Last night, the Virginia men's basketball team bowed out of the NIT with a second-round loss to St. John's. Despite the less-than-stellar showing from the Cavaliers this season, however, basketball season still is in full swing. Most of the Cinderella teams in the NCAA Tournament have had their fun and gone back home, leaving the sport's heavy hitters to battle for the crown, in what may be the best spectacle in American sports. And despite the absence of Virginia and regular-season opponents Wake Forest, N.C. State and Indiana from the Sweet 16, the tournament still holds the undivided sports interest of most University students. With that in mind, here's how the last four rounds of the tournament will play out.
Midwest: This region is tied for the strongest remaining teams, with the 1, 2, 3 and 5 seeds still playing. The strongest of the group is top-ranked Kentucky, a group that lost to our own Cavaliers in November but currently is riding a remarkable 25-game winning streak. The Wildcats' opponent in the round of 16 is Big Ten regular season champion Wisconsin, led by versatile guard Kirk Penney. The Badgers will provide a strong test, but in the end their streaky shooting habits will doom them against defensive-minded Kentucky. The 2 vs. 3 game pits Marquette against Pittsburgh -- a team that is playing as well as any in the country. This game features excellent guard play from Marquette's Dwyane Wade and Travis Diener and Pittsburgh's Brandin Knight and Julius Page, but it is the Panthers' advantage in the paint will propel them into the round of eight. The Kentucky-Pittsburgh matchup will not disappoint, turning into one of the best games of the tournament, with Kentucky prevailing behind Keith Bogans and Gerald Fitch.
West: Four of the top five teams in this bracket still are alive, with the exception being fourth-seeded Illinois, who could not overcome the power of Notre Dame's head-shaving show of unity. However, that's as far as the Gold Domers' bald scalps will take them -- they won't get past top-seeded Arizona. The other regional semifinal features Kansas taking on perhaps the ACC's best hope, Duke. Coach Mike Krzyzewski is in the odd position of complaining that the selection committee slighted his team, and he has his team ready to prove it deserved a higher seed -- namely the No. 2 held by Kansas. Roy Williams' quest for a championship will have to go on for another year -- Duke will take this game, and what's more, they'll beat Arizona as well. The NCAA Tournament is all about good guard play, and Duke has that in spades, led by unflappable junior Chris Duhon at the point and, on the wings, youngsters Daniel Ewing and J.J. Redick, who will shoot the Blue Devils all the way to New Orleans.
South: This bracket features three proven basketball powers, all of whom have won national championships in the past five years, and one team new to the NCAA elite. So guess who's the No. 1 seed? That's right, it's upstart Texas, which has ridden point guard T.J. Ford to the verge of the school's first Final Four appearance since 1947. The Longhorns face a stiff test in bruising UConn, led by shot-blocking menace Emeka Okafor. The guard play phenomenon will rear its head again, however, as Ford, Brandon Mouton and Royal Ivey get the best of Taliek Brown and Ben Gordon. In other South action, Maryland and Michigan State face off in a battle of lower-seeded past champions. Tom Izzo has his team peaking at the right time, but despite picking against them in my pool, I'm a Maryland believer now. The Terps continue to ride the wave of good feeling stemming from Drew Nicholas' miracle shot in the first round and will dispatch the Spartans.
But that's as far as they will get. Despite deviating from my pre-tournament predictions once before (hey, I'm allowed, I had Xavier in the round of eight), a man has to stick to his Final Four picks. Therefore, despite my faith in the strong guard play in College Park, I'm sticking to my guns, which means Texas is headed to the Big Easy. Hook 'em.
East: This is definitely the Cinderella bracket, featuring -- count 'em -- two teams with double-digit seeds. Butler and Auburn, though, shouldn't unpack those glass slippers, as they will provide little resistance to Oklahoma and Syracuse, respectively. In the regional final, Oklahoma's experience will win out, as Hollis Price wills the Sooners to their second consecutive Final Four and Syracuse fans commence begging Carmelo Anthony to stay in school.
Final Four: The reason why college basketball is great: on one side of the bracket, we get a rematch of The Greatest Game Ever Played with Duke taking on Kentucky. But don't get too comfortable, Dukies
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