As exciting as the Final Four is, a peculiar thing happens as the last weekend of March rolls around.
The sound of paper shredders can be heard from coast to coast - a sure sign that 95 percent of the amateur bracketologists have placed their heads back in the proverbial sand, only to be awoken on Selection Sunday 2008. As a result, there may be less interest in the Final Four than there is in the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament.
But this weekend, anyone whose enthusiasm for college basketball extends beyond his or her bracket couldn't be happier. Four absolute titans are still standing - two top seeds and two No. 2 seeds - the strongest semifinal lineup since 1999 and the only year in the 64-team era besides 1993 that no team seeded lower than No. 2 reached the tourney's biggest stage.
Of course, that means that there will be no George Mason-esque Cinderella story for the nation to rally behind, but remember, the Patriots suffered a 15-point loss to Florida in last year's national semis. Don't expect any blowouts like that this time around; Vegas certainly doesn't - Georgetown is a 1-point favorite against Ohio State, and the defending-champion Gators are giving 3.5 to UCLA.
Tomorrow's first match-up between Georgetown and Ohio State features an epic showdown between two seven-footers. Buckeye freshman Greg Oden, who many anticipate will be the first overall pick in the NBA Draft if he leaves Columbus, will meet one of his most physical match-ups ever as he takes on Georgetown's 7-foot-2-inch junior center Roy Hibbert.
While Oden's regular season numbers outclassed Hibbert's - 15.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game versus 12.7, 6.9 and 2.5, respectively - the Hoya center has come alive in the tournament, where he most recently blocked six shots - on top of 13 points and 11 boards - in his team's 96-84 overtime victory over North Carolina in Sunday's East Rutherford Regional Final.
Furthermore, this will be the first time Oden will have to play against someone decidedly bigger than him on both ends of the floor, and the results will reveal a lot about the freshmen phenom's makeup.
The game won't simply be a battle between twin towers, however, as both teams' supporting casts played an instrumental role in reaching the Final Four. The Buckeyes' quartet of guards - freshman point man Mike Conley Jr., senior Ron Lewis, junior Jamar Butler and backup Daequan Cook - coupled with Oden's inside presence to give them great versatility. Meanwhile, Georgetown has arguably the best all-around player remaining in the tournament in junior swingman Jeff Green, along with a deep bench that boasts sons of two former NBA stars in Patrick Ewing Jr. and Jeremiah Rivers.
If Georgetown can play at a pace similar to last week's shootout with the Tar Heels, expect the Hoyas to have enough to get past the Buckeyes. On the other hand, many believe Oden has yet to play his best game, and if he does so this weekend, there might not be a team in the nation that can touch Ohio State.
As if Georgetown-OSU isn't enough, tomorrow's nightcap features a rematch of last year's national championship game that saw Florida blow out UCLA, 73-57. While the Gators are the deepest, most experienced team remaining, don't expect this year's sequel to be as one-sided as 2006.
Bruin junior guard Arron Afflalo, who has averaged 16.9 points this season, will be chomping at the bit for another opportunity against Florida, a team on which he notched only 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting in last year's title bout. Sophomore point guard Darren Collison, too, has something to prove against the Gators after playing 21 minutes without scoring against them in the 2006 championship game. The only major piece missing for UCLA is guard Jordan Farmar, who moved on to the NBA after dropping 18 on Florida last year.
The Gators, on the other hand, bring the exact same starting lineup to this year's Final Four in senior sharpshooter Lee Humphrey and juniors Taurean Green, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah, collectively known as the Oh-Fours. All four Florida juniors average at least 12 points and two assists per game, and Horford and Noah each average over eight rebounds per game. Humphrey, meanwhile, shoots 45.5 percent from three-point territory and has been on fire from beyond the arc of late, converting seven-of-13 attempts in the team's Elite Eight victory over Oregon.
Humphrey might be the X-factor on tomorrow as well, as he was a big part of last year's championship win, scoring 15 points thanks largely to four-of-eight three-point shooting. In the end, the game will likely come down to the success of Noah and Horford in the post - who scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, versus UCLA last year - and it will be the responsibility of UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who grabbed 10 board against the Gators last year, to hold his own on the glass.
In last year's Final Four, Florida trounced Cinderella George Mason, and UCLA outclassed an inferior LSU team. This year, four of nation's top seven teams are left standings, and anyone who cares about basketball, not just brackets, should expect to see a pair of tightly-contested semifinals heading into Monday's final.
