Texas, the "Lone" number one remaining

Despite all four number one seeds making it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, only the Texas Longhorns survived the weekend to advance to the Final Four. The Longhorns will meet the Marquette Golden Eagles in New Orleans in the first game, and the Kansas Jayhawks and the Syracuse Orangemen will square off in the second game.

In one of the more anticipated Sweet Sixteen games, Kansas won an epic battle over the Duke Blue Devils 69-65. Kansas All-American Nick Collison had a monster game with 33 points and 19 rebounds, proving that he is the most versatile player in America. Duke's J.J. Reddick got several open looks, but struggled from the field, only hitting one three-pointer and two shots overall. In his final game as a college player, Dahtay Jones had a great game, scoring 24 points for the Devils in the loss.

Kansas beat the number one seeded Arizona Wildcats 78-75 in the final of the West Region. This was a game of extreme runs, with Kansas taking an early 34-17 lead only to have Arizona cut the lead to 38-35 at halftime. In response, the Jayhawks opened the second half on a tear, roaring to a 56-42 lead, but once again, Arizona came right back to bring the game even. Kirk Hinrich went from his horrible performance (one for nine, two points) against the Blue Devils to score 28 points and block Jason Gardner's three-pointer attempt with five seconds left to secure the win over Arizona.

In Sweet Sixteen action from the South Region, the defending champion Maryland Terrapins lost a thriller to the Michigan St. Spartans 60-58. Maryland had a great second half comeback, pulling even after being behind by as many as 14 points with 6:58 left in the game. Terps point guard Steve Blake proved that white men really can't jump on a failed dunk attempt on a breakaway in the middle of the second half.

The Texas Longhorns survived a third round matchup with the UConn Huskies 82-78, with the help of 27 points from swingman Brandon Mouton. In the South Regional final, Texas beat the Spartans 85-76. All-American point guard T.J. Ford lit the Spartans up for 19 points and 10 assists as the last number 1 seed remaining dismissed the number seven seeded Spartans. The Longhorns join Kansas as Big 12 Conference members in the Final Four.

After surviving a scare by the Auburn Tigers, Syracuse beat the number one seed Oklahoma Sooners 63-47 in the East. Syracuse's zone D suffocated and frustrated Oklahoma, as they weren't able to get the ball into the paint at all in the first half. Syracuse freshman sensation Carmelo Anthony proved he is the real deal, rattling off 20 points and 10 rebounds. As he climbed up the ladder to cut down the net after the win, Syracuse fans in the arena were chanting, "one more year." Anthony is rumored to jump to the NBA after this year, where he may be taken as high as third in the upcoming draft.

In the Midwest Regional, Marquette survived a late game comeback by the Pittsburgh Panthers to hold on for the 77-74 win. Dwayne Wade led the way for the Eagles with 20 of his 22 points coming in the second half. The regional final pitted Marquette against the number one seed Kentucky Wildcats. In the 83-69 win over the Wildcats, Marquette super-sophomore Dwayne Wade exploded for a triple double with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Wade joins both Andre Miller and Magic Johnson as the only players in NCAA tournament history to record a triple double. This ended the Wildcats' 26-game winning streak and took out the team that most thought to be the top team at the end of the tournament.

Kentucky's press defense just wasn't as stifling as it normally has been, especially with Keith Bogans' left ankle sprain that he suffered in the first half of their game against the Wisconsin Badgers. Tubby Smith could not afford to take Bogans out of the game because he is the Wildcats leader and offensive force, but he was a liability with their defensive set. Once they got down by double digits, they just didn't have the offensive firepower to start a comeback.

New Orleans is sure to be host to a great Final Four with stars like Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, T.J. Ford, Nick Collison, and Kirk Hinrich in action.