The big story about this year's Final Four is that for the first time, all four number-one seeds have advanced. A lot of people think this sucks, but I think it's great.
People like to fit events into a convenient narrative. If George Mason makes it to the Final Four, it's because they played like a team, because their players grew up and developed together while the elite programs' players bolt for the NBA, because of parity, because the elite teams didn't take them seriously, because the elite teams may have more talent, but George Mason is better then the sum of their parts. While all of these are partly true, the biggest reason George Mason was in the Final Four was luck. Not merit. Luck.
While luck is welcome in the first and maybe the second weekend, the Final Four should be reserved for greatness. The teams contending for a championship should be championship-caliber teams. For the first team in a few years, I'm actually looking forward to the Final Four.
I guess I should predict a champion. North Carolina over Memphis in the final. Just a wild guess.
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How can you pick against Memphis? They're so clutch, especially at the free throw line.
Hmm. 1-5 in the final 1:15, including missing the front end of a one-and-one. 12-19 (63.2%) for the game.
Nowhere near as bad as Kansas in the 2003 Final vs. Syracuse. After a blistering 8-13 (61.5%) first half, the Jayhawks made one of their first three in the second half, before missing eight in a row including the front ends of two one-and-ones, before catching fire again and making three of their last six, to finish 12-30.
No need to feel ashamed, though. It was a 78-81 loss, so it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway.
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