The Final Four kicks off next weekend in Detroit.  What we have found out so far is that at least half the Final Four will be comprised of teams from the Big East.  Connecticut knocked off Missouri last night by an 82-75 score, while Villanova stunned Pittsburgh on a last second driving basket by Scottie Reynolds to win by a 78-76 count.  Of course, if you were reading here before the games, you would have picked UCONN and Villanova and ended up a winner on both counts.  Since the start of round two, there have been 26 games played so far, and I've been on the right side of 23 of them.  Can't complain about those odds.

A strange thing happened at the end of the UCONN game that benefitted the Vegas sportsbooks.  UCONN was a six point favorite, and led by 7 in the closing seconds.  Marcus Denmon, he of the 65 foot three pointer just before halftime against Memphis, had an uncontested layup, but missed at the buzzer.  That miss ensured that the Huskies would win by seven, and cover the line, leaving bettors who laid money on Missouri heartbroken and broke.

With that said, should Louisville prevail today against Michigan State, which I am predicting, the Big East will have three teams in the Final Four again.  This happened in 1985, when Patrick Ewing led Georgetown, Chris Mullin brought St. John's, and Ed Pinckney was a key cog in a team known as...Villanova.  Rollie Massimino's  Wildcats would go on to win the national title that season.  Here we go with the games today:

SOUTH REGION:

(1) North Carolina (-7) vs. (2) Oklahoma:  The Tar Heels breezed past Gonzaga by 21, playing their typical up tempo style in the Sweet 16, bringing them to the Elite 8.  Ty Lawson looked to be back in prime form, and with him back playing at full speed, with Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Wayne Ellington and company, the Heels will be looking to run up and down the floor at will.  Oklahoma got past Syracuse thanks to another monster game from Blake Griffin.

The Tar Heels will be able to negate some of Griffin's presence inside, which means that the Sooners will have to hit some jump shots to loosen up the interior defense.  That means that Tony Crocker and Willie Warren have to pull their weight.  Jeff Capel knows that his team can't survive at the pace Carolina plays (the Tar Heels averaged over 90 points a game this season, and 94.3 in their three games so far), but if they go one and out on the offensive side of things, it won't make a bit of difference.  Carolina has the experience and the grit to get by.


MIDWEST REGION:

(1) Louisville (-7.5) vs. (2) Michigan State:  The Spartans managed to outlast the defending champion Kansas Jayhawks in the Sweet 16 to get here.  Raymar Morgan has a broken nose but expects to play, while Kalin Lucas needs a better shooting performance than what he put together against Kansas in order to keep the Spartans in it.  Goran Suton played well, but he is more of a plodder instead of a sprinter, which makes things difficult for coach Tom Izzo.  Rick Pitino loves the up tempo style, and he has the depth and the talent to make it work, as evidenced by the 103-64 thrashing of Arizona Friday, the worst loss in the history of the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament.

Earl Clark, Terrence Williams and Samardo Samuels are three major cogs in the Cardinals scheme, and they have plenty of role players to help Pitino's squad carry the load.  They figure to have learned from their mistakes of a year ago when they fell to North Carolina in the Elite Eight as they ran out of gas, and will thrive on moving forward and getting to their first Final Four since 2005.  I fully expect that Louisville's mental and physical toughness to thrive and survive in this game to get to the Motor City.

There we go, coming up this week, we'll talk about TO, the Bills, the pending NHL playoffs, and more...so stay tuned.