With NHL free agency getting started on July 1^st, we’re going to take a quick look around the league to see who is available and who the best option is.

Continuing on with our free agent rankings, today we’ll take a look at the defensemen that are available. The list is a little bit longer so I tried to rank the top 15 available defensemen as opposed to the top 10 goalies that are hitting the market.

Defensemen are a lot harder to rank because every team wants something different. I could rank them based on offensive performance, but then I’m ignoring some of the better “defensive defensemen”. So keep that in mind when reading below whom I think are top 15 available on July 1^st.

1. Jay Bouwmeester (Florida) – It’s hard to argue that Bouwmeester isn’t the top d-man available on July 1^st. Websites and blogs went crazy around the trade deadline with tons of scenarios of where he could be traded to. Florida decided to hang on to him at the time in hopes of making the playoffs, but they fell just short and Jay-Bo is as good as gone. Former Florida GM Jacques Martin must have known this and took off to coach the Montreal Canadiens this upcoming season.

He played in all 82 games for Florida last season racking up 42 points in the process. He has six years of NHL experience playing in all 82 games in five of those six seasons and he is only 25 years old. I suppose based on those facts one could say he is definitely worthy of the big payday, but I’d be hesitant to throw the bank at him. We saw how that worked out for Chicago last off-season and I’m willing to bet they would love a way out of Brian Campbell’s enormous contract.

If Florida is smart (highly doubtful), they will trade his rights before July 1^st so they at least get something for him. Word is the Flyers are doing everything in their power to acquire his rights. In a recent Palm Beach Post article, it was said that “Bouwmeester, who is building a house in Edmonton, has made it known he wants to play somewhere hockey is taken more seriously than in South Florida."

2. Rob Blake (San Jose) – Rob Blake has consistently been one of the better defensemen in the league, but at age 39 he is running out of time. He tallied his best season last year with San Jose since his 2005-06 campaign with Colorado. He finished the regular season by playing in 73 games, tallying 45 points and finishing +15.

Blake made a cool five million last season so that is enough to scare off most teams. I’d say his best bet would be to stay in San Jose for another season or two before hanging up the skates. I could see San Jose signing him back since they were very successful during the regular season before choking it all way in the first round. The tandem of Blake and Boyle is something I’d want to hang on to if I were a GM. Then again, San Jose might go in a completely different direction after their most recent playoff debacle.

3. Mathieu Schneider (Montreal) – Schneider came to Montreal before the trade deadline and made an immediate impact with the Habs before getting injured and missing the rest of the season. In 44 games with the Thrashers last season he had 15 points and was a -10. In the following 23 games with Montreal, he had 17 points and finished -2. Schneider is no spring chicken but I think he would be a valuable asset to a team looking for help on the power play this upcoming year. Anything more than a one year deal might be a bit much though. I would have zero issues with my team signing him, assuming it was a reasonable short-term deal.

4. Steve Montador (Boston) – Like Schneider, Montador was a trade deadline acquisition except he went to Boston. He is a perfect example of what I wrote about before starting the rankings in terms of point production alone. This guy isn’t going to light up any scoreboards, but I would LOVE to have him on my team. He has that “Don’t Take Crap from Anyone” attitude that I love in a blue liner (when he isn’t playing my team). With him only being 29, I’d jump for joy if my team signed the guy to at least a three year deal. In fact, please excuse me while I write a letter to the GM.

5. Rob Scuderi (Pittsburgh) – Rob Scuderi is another type of defenseman I would love to see playing in Buffalo. He has shown he is durable by playing in 78, 71 and 81 regular season games in the past three seasons for Pittsburgh. This past season was his best in term of plus/minus finishing +23. The previous two seasons he was a +3 which is still good overall. Scuderi is only 30 years old and will no doubt be looking for a raise after only making $750,000 this past season. If Pittsburgh can’t bring him back, look for them to trade his rights like they did for Ryan Malone last off-season.

6. Mattias Ohlund (Vancouver) – Ohlund hits the market after spending his entire career with Vancouver. He has been a very consistent defenseman in the points department finishing with 30, 35, 20, 28, 36, 29, 34, 33, 31, 24 and 25 respectively. He made $3.5 million this past season for the Canucks and a contract similar to that is to be expected. He is only 32 so whichever team locks him down can do it with a solid three or four year deal and expect the same point production he has given in the past. I’m not sure if Vancouver will bring him back, only because of the fact that they need to deal with the Sedin twins and I would assume that they are the top priority.

7. Jaroslav Spacek (Buffalo) – I’ve been a fan of Spacek for most of his tenure in Buffalo, then again, it’s nice to see a defenseman actually score once in a while. He has said publicly that he doesn’t want to go somewhere new and start over again, but he would need to take a pay cut to stay in Buffalo and I just can’t see him doing that. This past season was his best with Buffalo playing in 80 games and finishing with 45 points. Like I said, I would like to see him back with the Sabres but it would need to be for less than the $3.3 million he made in his last deal.

8. Marc-Andre Bergeron (Minnesota) – Bergeron made approx. $1.7 million this past season in Minnesota and he produced accordingly. He had 32 points and was a +5 in 72 regular season games. At the age of 28, he is still a little raw in the experience department but some team will be calling for his services. I could see him getting a little bit of a pay increase but he shouldn’t get any more than $2.5 million per season.

9. Nick Boynton (Florida) – Lucky for Florida, they have two defenseman in the top 10 (and a goalie in the top 10 as well). Boynton is only 30 years old with seven years of NHL experience. He has had some durability issues in the past playing in 54, 59, 79 and 68 games in the past four seasons. This past season was his best statistically as he finished with 21 points and was +7. If Florida loses Jay-Bo on July 1^st (they will), they should look to sign Boynton so not all is lost.

10. Adrian Aucoin (Calgary) – Some might ask what my criteria is for coming up with these rankings and to be honest, there are several factors that go into it. For instance, last season Aucoin played in 81 games and finished with 34 points which is much better than Nick Boynton who is listed above. However, Aucoin also made $4 million last season (Boynton made approx. $2.95) and Aucoin is five years older. So if I were playing GM I might value Boynton a little bit more because he is younger and would help my cap situation slightly. Aucoin has also only played 70+ regular season games seven times in 15 seasons which is also something that might concern me.

11. Paul Mara (NY Rangers) – I’ve seen quite a few Rangers games and Mara isn’t exactly someone who strikes fear in me when he is on the ice. In fact, his play has dropped off dramatically since tallying 47 points in 2005-06 with Phoenix (23, 17 and 21). He has a career plus/minus of -95 which isn’t exactly a bargaining chip when going to the table this summer with league GM’s. However, his salary was only $1.95 million which isn’t much considering some of the other deals that will be flying around. If the Rangers are still trying to keep their fantasy team together, he’ll most likely be back with the Rangers next season.

12. Derek Morris (NY Rangers) – Morris was a trade deadline acquisition that basically had no impact for the Rangers as they choked in yet another post-season appearance. Kudos to the Rangers for giving it the old college try though. He was fairly productive in terms of points after only getting 12 points in 57 games with Phoenix, finishing with another eight in 18 for the Rangers. (I guess it makes a difference when you’re playing on a real NHL team). Regardless, his contract is a hefty $3.95 million and if he is looking to make anything around that, I’d rather he go to another team than mine because that money would be better off going to someone else.

13. Hal Gill (Pittsburgh) – Hal Gill hasn’t been the most durable defenseman for Pittsburgh, but has been one of the better ones. He only had 10 points in 62 games this season, but finished +11 which in my book is a pretty decent number. Before his injury plagued season a year ago, He finished two campaigns in Toronto scoring 20 points in both and finishing in the positives in both. He is a sound defenseman who hasn’t finished worse than -4 since the 1998-99 season. With a price tag of $2.1 million, I wouldn’t mind seeing him suit up for my team.

14. Jordan Leopold (Calgary) – In yet another trade deadline acquisition, Leopold was sent to Calgary to help them finally win the Stanley Cup. Obviously the Flames failed in that bid and Leopold didn’t really produce the way he was expected. In 64 games with Colorado he racked up 20 points, but was a - 10. In the following 19 games in Calgary, he only had four points and was a -5. He only made $1.5 million, but I don’t see anything in him that can’t be found in the AHL. If my team signed him I would just shrug my shoulders and sigh a little bit. In fact, if Buffalo made any play for Leopold I would have to wonder what exactly he brings to the table that Nathan Paetsch can’t already.

15. Karlis Scrastins (Florida) – Rounding out the top 15 is yet another Florida Panther. Scrastins played in 80 games last season racking up 18 points and finished +9. While those numbers are decent, they are somewhat misleading. Before last season, the last time he played in 70+ games was in 2005-06 with Colorado. Before last season, the last time he finished with a +1 or better was in 2003-04 with Colorado. So as you can see, he might be a decent pickup at the right price, but most GM’s might be leery of signing him to anything major or long-term. I can see Florida bringing him back as well to help hide the fact that they royally screwed up the Jay-Bo situation.

I’ve tried voodoo dolls. I’ve tried playing with an Ouija board. I’ve gone to a tarot card reader and I even altered my picks so much so that I effectively lost the picks competition again this year. But its ok I thought, as long as Pittsburgh loses it will be all worth it. Well not only did I sacrifice my picks, but the Penguins are headed to the Cup for the second straight year. So hopefully, much like last year, the Red Wings will dominate the Pens again en route to another championship for HockeyTown.

I’ll be honest. I watched about two minutes combined of the Eastern Conference Finals. I figured it was wise to benefit my personal health and avoid watching the series altogether. Last Friday night I got that hockey itch and turned the game on, only to turn it off about 80 seconds later when Sidney Crosby had already put Pittsburgh up 1-0. What can I say? The Penguins are good. There, I hope everyone is happy.

(I still don't understand how changing a coach mid-season can be the real reason for this. I say they were tanking it till the switch was made.)

On the other hand it looks like the Hurricanes luck finally ran out. FINALLY. After several lucky wins and even more lucky bounces, karma finally caught up with the Canes. Lucky for them, nobody really cares.

The Blackhawks somewhat disappointed their fans, although I’m not sure if anybody really expected them to win. Their goaltending has been suspect for most of the post-season and a team like Detroit is way too good to not take advantage. Of course, it helps when Brian Campbell tries to be fancy and ends up giving away a game like he did in Game Two. I’m willing to bet the majority of ‘Hawks fans aren’t exactly celebrating Campbell’s big contract one season later.

So here we go; the end is finally near. One more series and we can officially put a wrap on the NHL season and move on to off-season activities. Free agency starts July 1^st and before we know it, pre-season will be in full swing. But before all that, let’s break down the Cup Finals between Detroit and Pittsburgh.

Forwards: Leading the way for Detroit has been Johan Franzen with 19 points in the playoffs. Henrik Zetterberg is following closely behind him with 18 points. Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula have 14 and Marian Hossa has tallied 12 points.

Pittsburgh has been led by the obvious tandem of Crosby and Malkin. Both players have 28 points and then there is a dramatic dropoff with Bill Guerin the next in line with 14. Chris Kunitz has 12 and Ruslan Fedotenko has 11.

Advantage: Push. Pittsburgh obviously has immediate impact. Crosby and Malkin are two of the top three players in the league right now. Detroit has an overall advantage in depth. Every single line they roll out has legit goal scorers, where as Pittsburgh is still letting Miroslav Satan’s corpse take the ice. Not to mention the fact that Marian Hossa plays for Detroit. He literally spurned Pittsburgh last off-season because he wanted a legit chance to win a Cup. Don’t think that won’t carry any weight in this series. He’ll be extra motivated to finally win, while Pittsburgh will want to prove him wrong. I have a bad feeling that karma will show it’s ugly head because of this.

Defense: Monitoring the blue line for Detroit is Nicklas Lidstrom (13 points), Brian Rafalski (8), Niklas Kronwall (7), Brad Stuart (7), Brett Lebda (6) and Jonathan Ericsson (5).

Pittsburgh lines up with Sergei Gonchar (12 points), Kris Letang (9), Mark Eaton (6), Brooks Orpik (4), Rob Scuderi (3) and Hal Gill (2).

Advantage: Detroit. Not only do they have more scoring power than Pittsburgh, they have a ton more experience. Look no further than Captain Nicklas Lidstrom. Assuming Detroit can stay healthy…well that’s another story.

Goaltending: Detroit comes into the series with Chris Osgood starting and former Penguin Ty Conklin riding the bench. I haven’t been very high on Osgood this season and with good reason, but he has done well enough to led the Wings this far. He has a 2.06 GAA and .925 save percentage so far in the playoffs to go along with his 12-4 record.

Pittsburgh has Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes. In between his over the top flashy saves, he has racked up a 12-5 record, 2.62 GAA and .906 save percentage. While he has been shaky at times this year, he seems to know when to step it up. Pittsburgh left him out to dry several times and he literally won them the game which is about all you can ask of a franchise goalie.

Advantage: Push. When I originally wrote the article I was going to give the advantage to Pittsburgh because Chris Osgood doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. But after researching the numbers and realizing that Osgood has been better than Fleury in every category, I changed it to a push. Osgood still doesn’t fill me with confidence, but he must be doing something right.

Coaching: Mike Babcock is behind the bench for Detroit and Dan Bylsma is behind the bench for Pittsburgh. Babcock has an obvious advantage in terms of experience and championships; however Bylsma should get credit for getting Pittsburgh this far. When he initially took over in mid-season, the Penguins were on the outside of the playoffs looking in. That is quite a feat, but if you ask me I’m not overly impressed. I get the impression that Pittsburgh was essentially quitting on former coach Michel Therrien and that anybody could’ve came in and turned things around. I’ll be a believer if they win the Cup…and stay equally as dominant next season.

Advantage: Detroit

My Pick: Detroit in 6

After some rather anti-climatic Conference Finals series, the battle for the best trophy in all of sports is finally upon us. Pittsburgh and Detroit both managed to advance without facing too much opposition and will now go at it once again in a rematch of last year's Finals. This is the first time in 25 years that two teams have made it to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearances, and Pittsburgh will be trying desperately to provide a different outcome this time around.

Pittsburgh looks to have hit their full stride at this point, cruising by Carolina in a 4 game sweep that wasn't ever really close. The Penguins outscored the Hurricanes by a 20-9 margin and only game 1 had any real drama to it. Marc-Andre Fleury was the only goaltender of the 4 in the Conference Finals to not have won a Stanley Cup already, but he may have out performed all his counterparts. So far in 17 games of the postseason, his GAA is 2.62 and he has a save percentage of .906. Not stellar numbers at first glance, but when you consider how well the Penguins score the puck, it's been plenty good enough to get them back in the Finals. The race for the playoff scoring title has turned into a 2 horse show, and both those horses belong to Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each have 28 points so far in the playoffs and nobody else is really even close. Crosby's points have come on 14 goals and 14 assists, while Malkin has 12 goals and 16 assists thus far. Pittsburgh's one downfall though might be that after those two, the scoring falls off dramatically. If Detroit can find a way to even slow those guys down, it might be enough to help them hoist yet another Cup.

Last year, the Penguins made it to the finals as a young, fairly inexperienced team. This year however, they're back and they know what to expect. This group would love nothing more to win the first Cup for Pittsburgh since their only previous wins in 91 and 92. The Penguins looked overwhelmed in the first 2 games of last year's Final, and it ultimately cost them as they recovered a little too late. I wouldn't expect the same to happen this time around. As for Detroit, last year's victory was the team's 11th Stanley Cup and another one this year would put them at half of the mark of Montreal's ridiculous 24 Cups. The Red Wings have proven to be one of the best run organizations in sports for years now and yet another Finals appearance just further proves that.

Detroit faced a very young Chicago team in the Western Conference Finals and didn't have too much of an issue getting past them, as they won the series in 5 games. The series was certainly closer than that in the East though, as 3 of the games were decided in overtime. 2 players top the list of scorers for Detroit as well, though they have a more balanced attack and have had a lot of secondary contributors. Johan Franzen has lead the way with 10 goals and 9 assists, while Henrik Zetterburg has chipped in with 9 of each. All playoffs long, people have pointed to Chris Osgood as the weak link of Detroit, and even I have been somewhat guilty of this. The fact is that it's just not the case though. Osgood comes into the Finals with a 2.06 GAA and a .925 save percentage, both of which are outstanding. Add to that the fact that Osgood has 3 Cup wins to his name, 2 of which he was the starter for, is 10th all time in NHL wins, and has a career playoff GAA of 2.11. Osgood has proven himself and deserves more credit than he gets.

Amongst the biggest keys heading into this series is the health of the Red Wings. 6 regular starters missed Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals for Detroit, yet they managed to walk away with the win. Andreas Lilja, Kris Draper, Tomas Kopecky, and Jonathan Ericsson were all out, but more notably, Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk both missed games 4 and 5 of that series. Lidstrom is perennially the best defenseman in the league, and while he's supposedly going to be back in time for Game 1 tomorrow, whether or not he's at 100% will be a big factor. Datsyuk doesn't appear to be in as good of shape at this point, and while he hasn't provided his usual scoring power in these playoffs (7 points, with only 1 goal), many forget that he is very talented defensively as well. Having him at his best to help try and slow down Crosby and Malkin would be a very important factor for Detroit.

The Red Wings have been getting offense from other players however as Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula have all stepped up their scoring efforts. Still, contributions from Datsyuk if he comes back and Henrik Zetterburg would certainly go a long ways towards Detroit capturing yet another Stanley Cup. Pittsburgh will need some more scoring from it's support as well though, as relying almost completely on Crosby and Malkin might not continue to work at this point. Players like Bill Guerin, Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz, and Ruslan Fedotenko need to provide more scoring in support of the Penguins Big Two.

Special teams is another big key factor when looking at this series. Both these teams are dynamite on the power play, but Detroit in particular. The Red Wings have scored 19 times in 74 opportunities this postseason, for a success rate of 25.7%. Pittsburgh has converted 16 of 83 opportunities, scoring 19.3% of the time. 10 of those 16 goals for Pittsburgh have come from the Crosby/Malkin duo however, while Detroit's are much more spread out across the team. On the flip side of things though is where the story might be told. The Penguins have allowed 10 goals on the penalty kill through 61 opposition chances, good for a 83.6% success rate on the kill. Not stellar, but when you compare it to Detroit's penalty killing effort, it looks pretty good. The Red Wings have allowed 15 goals in 57 opportunities so far in the playoffs, killing only 73.7% of their penalties. Detroit simply must be better or must stay out of the box, or Pittsburgh is going to make them pay dearly. While I wouldn't want to give up many PP chances for Detroit if I were Pittsburgh either, they have to feel at least a little more comfortable with their ability to kill off any penalties.

Yet another key to this series, and a storyline which I'm sure television will play up to death is that of the Red Wings' forward Marian Hossa. Hossa was with the Penguins last season and despite a very healthy contract offer after the season, he decided to bolt town, declaring that the Penguins were a one trick pony of sorts and he wanted to go play for a Cup contender. He signed with Detroit, and now he faces his former mates with the biggest prize on the line. Hossa has been solid, but not stellar for Detroit this postseason, chipping in with 6 goals and 6 assists thus far. The capability is still there however as he scored 40 goals along with 31 assists in the regular season for the team. Pittsburgh surely would like to make Hossa regret his decision and I can think of no better way than to beat his new team for Lord Stanley's Cup. It'll be interesting to see how Hossa reacts to the pressure in this series.

Ultimately, this series is a matchup of two teams with outstanding scoring abilities mixed in with some goalies playing at a very high level. It's pretty much what you'd expect from the last two teams standing. How the keys I mentioned above play out will likely end up determining who gets to parade around the ultimate trophy, and in particular, I think the injury issues for Detroit might be the biggest factor of all. If perennial Norris Trophy winner Niklas Lidstrom returns and can play at his usual level and the same is true for Hart Trophy candidate Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings will be very tough for Pittsburgh to handle. However, if those guys can't return, or aren't playing close to 100%, the series may very well be the Penguins' to lose.

Since the Red Wings have always been my second favorite team behind Buffalo, along with the fact that I don't particularly care for Pittsburgh and especially Mr. Crosby, my heart tells me to take Detroit. However, I have a bad feeling about this series, and the injuries in particular concern me a lot, so my head says Pittsburgh is going to win. As much fun as it is to pick with my heart, I rarely ever do it...

Pittsburgh wins in 6 games.

In other news, you have may have noticed by now that our site officially has a new address. You can now find us at www.dandssports.com though our previous address will also redirect you to the proper location. Along with the official domain name, we're also toying with some other ideas on ways to change the site up some, so be on the lookout for that in the near future. Additionally, as always your feedback is greatly appreciated and if you have any suggestions for changes you'd like to see here, feel free to let us know. You can shoot us an email at feedback@dandssports.com. Devin will be by either tonight or tomorrow with his preview and picks, as well as updated standings for the prediction contest heading into the Finals. Be sure to check back!

Now that the Conference Finals are set, we can go ahead with our predictions and a brief preview of the two series. Devin will have his picks tomorrow and will give an update to the current standings in our ongoing contest as well. Let's get started with the West, so I can stay in a good mood for a least a few more minutes.

Western Conference Finals:
(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks

The West is going to be determined by a battle of Original 6 teams that both have long and storied histories in the NHL. Detroit has 11 Stanley Cups to their credit and they are also the defending champions. They come into this matchup after defeating the Anaheim Ducks in a 7 game series, which saw a bit of a back and forth struggle as the Wings took games 1, 4, 5, and 7. 5 of the 7 games were decided by just one goal, including a 3 OT thriller that Anaheim took in the 2nd game of the series. Detroit was certainly tested at a much higher level in this series than they were in the 1st round against Columbus who was dispatched in a hurry. Chris Osgood was the question mark entering the post season for Detroit, but he's proven why he has multiple Cup wins under his belt.

Thus far, Osgood has allowed just 2.06 goals per game and has a save percentage of .921. While Johan Hiller was able to shut down the mighty Detroit offense in a few games, they still managed to average just over 3 goals per game for the series. Johan Franzen has lead the way offensively for Detroit thus far with 8 goals in the postseason and "The Mule" also has 7 assists to give him a team leading 15 points. Henrik Zetterburg is right behind him however with 14 points. Add in the best defensemen in the league in Nick Lidstrom who has contributed 11 points and a team leading 26+ minutes per game in ice time and you can see how it's tough to slow down the Detroit Offense. It will be Osgood who is once again the key for the Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals however, as he faces a Chicago team who has dynamite in the offensive department.

Chicago finished 2nd in their division to Detroit and while extremely young and inexperienced, has proven they belong in this postseason. Offensive firepower has definitely been the name of the game for the Blackhawks as they've taken out both Calgary and Vancouver in 6 games each, dashing any chances for a Western Canada Cup celebration. Many, myself included, expected Roberto Luongo to shut down Chicago and send them to the golf course, but instead, the youthful Blackhawk squad lit Luongo up like the 4th of July. They scored just under 4 goals per game in the series, including 6 in game 2 and 7 in game 4.

Their progress in this postseason marks a resurgence for the Chicago Blackhawks, who have finally broken out of one of the darkest periods in the team's history. A team who dominated their division throughout the 70s, Chicago had made the playoffs for an incredible 28 straight years until 1998. Since that time, other than a quick first round exit in 2002, the Blackhawks have been mired in obscurity. Sadly, it took the death of long time owner Bill Wirtz in 2007 to change around the fortunes of the team. Rocky Wirtz, son of Bill, took over the team and immediately began changing much of how things were ran. The Blackhawks were put back on a local TV station, they changed up the front office and made great draft picks along with some splashes via free agency and trades.

It's worked out well for the team as they've built a very solid team, which is still very young and could have quite an amazing run in front of them. At this point, anything the Blackhawks accomplish this year is just icing on the cake, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt their feelings to have a chance at their first Stanley Cup since 1961, the longest current drought in the NHL. If they are to get that opportunity, it will likely be the offense that has to continue to carry them. Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin hasn't been exactly stellar so far in the playoffs, with a 2.76 GAA and a .896 save percentage. The scoring has come from everywhere though, as 4 Chicago players have double digit points so far, and 4 more have chimed in with 9 in the playoffs. Martin Havlat leads the way at 13 points, and Patrick Kane is right behind him with 12, including a team leading 8 goals.

These teams are certainly familiar with one another, as they are both members of the Central Division. Chicago won both games of a home and home series to finish the season, but dropped the other 4 matchups against Detroit on the season. The first 2 of those games were decided in a shootout however. The Red Wings 2 regulation wins were also a part of a home and home, the 2nd of which was the New Year's Day Winter Classic played at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The best bet for Chicago is going to be to try and win in shootouts, scoring as much as possible against Detroit. I don't think their defense or goaltending is built to try and shut down the Red Wings attack and trying to do so might prove futile. Detroit has the ability to crack down a little more defensively when they need to, but that will be quite the challenge as well considering what Chicago has proven themselves capable of. At any rate, suffice it to say I expect some high scoring games throughout this series.

In the end, one of the major keys could be penalties, as Chicago can not afford to allow Detroit's Power Play unit to go to work, they've been amongst the top in the league all year long and have too many weapons to hope to stop if the Blackhawks continuously find themselves in the box. I'm a big fan of how Chicago has gone about rebuilding their franchise and I think they will be the team to deal with over the next few years, but I'm afraid this is the end of the line this season. Detroit will head to yet another Stanley Cup Final in my opinion.

Detroit in 6 Games

Eastern Conference Finals:
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes

I suppose I have to talk about this series too, though it pains me to do so. I think it's been made abundantly clear by now that I do not like either of these teams at all. I guess that makes it easier to talk about this series objectively however since I have no real bias from one to the other, as I hate them both. Pittsburgh looks to make a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals after last year's quick dismissal by Detroit, while Carolina, back in the playoffs for the first time since winning the Cup in 2006, looks to keep it's amazing string of come from behind victories going.

The Penguins head in to the conference finals after taking out the Washington Capitals in a 7 game battle which saw 5 of the games decided by a single goal, including 3 overtime games. In game 7 however, the team from Pittsburgh would not be denied as they stomped the Caps, 7-2. Sidney Crosby earned at least some of his reputation in the series as he put up 8 goals and 5 assists through the 7 games. Crosby has 21 points to lead all players in the postseason thus far, and Evgeni Malkin is right behind him with 19. The two have also combined for 17 points on the powerplay so far in the playoffs, with a combined 9 goals. Marc-Andre Fleury has been solid, but not spectacular so far with a 2.72 GAA and a .901 save percentage. The Pens will need him to step up his game against Carolina in order to move on.

Carolina must have went to magician's school sometime in the last year as they have managed to pull one rabbit out of a hat right after another. They also seem to have a supply of horseshoes stuck somewhere, but I'll stop short of actually saying where I think they might be stashing them. For the second straight series, Carolina managed to win a 7th game on the road to knock off a higher seed, ousting Boston with just over a minute left to go in overtime. This series was much unlike the Pittsburgh/Washington one in the fact that both teams essentially traded easy victories for the most part, excluding Game 7 of course, as well as Game 3, which Carolina also won in OT. Just days after sucker punching Boston Defensemen Aaron Ward in the eye, Scott Walker became the hero for the Hurricanes as he scored the game winner in Game 7. As Devin mentioned to me, I think it would have been fitting if Ward decked Walker in the post series handshake line for good measure.

The key to Carolina's success lies with goalie Cam Ward. A former Conn Smythe winner, he has a tendency to show up big in big games. Thus far in the playoffs, he has allowed 2.22 goals per game and has a save percentage of .927. Carolina does not have the firepower that the other 3 remaining playoff teams can muster and instead relies on Ward to keep the game close while they manage to score goals at clutch times. Eric Staal and Jussi Jokinen have provided the majority of the Hurricanes scoring with 13 and 10 points respectively. Staal has scored 9 goals thus far, while Jokinen has added 6. The Canes are only averaging 2.37 goals a game, and they figure to need more than that to keep up with Pittsburgh.

The obvious question that presents itself when looking at this series is who is going to stop Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The answer for Carolina is that Cam Ward is the only one with any chance, and that's probably too much to put on him. The Hurricanes lack any real shut down defenders who will have the ability to deal with those two, and they also don't have the offense to keep up with them. Pittsburgh has been quite successful on the power play so far in the playoffs as well, largely due to those same two guys, however Carolina has a fantastic penalty kill and tends to stay out of the box for the most part to begin with.

Conversely, Carolina has scored only 5 times on the power play so far in the playoffs and that won't get them too far. At the end of the day, Carolina's luck has to run out at some point and I think this is the time. Pittsburgh just has far more skill on the ice than Carolina at any given point in time and the Hurricanes best player is going to get bombarded with pucks flying at him. The Penguins have a tendency for let downs here and there, and Carolina has proved themselves to be gritty and determined... nice compliments to luck, so the series will stay competitive, but ultimately the skill prevails.

Pittsburgh in 7 games.

As mentioned previously here, both Devin and myself will be making our predictions round by round for both the NHL and NBA playoffs. We encourage you to join in, so either email one of us your picks, or comment on one of our posts with your picks before the 1st round gets started. Devin will have his picks posted tomorrow, but the series begin on Wednesday, so make sure you get your picks to us before then. Scoring is pretty simple, you get 5 points for picking the correct series winner and a bonus 5 points if you get the number of games correct as well. Results will be posted as we progress through each round. So without any further ado, here are my first round picks.

Eastern Conference:
1. Boston vs. 8. Montreal

These two teams are very familiar with one another and history suggests this matchup will be closer than it likely ought to be. The main difference for me is that Tim Thomas has had a Vezina like campaign this season for Boston while Carey Price has been shaky at best. Boston is also a much more physical team which usually wins out come playoff time. Montreal has been a very up and down team all year long and this series depends entirely on which Canadiens unit shows up. I think they'll play well enough to present a challenge, but ultimately not well enough to advance. I'll take the Bruins in 6, but they should at least be tested in the 1st round.

Bruins in 6 games

2. Washington vs. 7. NY Rangers

I expect this series to go the distance as this is a pure offense vs. defense battle. The Caps were near the leaders in scoring this season, while the Rangers are a very defensive minded team. The goalie matchup, which is always a big deal in the postseason is leaning in the favor of the Rangers with Henrik Lundqvist. Jose Theodore remains a bit of a question mark for the Capitals, but luckily this Ovechkin guy is pretty good. Playoff experience is also very heavily in New York's favor, but ultimately their inability to score is going to hurt them. Washington takes this one in 7 games and I expect at least one horribly stupid antic from Sean Avery and at least one incredible game from Ovechkin.

Caps in 7 games

3. New Jersey vs. 6. Carolina
This series seems to have the most likelihood for an upset in the East, as Carolina has been the hottest team in the league down the stretch. The Hurricanes have a fair amount of fire power offensively and the return of Erik Cole at the trade deadline has really given them a spark. Add to that Cam Ward's very high level of play as of late, Vezina like in fact, and the Canes are a tough task for the Devils in the first round. I'm picking against them for two reasons though really... 1. I can't stand picking against Martin Brodeur in a close matchup, he's just a machine, and with the bolstered offense in NJ this season, lead by Zach Parise, Brodeur could make the difference. 2. I think we all know at this point I don't much care for the Hurricanes and more particularly their fans. If they lose in the first round, the bandwagon empties in a hurry and I don't have to hear about them every where I turn for a long while. Devils in 6, at least I hope.

Devils in 6 games

4. Pittsburgh vs. 5. Philadelphia
Well, this was going to be my upset pick (though not much of one) in the East, until Philly couldn't handle their business yesterday and lost the home ice advantage in this series. This should be a high scoring series if nothing else, as both teams are definitely offensively based. Philly is terrific on the power play, but not so much the rest of the time, so if Pittsburgh can stay out of the penalty box, it'll go a long way for their cause. Marty Biron is a good goalie in this league, but he seems to have trouble playing at a high level for more than a few games at a time, and that's a problem this time of year. At the end of the day, Pittsburgh has more firepower with Crosby, Malkin, and company, and while this may not be the same team that made the Cup Finals last year, they're going to get at least one step closer than Philly this year. Penguins win this one in 6 games.

Penguins in 6 games

Western Conference:
1. San Jose vs. 8. Anaheim

While these two teams don't have the traditions of Boston and Montreal, the 1/8 matchup in the West is equally intriguing. Most probably haven't noticed, but these two California teams have been amongst the best in the West for several years now. Only one of them has translated that success in the postseason however. The Sharks come in as President's Trophy winners with the best record in the league, but they have struggled in the playoffs the past few years. The Ducks on the other hand, come in much like Carolina in the East, as one of the hottest teams in the league as of late. Anaheim has the core group of veterans from their Cup winning team still in tact and will be a handful for San Jose. I think the outcome of this series lies directly on the shoulders of Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and I'll take the Sharks in 7... but I won't be the least bit surprised to see Anaheim pull off the upset.

Sharks in 7

2. Detroit vs. 7. Columbus
Detroit stumbled into the playoffs, not doing well at all down the stretch. That doesn't much matter though, they've got loads of playoff experience on their roster and they're the defending Cup winners. Columbus on the other hand is making their postseason debut, and even their best players don't really have the playoff experience to rely on either. Rookie goaltender Steve Mason has been impressive to say the least this year, but this is a completely different environment now and the Red Wings fire power might have him sweating bullets. The Red Wings have question marks in net with Chris Osgood and Ty Conklin as neither have been overly consistent this year, but both are playoff tested and proven, and either will be good enough to get by the Blue Jackets. Detroit takes this series in 5 games at most.

Red Wings in 5

3. Vancouver vs. 6. St. Louis
This series is a difficult one to pick for several reasons. First, I'll admit to not seeing hardly anything from either of these teams throughout the year. Second, they both come in absolutely on fire through the late part of the season. Neither of these teams has any playoff experience to speak of really, with Vancouver making the lone playoff appearance between the two since the lockout season. St. Louis has risen up from being one of the worst teams in the league to in the middle of the playoffs now and they do so despite having an injury riddled season. Vancouver's Roberto Luongo is one of the best goaltenders in the league and the logic here should be to go with him as the deciding factor. For some reason though, my instincts tell me to take the Blues in this series, so that's what I'm doing... St. Louis in 6 games.

Blues in 6

4. Chicago vs. 5. Calgary
Calgary kind of fell apart down the stretch and handed the division over to Vancouver, though to be fare, injuries had something to do with that. The Flames are banged up, especially amongst their defensemen. Trade deadline pickup Ollie Jokinen will finally get to see some playoff action and if he can rekindle (yes, that's a bad Flames pun right there!) the spark he brought initially, it'll go a long way towards Calgary advancing. The Blackhawks on the other hand are one of the youngest teams in the league and have little playoff experience. It'll be interesting to see how Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews handle the increased spotlight of the playoffs. I see Kiprusoff outplaying Khabibulin in this series and it ultimately making the difference. The Blackhawks are going to have plenty of future opportunities with their youth, but this isn't their year. Honestly, my main reason for picking the Flames is because I haven't picked a single Canadian team to advance so far, and that simply wouldn't be good business for the NHL. Calgary moves on in 7 games.

Flames in 7 games

So the first half of the Sweet 16 has concluded, and while the winners may not necessarily be so surprising, the methods in which they won could be. The Big East continued to show it's dominance and Memphis became the "Paper Tigers" many thought they might be. This weekend will get us down to the illustrious Final Four, so let's take a look at the matchups for Saturday's Elite 8 games.

(1) UConn vs. (3) Missouri: CBS - 4:40pm
Connecticut lead Purdue wire to wire, and while the Boilermakers kept it close for awhile, UConn pulled away in the second half. The Huskies took the game 72-60, in large part thanks to their 7'3" star Hasheem Thabeet. Thabeet had been mostly quiet through the first two games, but he was clearly the difference on Thursday night. His 15 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 block shots were great, but it was his pure physical presence in the pain that keyed Jim Calhoun's team. Connecticut was able to force Purdue to be a jump shooting team, which didn't fare well for them on this night, connecting on less than 30% of their jumpers. Both the rebounding (48-33) and the foul margin (12-26) were heavily in Connecticut's favor as well, as the Huskies moved on to the West Regional Final.

Missouri is known for their "Fastest 40 Minutes" in basketball and it was fully on display in Glendale on Thursday night. The game started out as a back and forth battle as Memphis kept paced offensively, while neither team's defense looked too great. However, Mizzou started to stretch the lead heading towards the half and a 3/4 court shot Marcus Denmon at the buzzer might have been the nail in the Memphis coffin. Missouri's offense made the vaunted Memphis defense look silly as they continually got the basket for what seemed like layup after layup, pushing the lead to as many as 24 in the second half. Memphis point guard Tyreke Evans had a fantastic game, scoring 33 and helping to close the gap to just 6 points with a little over 2 minutes left, but Mizzou was able to close out the game at the foul line and get the win, 102-91. All 5 Tigers from Missouri scored in double figures and T.J. Tiller lead them with 23.

Many peopled clamored to see UConn/Memphis in the final for this regional, but as I've mentioned before, Memphis' lack of competition in conference play was destined to bite them come tourney time, and that showed up last night. The Missouri Tigers fast paced play and ability to get the basket (and the free throw line as a result) are a tough matchup for anybody. UConn's main weakness this year has been Thabeet getting into foul trouble, and if Missouri keeps pressuring the lane, that might be the result on Saturday. It's going to be difficult for Thabeet to aggressively deny Missouri inside while keeping himself on the court at the same time. Lucky for UConn though, they have some pretty good talent surrounding him. A.J. Price and Jeff Adrien helped them get this far, and they'll need to step it up for the Huskies to make the Final Four. Adrien in particular had a rough night against Purdue, so look for him to bounce back on Saturday. I picked the Huskies to come out of this region in most of my brackets, and I'm not going to change my mind now.

(1) Pittsburgh vs. (3) Villanova: CBS - 7:05pm
Pitt hasn't made it look easy any step of the way so far, and Thursday night's matchup with Xavier was no exception. Pittsburgh's largest lead in a very back and forth game was also the final margin, 60-55 in their favor. It was a gritty game where neither team shot well, but the Panthers were able to rely on their star point guard, Levance Fields down the stretch, who scored two buckets in the final minute to help propel Pitt to the Elite 8. A place they haven't been for the past 35 years. Sam Young chipped in 19 points and DeJuan Blair was a beast as usual, scoring 10, but grabbing 17 rebounds. Jamie Dixon's squad has looked less than impressive so far, but they are also still to play the type of basketball they are capable of.

Villanova flat out embarrassed Duke en route to a 77-54 win in Boston. Their defense keyed them through the first half as Duke remained close, but had a very difficult time getting into the flow of their offense. The 2nd half was all in the favor of the Wildcats as they continued to force poor attempts by the Blue Devils while getting relatively easy baskets of their own. Duke went a paltry 16-60 from the field for the game, including 5-27 beyond the arc. Nova also managed to out rebound the Blue Devils by a 46-32 margin and kept Duke stars Gerald Henderson (1/14) and John Scheyer (3/18) completely in check. For the Wildcats, Scottie Reynolds had 16 points while Dante Cunningham added 14 along with 11 rebounds. The game was marred by a combined 47 fouls, but it was Jay Wright's squad that seemed to be able to stay in rhythm, advancing on to the East Regional Final.

This game is a rematch from late January when Villanova beat Pitt by 10 at home. The Big East rivals should provide a great contest to see who moves on to the Final 4. That first matchup saw Nova come from behind in the 2nd half and pull ahead when Pitt went ice cold down the stretch. DeJuan Blair was rendered mostly ineffective in that matchup due to foul trouble throughout. Junior guard Reggie Redding had his best game as a Wildcat, scoring a career high 18 points, including 10/10 from the foul line. As I mentioned before, Pitt is yet to play the type of basketball it's capable of in this tournament, and they didn't show it in the first matchup in Philly either. If they play to their potential, their size and strength could be too much for a Villanova team built on finesse to handle. That's a big "if" of course. The Wildcats come into this game looking extremely impressive so far through 3 rounds, and this is a team known for upsets. It ultimately boils down to can Nova stay hot or can Pittsburgh finally play to their capabilities. I picked Pittsburgh in my bracket and I can't bail on them now. Jamie Dixon finds a way to get his team to play their best, and the Panthers win a close one.

The first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament are in the books and 16 teams are left standing. In a rather unusual occurrence, almost all of the top seeds have made it through. #12 Arizona snuck in along with #5 Purdue, but the remaining teams are all the top seeds from their respective brackets. Some have complained that the lack of "Cinderella" teams has made for a disappointing tournament, while others seem happy that the best teams are still playing basketball at this point. Whichever side of the fence you happen to be on, it's hard to disagree with the fact that we should be seeing some good quality matchups with these next two rounds. Let's break down Thursday's matchups now and we'll take a look at the Friday games later in the week.

Thursday's West Region (Glendale) Games:
(1) Connecticut vs. (5) Purdue, 7:07pm
(2) Memphis vs. (3) Missouri, 9:37pm

Thursday's East Region (Boston) Games:
(1) Pittsburgh vs. (4) Xavier, 7:27pm
(2) Duke vs. (3) Villanova, 9:57pm

Friday's Midwest Region (Indianapolis) Games:
(1) Louisville vs. (12) Arizona, 7:07pm
(2) Michigan St. vs. (3) Kansas, 9:37pm

Friday's South Region (Memphis) Games:
(2) Oklahoma vs. (3) Syracuse, 7:27pm
(1) UNC vs. (4) Gonzaga, 9:57pm

(1) Connecticut vs. (5) Purdue:
It was heavily debated going into selection Sunday as to whether Memphis or UConn deserved the 4th #1 seed, but I think Connecticut has managed to convince everybody they were deserving at this point. They have certainly been the most impressive team of the tournament thus far, winning their 2 games by an average of 41 points. Senior guard A.J. Price has caught fire in the tournament and has scored 47 points in the 2 games so far. Hasheem Thabeet had an extremely quiet outing against Texas A&M in the 2nd round, but his production wasn't needed, so it wasn't a detriment to the Huskies in the least. Don't expect him to stay quiet however.

Purdue's games have been just a bit closer in the tournament so far. They first knocked off Northern Iowa, 61-56, in a game where they had a comfortable lead, but let the Panthers storm back into it late. The Boilermakers shot poorly from 3 pt. land in that game and couldn't seem to ever put the nail in their opponent. They faced 4 seed Washington in the 2nd round and managed to hold off the Huskies, 76-74. Again, Washington surged in the 2nd half to make the game a close one. Purdue's inability to close out leads is not likely going to benefit them too much against UConn. Sophomore forward JaJuan Johnson has been their best player so far, but look for Thabeet to completely neutralize him in this matchup. I think UConn takes this one fairly easily, in the 8-12 point range.

(2) Memphis vs. (3) Missouri:
Memphis has now won 27 games in a row, but still, they weren't overly convincing against Cal State Northridge in the 1st round. It took a career game from a bench player to get the job done and get the Tigers the 81-70 win. However, the 2nd round was a different story as they took care of Maryland with relative ease, 89-70. The Tigers have been shooting the lights out in there 2 games so far, well above 50%. Of particular interest is their 3 point shooting as well, having made almost 47% of their 47 attempts through the first two rounds. The question is, can they keep it up against more talented opposition?

Missouri let Cornell hang around for awhile in the opening round before putting the hammer down and cruising to the 78-59 win. The 2nd round offered a little more of a challenge however, as they beat Marquette in a game that came down to the final seconds. Mizzou lead 81-79 with seconds to go, when Marquette's Lazar Hayward stepped on the baseline while trying to inbound the ball for what would have been the last possession of the game. The Tigers got the ball back and 2 free throws later, had sewn up a trip to the Sweet 16. Missouri is surely going to be the stiffest test that Memphis has faced in quite some time, but in this battle of Tigers, Memphis should come out on top. That is of course, assuming they play like they're capable of and like they played against Maryland. The Memphis/UConn battle that everybody has been hoping for seems like it's destined to happen to me.

(1) Pittsburgh vs. (4) Xavier:
The East Region has come out "chalk" so far. (For the record, I'm SO sick of hearing that phrase this year. I don't recall every hearing it in the past, but you can't go 5 minutes of coverage during this tournament without hearing it.) Pittsburgh hasn't looked particularly dominant in their first two matchups, but have advanced on just the same. Eastern Tennessee St. hung with the Panthers for far longer than anybody could have or should have expected, but Pitt walked away with the 72-62 victory. Turnovers were a big part of the problem in that game, as Pitt with 18, had twice as many as their opposition. DeJuan Blair was a beast as usual though, going for 27 pts and 16 boards. The second round offered up a very talented Oklahoma St. and Pitt was again put to the test. The Panthers got the 84-76 win, but it was a back and forth battle for much of the game. This time around it was Sam Young leading the way for Pittsburgh, dropping 32 points on the Cowboys.

Xavier has been a ranked team for much of the year, but isn't as well known as some of the other remaining teams because they come out of the Atlantic 10 Conference. As an alum of an A-10 school, I know first hand how dominant Xavier has been in that league for the last decade or so. The Musketeers had no real problem with Portland St. in the first round, taking that game 77-59. Xavier dominated the rebounding battle and shot the ball at 54%, with a very balanced scoring attack, on their way to the win. In the second round, Wisconsin put up a little more of a challenge, but Xavier was still up to the task, getting the 11 point victory, 60-49. With the Badgers slow paced offense, this game looked like more of a defensive battle, with neither team shooting above 40%. Most people probably aren't going to figure Xavier has much of a chance against Pitt, but I think they'll keep it fairly close. In the end, the Musketeers won't be able to contain Blair and Young for the whole game, and Pitt should advance on.

(2) Duke vs. (3) Villanova:
I have little doubt that this should be the best matchup of the 3rd round, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Duke fan. These teams are very similar in terms of style and talent and I think this has all the makings of a classic tournament game. Duke breezed by Binghamton to start off the tournament, taking out the Bearcats, 86-62. 6 players scored in double figures for the Blue Devils and they shot 49% from the field. Duke also made a living at the free throw line, going 21/25 for the game. Texas was a little tougher task for Duke in the 2nd round, as the Blue Devils lead almost the entire game, but it was quite close throughout. The Blue Devils made their foul shots down the stretch and took home the 74-69 win. Gerald Henderson lead the charge, scoring 24, while the team shot 50% from behind the arc.

Villanova had some serious difficulties against American University in their first game, trailing throughout the 2nd half until there were under 8 minutes remaining. The Wildcats never looked back once they got ahead though and went on to the 80-67 victory. Dwayne Anderson and Daunte Cunningham each scored 25 to help propel Villanova past the Eagles. The foul line was also good to 'Nova, as they outscored their opponent, 26-3 from the stripe. When the second round rolled around however, UCLA never really had a chance against Jay Wright's team. The Wildcats took the lead about 5 minutes into the game and never came close to letting it slip, beating the Bruins, 89-69. 6 players got into double figures and Cunningham again lead the way with 18.

Duke and Villanova are both athletic teams that lack a real presence in terms of a big man. The Blue Devil's Kyle Singler and the Wildcats' Cunningham should effectively neutralize each other as they are very similar players who get the job done in a variety of ways. It'll likely come down to whose surrounding cast fairs better and whether or not one team has a poor shooting night. My heart says Duke and my head says Nova, but I like Gerald Henderson to be the difference maker in this one and give Duke the slight advantage.

The brackets have only been out for an hour and a half now, but I've had a chance to look them over pretty well and have some quick thoughts to share. Make sure you check back in the coming days as both Devin and I present our full selections for the entire tournament.

Let's start with the #1 seeds. Looking back quickly at my last AP Top Ten article, my picks for top seeds proved prophetic as Louisville, Pitt, UNC, and UConn grabbed the top spots. This proves the power of the Big East this season as it's the first time that I can remember 3 teams from the same conference have managed to all grab #1 seeds. Additionally, I pegged Memphis, Michigan St., and Oklahoma as 2 seeds, only missing out on Duke, whose strong performance in winning the ACC tournament grabbed them the 2 slot in the East regional. There really isn't much in the way of surprises in terms of the top seeds, but this biggest debate seemed to come in whether Memphis or UConn would get the last 1 seed. Memphis playing in Conference USA obviously bit them here, dropping them to the 2 spot in the West, but putting them in the same bracket as UConn tells me that the selection committee couldn't make up it's mind and decided to let them play it out.

The most intriguing first round matchups in my opinion include Oklahoma St. playing Tennessee, Texas vs. Minnesota, Butler vs. LSU, and Michigan taking on Clemson. I would consider all these games as toss ups and should make for some entertaining basketball early on. As far as upsets go, I see quite a few possibilities early on, but I think most of the top seeds will progress deep into the tournament. Amongst my first round notable upsets are Arizona over Utah and Western Kentucky over Illinois in the dreaded 12/5 matchup. At least one if not two upsets come from the 12/5 games every year, and I don't see that changing now. I also picked 3 out of 4 of the 11 seeds to move on in the first round, with Utah St. defeating Marquette, Temple over Arizona St., and Virginia Commonwealth knocking off UCLA.

I'll save the later round stuff for another time, but suffice it to say I'm finding it hard to pick against the 1 and 2 seeds for the most part. Once again, be sure to check back and see how Devin and I break down the whole tournament in the coming days. It's March Madness and it's my favorite sporting event of the year, so I'll be bringing you loads of coverage throughout!

We've reached the end of the regular season and it appears things have come full circle as UNC has regained the top spot. Smaller conference tournaments are already in full swing and the big boys get under way on Wednesday. More importantly, Selection Sunday is less than a week away now. The two conferences that got all the attention all year long have proven why as 7 of the Top 10 teams come from either the ACC or Big East. Let's take one last look at the AP Top Ten for this season.

1. North Carolina (27-3)

UNC finished up only 3 points ahead of Pitt in the polls, but they're back at #1 where they spent a good portion of the early part of the year. The Tar Heels finished strong with wins over Virginia Tech and #9 Duke last week, and going 13-1 since mid-January, losing only to Maryland in overtime. Carolina is essentially assured a #1 seed in the tournament regardless of how they do in the ACC tourney this week. The only question mark this team faces right now is the health of Ty Lawson. The star junior guard has an injured toe and some have suggested he might sit out part or all of the ACC tournament in order to be healthy for the following week.

2. Pittsburgh (28-3)

The Panthers final week of the year saw them beat both Marquette and UConn with relative ease at home. The Panthers swept the Huskies this season in impressive fashion and wind up 2nd in the Big East behind #5 Louisville. Pitt seems to be firing on all cylinders at this point, and while they might get tripped up in the Big East tourney, it's doubtful that it would cost them a #1 seed. The Panthers are going to be a force in the NCAA tourney and are my early favorites to win, pending how the brackets turn out next Sunday.

3. Connecticut (27-3)

If it weren't for Pitt, Connecticut would have spend the entire 2nd half of the season at #1. The Huskies have been viewed by many as the best team in the country, but a 2nd loss to the Panthers puts that in serious doubt. Finishing 3rd in the Big East assures them 2 extra days of rest while the rest of the conference does battle, and barring a very poor performance, many expect UConn to grab one of the #1 seeds as well. Connecticut has blown out almost all their competition this season, with the obvious exception of their losses, so expect them to go deep in the NCAA tourney. I'd be quite surprised if they didn't make it to the Elite 8 at the very least.

4. Memphis (28-3)

Every week I write virtually the same thing about the Tigers. They continue to pound away on Conference USA like the biggest bully on the playground and all the while, they lose credit with experts around the country because of it. They haven't lost since before Christmas, and barring a miracle, they aren't going to lose in their conference tournament either. Memphis will likely pull down a 2 seed, again because of their lack of competition, but the question on everybody's mind is how long will they last in the Big Dance? I don't think this team has the talent of the last few years, and I expect them to make a fairly early exit, likely on the 2nd weekend.

5. Louisville (25-5)

The Big East regular season champion Cardinals finished out their season with wins over Seton Hall and West Virginia. If Rick Pitino's squad puts in a solid showing in the conference tourney, they could very well be the 3rd #1 seed out of the Big East next Sunday night. The Cards have taken two poundings at the hands of UConn and Notre Dame, but remained otherwise flawless in 2009. This team kind of snuck up on everybody and I think many are still unsure just what they're capable of. I don't like to bet against Pitino in March however, and won't be surprised to see them last deep into the NCAA tourney.

6. Oklahoma (27-4)

The Sooners hit another bump late in the year, dropping a surprise game at #14 Missouri last Wednesday, before knocking of in state rival OSU to finish out the season. This loss likely cost them a 1 seed, but they should still fair well at the #2 spot they are likely to get. I'd be rather surprised if Oklahoma doesn't at least make the finals of the Big 12 tournament, about as surprised as I would be if Blake Griffin doesn't win the Naismith Award this year. The Sooners will go just as far as Griffin can carry them in the NCAA tourney, and I'd be willing to bet that it's quite aways. I still think that OU has what it takes to make it to Detroit and the Final Four.

7. Michigan St. (25-5)

Sparty just keeps on chugging along, finishing up with wins against Indiana and Purdue last week. Of their 5 losses, 3 of them came against quality teams, but UNC and Maryland both destroyed them, which makes you question how they will fair outside of the Big 10. Michigan St. is likely on point for a 2 seed, barring a complete collapse in the conference tourney this week. Tom Izzo has his work cut out for him though in my opinion, as I see MSU having trouble getting past the Sweet 16.

8. Wake Forest (24-5)

Wake Forest polished off their regular season with wins against Maryland and Clemson en route to a 2nd place finish in the ACC. The ACC Tournament should be crazy this week as always and the Demon Deacons will probably be playing for a 2 or 3 seed depending on their performance. The athleticism of this team is going to be very hard for teams outside of the ACC to deal with, and regardless of their seed, I like them to make at least the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.

9. Duke (25-6)

The Blue Devils won a tight game against Florida St. on Wednesday but couldn't overcome #1 UNC in Chapel Hill on Sunday afternoon, winding up 3rd in the ACC. On the plus side for Duke, their top 3 players have established themselves late in the year and the insertion of freshmen Elliot Williams into the starting lineup has paid off for Coach K's squad. Adversely however, their depth has been a question down the stretch with their bench players not performing at the level their capable of. Barring a lousy performance in the ACC Tournament, Duke looks poised for a 3 seed and should finally make it past the Sweet 16 once again in the NCAA Tourney. I expect them to make it to the Elite 8 before a patented cold shooting nice bounces them back to Durham.

10. Villanova (25-6)

The Wildcats trampled Providence on Wednesday to finish the regular season at 4th in the Big East. Georgetown is really the only disappointing loss on their schedule this season, but for the most part Villanova has managed to stay under the radar in their loaded conference. Dynamic guard play from Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher has helped propel Nova this far, but they lack a true big man, which usually proves important in the NCAA tournament. I expect Villanova to last about as long as they don't have to face a Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet, or DeJuan Blair.

Here we are in the final week of the regular season and the top teams continue to shuffle around and nobody wants to keep the #1 ranking it seems. Lots of shifting again in the past 2 weeks since our last look, so let's dive right in.

1. Connecticut (27-2)

Two weeks ago I wrote that UConn would likely fade away from the top spot after a loss to Pittsburgh. Well, I was right about that, but they quickly regained the spot today. Since the lost to Pittsburgh, the Huskies have taken down South Florida, Marquette, and Notre Dame. Oh, and Jim Calhoun had a little incident you might have heard about as well. Connecticut can relax this week as they don't play again until Saturday, but that game is a big one as they have their shot at redemption on the road at Pittsburgh. Regardless of the outcome of that game, the Huskies only need a solid showing in the Big East Tournament to get a #1 seed in the Big Dance.

2. North Carolina (25-3)

UNC has continued to climb back towards the top of the rankings where they were for much of the early part of the season, falling just short of the top spot. Since we last looked, the Tar Heels have knocked off neighboring NC State, as well as ACC bottom dweller Georgia Tech. They dropped a tough battle in College Park in between however, falling to Maryland in overtime thanks in large part to a triple double from Greivis Vasquez. UNC has 2 games left in their regular season, first against a desperate Virginia Tech team who needs one more big win to ensure themselves a spot in the tourney on Wednesday, followed up by a season ending show down at home against #7 Duke on Sunday. Much like the Huskies, a solid performance in the ACC will all but lock up a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney.

3. Pittsburgh (26-3)

Pitt managed to claim the top spot last week after their strong performance at UConn, but it was fleeting as they dropped a game at Providence, where they were outplayed the entire way. Wins over DePaul and Seton Hall didn't do much to help the Panthers as those teams sit near the bottom of the Big East. Jamie Dixon's squad finishes up with 2 tough games though, hosting Marquette on Wednesday and then UConn on Saturday. If the team can at least split those games and make it to the semi-finals of the Big East Tourney, they will likely grab a #1 seed on selection Sunday as well. I personally still think this team will be a beast in the NCAA tournament due to the presence of big man DeJuan Blair.

4. Oklahoma (26-3)

Just as they looked poised to finally take the #1 ranking when Pitt beat UConn, the Sooners had a decided setback. Early in the first half of a big matchup with Texas, Player of the Year favorite, Blake Griffin took a shot to the head and ended up leaving the game with a concussion. Oklahoma battled hard, but couldn't overcome their loss. Further proving how much Griffin means to them, Oklahoma then went on to lose it's next game at home against Kansas as well. Blake is back now though and OU is right back to it's winning ways, winning easily against Texas Tech on Saturday. Oklahoma wraps up at #15 Missouri on Wednesday and hosts Oklahoma St. on Saturday. Barring something unexpected, Oklahoma figures to grab the last of the 4 top seeds.

5. Memphis (26-3)

Memphis just keeps on winning, but can't seem to move up the rankings at all. The Tigers have now won 20 straight games this season and a ridiculous 56 consecutive conference games. But there in lies the problem. Memphis just doesn't get the respect that Big East or ACC schools get due to their vastly inferior conference. The last legit competition they faced (and you might say the only legit competition they've faced all year) was Syracuse, Georgetown, and Xavier. Those 3 teams happen to represent all 3 losses for the Tigers. As I've mentioned before, John Calipari has a way of having his team ready come tourney time despite this, but I won't be all that surprised to see the Tigers make an early exit this time around.

6. Lousiville (23-5)

The Cardinals are perhaps the forgotten Big East team at this point, but they certainly should not be overlooked. Since our last look, they've reeled off 4 straight wins including beating Marquette yesterday. They finish up hosting Seton Hall on Wednesday and at West Virginia on Saturday. Both games should result in wins for Louisville and I would look out for them as a #2 seed in the NCAA tourney. Rick Pitino is a master come March, and with the 1-2 punch of Earl Clark and Terrence Williams, the Cards could make some noise.

7. Duke (24-5)

It took a while, but Duke finally managed to turn things around. After some lineup changes, Coach K seems to have hit upon a winning combination by starting freshman guard Eliott Williams. Williams has provided a big spark since being given the opportunity and it's translated to success for the Blue Devils. They've won their last 4 in a row including an outstanding performance in a rematch against Wake Forest, going for 101 in the 10 point victory. John Scheyer and Gerald Henderson both had career games with 30 and 35 respectively and momentum seems to be back on Duke's side. They close with two tough games, hosting #24 Florida State on Tuesday and then heading 8 miles down the road to Chapel Hill to face the #2 Tar Heels on Sunday. Duke is looking at a 2 or 3 seed for the tournament and seem poised to make their deepest run in the past several years.

8. Michigan St. (23-5)

The Spartans fell off a bit after getting blown out at #19 Purdue two weeks ago, but have rebounded with wins against Wisconsin, Iowa, and #23 Illinois since. Michigan St. heads to Indiana to face a pretty awful Hoosier squad on Tuesday before finishing up at home in a rematch against Purdue. That game should mean a lot to Tom Izzo's squad as they look for redemption and possibly a higher seed for March Madness. Kalin Lucas and Raymar Morgan have been solid for the team all year, but they'll need to be at their best come tournament time if the folks in East Lansing have hopes of making it very far.

9. Kansas (24-5)

The Jayhawks have quietly chugged along unnoticed for most of the year and now find themselves in the Top Ten in March. Kansas has lost only once in it's last 14 games, that being a narrow 2 point loss on the road at #15 Missouri. Along the way, they've knocked off #4 Oklahoma (without Blake Griffin it should be noted) but not much of anybody else. Still, Bill Self's squad can finish out on top of the Big 12 by winning their last 2 games, at Texas Tech on Wednesday, and home to Texas on Saturday. Junior guard Sherron Collins is extremely talented, scoring 18.5 points per game to go along with 4 assists, and sophomore center Cole Aldrich averages a double double with his 15.1 points and 10.8 boards per game. I'm not sure how well the Jayhawks will hold up against increased competition in the NCAA tournament, but they'll enter as one of the hotter teams in the country if they continue their winning ways.

10. Wake Forest (22-5)

After a bit of a cold spell, Wake Forest has seemingly found it's stride again, having won 4 of it's last 5. The lone loss coming at #7 Duke, when the Blue Devils put on perhaps their best performance of the season. Granted, the other 3 wins the Demon Deacons have had since we last looked at the Top Ten all came against the 3 weakest teams in the ACC, but it provides a confidence boost if nothing else. Wake faces Maryland on the road Tuesday before finishing up at home against #18 Clemson on Sunday. Looking at either a 3 or a 4 seed for the NCAA depending on their finish, Dino Gaudio's team can be a difficult matchup for some. They are one of the longest and most athletic teams in the country and few schools have a defensive answer to the trio of Jeff Teague, James Johnson, and Al-Farouq Aminu. Despite some setbacks, I still like Wake to make it perhaps as far as the Elite 8.