to in the ACC tournament but without the floor leader in Ty Lawson, Bobby Frasor (Who?) had trouble keeping up with the starting point guard requirements as the Heels fell to the Seminoles in the semis by just three. Not bad.

Lawson can do nothing but cheer on his team
as his injury has him sitting
on the sidelines.

The big dance began as Roy Williams refused to allow Ty Lawson playing time for now with the toe injury but even without the stud point guard, the Heels took care of business in round one by 43 points. In the second half of round two, Lawson made a statement as he played on his injured toe and dropped 21 points to help his team knock off the LSU Tigers by 14. With Lawson having full commitment to this team, the Heels showed total unity as they demoralized Gonzaga and took care of Oklahoma in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games respectively. The Big Baby Blue look better than ever and don't plan on slowing down here as they prepare for Villanova.

The Villanova Wildcats made the Final Four?
With all due respect to the Wildcats who have a terrific basketball program, no one expected these guys to get as far as they have. With no changes being made to a squad that went 20-12 with a #12 seed in the tournament last season, the team wasn't expected to make a deep run but coach Wright had other plans.

The preseason #23 team had plans of achieving a higher tournament seeding and they knew they were entering another difficult season in the Big East with challenges such as Pittsburgh, Louisville, Connecticut, and more. It was going to be hard but one thing that was in favor of the Wildcats was their team chemistry. They might not have brought in any game changing recruits but the amount of returning players was abundant.

Before the Big East play even set sail, Nova found themselves at a loss for words as Texas handed them their first loss of the season after an 8-0 start. The Cats knew that they needed to find ways to keep winning in order to gain respect and they did just that as they finished their non conference schedule with a record of 12-1. The Big East portion of their schedule proved to be tough as expected and the Cats struggled early with a 2-3 start in the conference with one of the wins coming in overtime against a less than impressive Seton Hall team. Jay Wright got a hold of their team and Nova managed to go 11-2 throughout the rest of the regular season but a 21 point loss to West Virginia and a loss to a weak Georgetown team left questions of consistency for this team. That just seems to be the case for every team this season.






In the Big East tournament, Villanova looked to close the mouths of critics as they wanted to show that they can be consistent but fell apart in the second half of the finals after being up by eight at halftime and were outscored by 21 to lose 69-55 to the Louisville Cardinals.

Overall, the Wildcats had a solid season and proved that they could contend and received a #3 seed into the big dance. Led by a determined senior forward in Dante Cunningham, the Cats avoided a scare in the first round and cruised past UCLA and Duke in the following rounds by an average marginal victory of 21.5 points. They topped off their statement by knocking off the #1 seed and in conference rival pittsburgh in a showdown that went down to the wire. Everything is going Villanova's way and they don't plan on slowing down this momentum any time soon. The only problem is, their next opponent is the darn Tarheels. "Good luck guarding Psycho T, Dante"

Nova has made a statement and caused major damage
but have plenty more to do before celebrating
just yet.

No George Mason's this year and no all #1 final four, but what this final four has is a group of elite coaches that will definitely be out of their seat and getting in plenty of the action. The one thing that separates them from another is everyone has a ring except Jay Wright. Will that change in 2009? You can go ahead and trash your brackets because the outcome could go any possible way and there should be an emotional finish. (I mean if you have them all right, you should keep a hold of your bracket but anyways) It's March Madness at its finest!

-Jason C