What Does It Take to Be Number 1?

At this point we know that 2 (Tennessee, Georgetown, Duke, Texas) is no winner. No one is going to remember 3 (Louisville, Wisconsin, Xavier, Stanford). So now the question is what does it take to be the number 1?

For the first time in NCAA Tournament history, the Final Four consists of all the number one seeds (see results in my bracket above). This is unprecedented, but will sadly now give further reasoning for people to put an all numero uno final cuatro in seasons to come. I think honestly the bracket committee blew it this year, making it painfully easy for the number one seeds to advance. Davidson almost ruined the committee’s plans of putting three historically powerful schools into the Final Four (and an up and coming Memphis). Ratings conspiracy? That would have to be another post. Now, my thoughts on the remaining teams.

North Carolina

Carolina is the overall number one and has been the odds on favorite since the beginning. Obviously this team starts and ends with Tyler Hansbrough, who plays harder than anyone else on the court at all times. Of course his job has been made easier by a healthy Ty Lawson. Carolina has looked great all tournament, but I wonder if the easy road they took so far is going to lead to their downfall. The obvious evidence against this claim is the absolute rolling of Louisville, who many thought could give UNC a run for their money. We will see if their hometown advantage cakewalk into the Final Four will have any repercussions when they face…

Kansas

Speaking of cake, the best team that Kansas had to play so far was an eight seed. This raises my suspicions even higher than those of North Carolina. Granted Davidson was a very tough ten seed, but Kansas has not had a true challenge in weeks. Since UNC is in nearly the same boat I will call that a wash.

Kansas has really flown under the radar to me this season. With the headlines being dominated by Beasley and Hansbrough, Duke losing, Kentucky being horrible, etc., I do not think many people know too much about this Kansas team. They have been dominate all year, but we have seen in the past that pure talent/athleticism does not beat an actual team. (See: UConn vs George Mason a few years back)

Memphis

Memphis is the most disrespected team in the Final Four, and definitely the most disrespected number one seed. I know that I am not the only one completely tired of hearing people discuss Memphis shooting free throws. Last I checked, they lost ONE game this entire season. They had to go through Michigan State and Texas to get where they are now, both of which are arguably better teams than any of the other number one seeds faced. Yet still most people will claim UCLA as a better team, even though they barely beat Texas A&M, and nearly blew a 20 point lead on Western Kentucky.

Memphis’ is in a league with Kansas as the most athletic teams, but I think that Memphis adds in more of a team element. Perhaps all this disrespect will actually unite them even more than they were previously. At least we know that no amount of disrespect will bring into question the jacked-ness of Joey Dorsey. That dude is huge.

UCLA

The Bruins are returning to the Final Four for the third straight season, and are my only correct Final Four pick. The difference this year as opposed to the last two is that they have added freshman standout Kevin Love as a post-presence. A strong inside game was not an element of the UCLA gameplan when they missed out on national titles the last two years.

I am a huge fan of Kevin Love, and if the Bruins are able to accomplish their title dreams it will be because of Mr.Love. His game is smooth, and his classic Caucasian body type gives hope to big men everywhere. Love is definitely the key to a UCLA victory.

Predictions

My bracket may be completely wrong, but I still can make predictions from this point forward. As big a fan as I am of Love (and as much as I want to see a huge white guy final game…that would be awesome), UCLA has been playing down lately. I see Memphis coming out strong and bouncing the Bruins from championship contention. Also, right now I think it is very hard to pick against UNC. Hansbrough is just too good. I honestly cannot decide on a champion at this point, and both the picks I just made are probably going to be wrong. Thus I will postpone my champion prediction until after the field is set. Cheap? Yes. My website? Yes.

What are your thoughts on all four number one seeds making it to the Final Four? Has your bracket crumbled as hard as mine has? Who do you see advancing from here on out? Let me know in the comments.