As so-called experts remain in hiding, and a nation of office workers cries over brackets with more X's than the backside of hands at a frat party, the Final Four teams standing in the NCAA Tournament will travel to Atlanta to contend for the championship this weekend.
The region's top seed, the Maryland Terrapins, emerged out of the East bracket. Led by a core tandem of seniors, Lonny Baxter and Juan Dixon, both of whom could have gone pro after last year, the Terps might be the frontrunner for an NCAA crown. The two combined for 56 points in a regional final victory against UConn. In addition to his 29 points, Baxter snagged nine rebounds in one of the most dominating performances of the tournament. Dixon is shooting better than 50 percent from behind the three-point arc in the tournament, and has never fouled out of a game in his career at Maryland.
The Terps also have a deep bench and perform well in every facet of the game. Of the remaining four teams, Maryland is averaging the most points, the most assists, the most steals, and most importantly, the highest free throw percentage.
The Terps' first opponent in Atlanta will be another number one seed, the Midwest champion Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas rolled through the Big 12 schedule, going undefeated until a loss in the finals to the Oklahoma Sooners. Kansas is an offensive juggernaut: after almost falling in a first-round classic to Holy Cross, Kansas obliterated Stanford, rolled through Illinois, and broke open a game against Pac 10 champ Oregon. Not only that, the Jayhawks are physically the biggest team in the country. They have averaged over 47 rebounds per game in the tournament, almost ten more than any other team in Atlanta. Kansas also blocks almost five shots per game, and alters countless more. The matchup with Maryland is a true "pick em," and should go down to the wire.
The tournament's biggest surprise is the fifth-seed Indiana Hoosiers, who emerged from the South bracket. They are the only five seed to survive the first round, let alone win a region. Indiana's biggest win of the tournament came against Duke, the top-ranked team in the nation entering the tournament. The Hoosiers erased a 17-point second half deficit by exploiting the Blue Devils' inside weaknesses and hitting pressure shots down the stretch.
Of the four teams left, the Hoosiers are averaging the fewest points, the fewest rebounds, the fewest assists, the fewest steals, the fewest blocks, the most turnovers, the lowest free throw percentage. But they do boast, by far, the highest field goal percentage, a stunning .559 percent. Besides Duke, Indiana beat a weak Utah team, Cinderella UNC Wilmington, and tough Kent State, but it still appears the Hoosiers are the Final Four's weakest link. Unless its torrid shooting continues, Indiana might be an early out this weekend.
With the talk saved for Maryland and Kansas, few have talked about Oklahoma - the winners of the toughest region in this year's tournament, the West. The Sooners took out Xavier and Arizona easily, before surviving a test with Missouri in the Elite Eight. Oklahoma is tough inside, with Aaron McGhee, Ebi Ere, Jason Detrick, and Jabahri Brown. Add sweet-shooting Hollis Price and his 18.5 points per game to the mix, and you have an attack that can intimidate and play both inside and outside.
The team has also seen some adversity, with head coach Kelvin Sampson's father being hospitalized in San Jose during the regional finals. The Sooners have shot above 80 percent from the line in the tournament, and while as a team they haven't shot well from three point range, they rarely turn the ball over and block many shots.
Perhaps these experts, myself included, should burn the brackets and simply enjoy what is destined to be a fantastic weekend of hoops. That being said, it should be a Maryland vs. Oklahoma final, with the Terps taking the crown.
