Sports Column

The Fantastic Final Four

Many college basketball fans would view this year’s NCAA tournament in San Antonio as a predictable one, but in retrospect, it really wasn’t. For the first time since the NCAA tournament began seeding teams, all four number one seeds (North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis, UCLA) made the Final Four. Baby-faced Stephen Curry lead his tenth seeded Davidson Wildcats of the Midwest region to the Elite Eight and the hot-shooting Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky made an improbable Sweet 16 run before running into UCLA, losing by ten. This year’s NCAA tournament was far from predictable; it was unprecedented.

Shortly after the David’s mangled the Goliaths’, the dust settled and the teams that were supposed to be there, were. Memphis, who were viewed as a national powerhouse wannabe, were criticized for their weak conference schedule. But when the madness in March arrived, they were crushing legitimate opponents like Michigan State (92-74), Texas (85-67), and PAC Ten champion UCLA (78-63). NBA-bound point-guard Derrick Rose, who many foresee becoming a higher-quality version of Jason Kidd, was doing all the right things and being a freshmen, it held many in contempt.

The UCLA Bruins, who many picked to win the tournament, were nearly shocked in the second round by Big 12 opponent Texas A&M, but pulled through late and became a near championship lock. Freshman phenom Kevin Love (PAC Ten player of the year) and point-guard Darren Collison led Ben Howland to his third straight Final Four before falling short to Memphis in the semifinals.

Roy William’s Tarheels entered the NCAA tournament as the nation’s top team. They began the tournament, hosted in Charlotte, on a killing spree. Beating their first three victims by 39, 31, and 21 points. That’s a lot of blood! Following a hard-fought battle in the Elite Eight against Louisville, North Carolina faced a familiar opponent in Kansas, whom Roy Williams coached for 15 seasons. His “new team,” lead by AP player of the year Tyler Hansbrough, would fall behind 40-12 before putting together a second-half surge and pulling to within four with 11:15 left. Kansas proved to be too much and would eventually seal an 18-point victory.

The Kansas Jayhawks, sharers of their eighth Big 12 regular-season title, were placed under a dark cloud of skepticism after back-to-back early first-round exits in the tournament and again last year in the Elite Eight. Many wondered if head coach Bill Self could win the big one. Finally in this year’s Big Dance, they overcame the hump and got to the Final Four, but wouldn’t stop there. After dismantling Davidson, the Jayhawks stormed past North Carolina and would take on John Calipari’s Memphis Tigers.

The game would remain close the entire way, with teams exchanging baskets for the majority of the contest. With 2:12 remaining, Kansas trailed 59-51 as Memphis began to feel a championship. But with less than two minutes to play, Kansas stole an inbounds pass and Sherron Collins (yes, the backup point-guard) would drop a 3-point dagger and cut Memphis’ lead to 60-56. Thanks to numerous failed attempts from the free-throw line with under a minute remaining, Kansas would tie the game at 63 when Mario Chalmers connected on a 3-pointer coming off of a screen-and-roll. Kansas would hold on to all momentum in the overtime period and win their first national championship in 20 years.

It was an entertaining tournament. And in all actuality, if you look past the annoying Taco Bell commercials and put aside the ridiculous 12% increase in ad revenue to make such things, you could honestly feel the excitement during the close games, and for a fan, that’s what the NCAA tournament is about.