It's The Fianl Fooouurrrr Baby!!

[Da Boss DJ Jo Corleone]

This was supposed to be the year that I finally got it right. The gold was mine for the taking, and then Scottie Reynolds, who went for 15 points, takes the ball down court in just four dribbles and my bracket dreams were crushed. Not that Villanova’s win was my only wrong answer to the Final Four question, but that one pretty much crushed, again I say, my picks. Pitt was a lock in, or so I thought along with many others, but it just wasn’t meant to be, but boy what a game and an even bigger finish.

I mean tough defense, acrobatic shots, and pure determination between both teams as Villanova won 78-76, on their way to their first Final Four appearance since 1985. Honestly Pitt did almost everything right looking at the numbers. Dejuan Blair had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Sam young led the way with 28 points, but in the end nobody got in front of Reynolds to force him to change direction or anything, as he ran down court to hit the game winner.

Secondly I have to give all the props I the world to Coach Tom Izzo of Michigan State, for making it to his 5th final four in 11 years by defeating number one seed, Louisville 64-52. When you really look at it, basically that means he gets his teams to the final four every other year, and that’s major. People always talk about Coach K, and Roy Williams when they debate about some of the best coaches in college basketball, but on the real Coach Izzo has to be mentioned along with those guys for his accomplishments at Michigan State.

Think about it, how hard is it to sale a kid on going to school at North Carolina, Duke, UConn, or UCLA? Those schools sale themselves, but he has managed to bring in some real talent to Michigan State year in and year out, and it shows in his number of Final four appearances and by the 5 guys that he has sent to the NBA during his tenure. So congratulations Coach Izzo and the Spartans as you prepare for home court in Detroit at this year's Final Four. But for the sake of my bracket I’m sorry you’ll have to face the Tarheels who looked really good against the Oklahoma Sooners.

No disrespect to Michigan State or Villanova, but North Carolina has looked remarkable during their run and is still heavy favorites to win the Championship. Thanks to the spark provided by Ty Lawson’s return, and the mean play of Danny Green as best supporting actor, to a cast that includes Tyler Hansbrough as the lead.

Finally let’s not forget about Uconn, who controlled a very aggressive Missouri team. This was a good game to prepare the huskies for Michigan State. They had a pretty competitive game against Purdue, but Missouri made them really focus and play ball the way they’ve been coached to and it showed. That’s the kind of game you need before you get on the floor four the big dance in Detroit, and that game promises to be a battle.