Final Four

There are only four teams left in college basketball, and conveniently, all of them will be in Indianapolis this weekend. LSU, UCLA, George Mason and Florida have all won four games thus far in the tournament, but that will mean nothing if they don't win two more. Each team has used a different asset of basketball to be successful thus far, and they will need to continue this superb play if they want to cut down the RCA Dome nets come Monday night.

LSU: Athleticism
The Tigers from Louisiana State have almost no outside shooting, a very thin bench and about as much tournament experience as you or I. But the thing that LSU does have is amazing athleticism. Forwards Tyrus Thomas, Tasmin Mitchell, and Glen Davis are all extremely long, agile players (Yes, I used the word agile to describe the 310 pound Davis) that know how to put the ball in the basket. Thomas is a longer Amare Stodumire, a more athletic Kenyon Martin, a scoring Tyson Chandler. Mitchell, who often gets the opponents worst post defender, can score both facing and with his back to the basket. And there is no team in the country that can match up with Davis. He's college hopps' version of Antonio Gates. (a former Davis like player himself at Kent State) Put a big post player on him (Like Duke did with Shelden Williams), and he will use his speed and agility. Put a quicker player (Like Texas tried briefly with PJ Tucker) and Big Baby will back him down and score that way.
On defense, the Tigers like to sit back in man-to-man defense and dare you to put the ball in the paint. Thomas can swat any shot put up, and opponents get very few offensive boards against LSU.

UCLA: Team defense
John Wooden's UCLA squads won championships with a big man in the middle (Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton) and talented players around him. The 1995 National Champion Bruins scored a lot of points (89 vs Arkansas in the national final, 102 vs UConn in the West regional final). This years team has almost no size and really struggled to reach the half-century mark in their game against Memphis. But man, can they play some serious D. Guards Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar put constant pressure on the ball, and the Bruins big men are allays contesting shots. Their offensive philosophy is to slow the game down, limit posessions, and force the opponent to score. Coach Ben Howland brought his aggressive Pitt defensive philosophy to the West coast, and considering Memphis' starters shot a combined 10/39 in the Elite 8, it appears that the philosophy is working.

George Mason: Balanced Attack
I had Michigan State in my Final Four...See ya. My buddy had North Carolina as his National Champ....Adios. It seems like every so called 'Expert' had UConn cutting down the nets....Better luck in '07. The Patriots of George Mason beat all three of these teams, as well as fellow mid-major Witchita State on their way to Indy. How did they do it? A little bit of luck, sure, but they did it by utilizing every thing they had. This isn't a Gonzaga-type team, where it's one guy doing it all and the other four players standing around. Yeah, GM had some home court luck, playing in Washington D.C. only a couple of miles away from their campus. But that can only go so far. All five players rocking the green uni are a threat to put the ball in the hoop, and they can do it from different points on the floor. Guards Lamar Butler and Tony Skinn can knock down the triple, big boys Jai Lewis and Will Thomas can bang down low, and swingman Folarin Campbell can do a little bit of both. And these guys all want to play. Consider this: UConn used four guys off their bench in the Elite 8 game, playing a total of 61 minutes. GM also used four backups. Those four played 25 minutes. Butler, Skinn, Lewis, Thomas, and Campbell played 88% of an overtime NCAA tourny game. And the team won. Pretty impressive.

I got to write this before I go any further. I am a HUGE Florida Gators football fan, and I own a fair share of orange and blue gear. I like the UF basketball team more than the average team, but I don't really go out of my way to watch them play. (In fact, I'm rooting for their rival to win it all...More on that later)

Florida: Versatility
In basketball especially, it helps to have people that can do multiple things. A kicker that is really good at run blocking doesn't help a football team too much, but having a big man who can bring the ball down the floor can be very valuable. This is a quality that the Gators have. All of their five starters could play a different position if needed. Coach Billy Donovan deserves credit for recruiting and playing these five players. But it is the players themselves: guards Cory Brewer, Taurean Green, and Lee Humphrey, forward Al Horford and center Joakim Noah, that make this team click.
Florida is a team that's tough to match up with because of this versatility. Villanova tried using its four guard lineup against the Gators and it failed. Georgetown tried playing a zone, and that failed. It seems that whatever you want to do, the Gators can do it better. This is because each of their starters can shoot, dribble, bring the ball inside, and play defense.

MY PICKS:
I think both matchups will be very close. I think that LSU has a better team, but I'm not sure how well they can score on UCLA without consitant jump shooting. On the other hand, I don't know if UCLA will be able to score on LSU, who has an obvious height advantage. My pick LSU 63 UCLA 58
In the other game, the Gators have more talent than the Patriots do, but then again, so has everyboy else thats faced George Mason. George Mason needs to get every loose ball, fight for every board, play its very best. I don't think it will enought though. My pick GM 66 UF 75

In the title game on Monday night, I see a battle of SEC teams who usually settle things on the football field. The Gators have already beaten the Tigers twice: 71-62 in Gainsville on Feb 11 and 81-65 in the SEC Tournament on March 11. The key in that game was the health of Tyrus Thomas. He wasn't 100% then, he is now. I see LSU taking the title back to the people who lost so much from Hurrican Katrina. My pick LSU 74 UF 70