The 2008 Final Four field is set and for the first time since seeding began in 1979 all four No. 1 seeds have advanced to the National Semifinals.
Memphis, North Carolina, Kansas and UCLA all handled their business, winning four games en route to San Antonio. The tournament committee got it right this year, as the four best teams made it to Final Four.
In the first game, Conference USA champion Memphis (37-1), led by freshman point guard Derrick Rose, will matchup against freshman center Kevin Love and Pacific 10 Conference champion UCLA (35-3). In the second game, Atlantic Coast Conference champion North Carolina (36-2), led by junior power forward Tyler Hansbrough, will face junior guard Brandon Rush and Big 12 Conference champion Kansas (35-3).
The road to the Final Four for overall No. 1 seed UNC includes wins over Mount St. Mary’s, Arkansas, Washington State and Louisville. Memphis Texas-Arlington, Mississippi State, Michigan State and Texas.
Kansas has had by far the easiest road, beating Portland State, UNLV, Villanova and this year’s Cinderella team, Davidson. UCLA knocked off Mississippi Valley State, edged Texas A’M by 2 points, Western Kentucky and Xavier.
The top story heading into Saturday night’s games is former Kansas head coach and current North Carolina head coach Roy Williams facing off against his former team, which he coached for 15 seasons. Williams took the Jayhawks to the tournament in 14 of his 15 seasons at Kansas and is looking forward to the big game this weekend. Current Kansas head coach Bill Self is making his first Final Four appearance. Self has been at Kansas since leaving Illinois in 2003.
UCLA is no stranger to the Final Four, winning 10 titles under head coach John Wooden, and is making its third consecutive appearance under current head coach Ben Howland.
John Calipari has led Memphis to back-to-back undefeated conference seasons and three consecutive Elite Eight appearances, now finally making it to the Final Four.
The best teams have made it to the highest stage in college basketball, and I would like North Carolina and Memphis to advance to Monday’s title game. All-American Hansbrough and point guard Ty Lawson will lead the Tar Heels over the Jaywhawks, who struggled in their Elite Eight win over No. 10 seed Davidson.
Memphis and junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts will edge out the Bruins in an athletic matchup, where the battle-tested Tigers will advance to face UNC in the finale.
Memphis and UNC played better basketball to this point in the tournament, and Rose and Hansbrough played huge in recent wins for their respective teams. Rose will likely go to NBA next season and Hansbrough has already had his number retired at UNC.
My bracket had UCLA winning it all, but UNC has looked dominating in the tournament so far, winning every tournament game by double digits. I think the Tar Heels will cut down the nets Monday with a tough win over a very good Memphis team.
