And then there were four. March Madness has been unusually devoid of upsets and spectacular moments as a whole, but the end result is essentially the same. Four of the best teams in the country will meet in Detroit this weekend to decide a national champion. Let's take a look at those teams and their paths taken thus far.

(1) Connecticut vs. (2) Michigan St. - CBS, Saturday - 6:07pm

Connecticut faced some scrutiny before the tournament even began as some questioned whether or not they were deserving of a #1 seed. That question has essentially been erased as the Huskies ran through the West bracket without too much of a challenge. Tennessee Chattanooga and Texas A&M were both blown out by UConn on the opening weekend and then Purdue and Missouri fell victim in Glendale, Arizona. The Missouri game was the toughest challenge for Connecticut, as the Tigers attempted to use their speed to their advantage. The Huskies were able to adapt however, as freshman guard Kemba Walker had the best game of his career, scoring 23 points in helping secure a Final Four birth with a 82-75 win. So far through 4 games, the Huskies have been shooting the ball very well, 51.5% for the tournament. If they can keep this up, they're going to be difficult to beat.

Michigan St. has continuously proven me wrong. I picked them to lose to Kansas in the Sweet 16 and they held them off in a tight game. I picked them to lose to Louisville and they basically embarrassed them in a 64-52 victory. The Spartans also beat Robert Morris and a talented USC squad to make their way to the Final 4. The game against the Cardinals was a back and forth struggle into the 2nd half, but Michigan St. dropped the hammer on Rick Pitino's team, walking away down the stretch. Big man Goran Suton has been the difference maker for the Spartans so far in the tournament and he lead the way again against Louisville, scoring 19 and adding 10 rebounds. Michigan St. may just be a team of destiny as they certainly have a lot of trends on their side. They've never lost a tournament as 2 seed, going 9-0 so far. This is the 30th anniversary of the National Championship team lead by Magic Johnson. Last but not least, they're now heading to Detroit for the Final 4, which is just 90 miles from East Lansing.

Tom Izzo has proven himself amongst the best coaches in the college game currently, as this is Michigan State's 5th trip to the Final Four in 11 seasons under his leadership. They haven't look exceptional so far in the tournament except for late against Louisville, but they've done enough to get by so far and they're going to have a decidedly home court advantage this weekend. The NCAA has a goal of getting 70,000 fans into Ford Field for the games, and this will be the first time the court has been set up at mid-field rather than in one of the corners of the stadium. Lucky for the NCAA that MSU made it this far and is so close to home, because they might not attain their goal otherwise. I'd expect a lot of Spartan Spirit to be in the house for at least Saturday's game. UConn will have to overcome that, but they look up to the task based on their tournament thus far. The Huskies have made the Final Four two other times and won the championship both times. They'll look to continue that trend this weekend.

One of the key matchups to watch in this one will be the big man as Goran Suton does battle with Hasheem Thabeet. Thabeet is perhaps the most dominating presence in the middle that the NCAA has to offer, but Suton will not challenge him there if he's smart. Suton has the ability to shoot the ball fairly well and will look to draw Thabeet away from the basket to open up the lane for his teammates. The problem is that UConn also has 6'7 Jeff Adrien to help out in that area. Another key matchup is at the point guard position. Kalin Lucas runs the offense for the Spartans and is perhaps the most consistent player they have. Conversely, freshmen Kemba Walker holds down that spot for the Huskies and he has only been in that position for a while since Jerome Dyson went down due to injury in mid-February. Connecticut has the better starting 5 in this matchup, but Michigan St. has the deeper bench. Coaching is pretty much a wash as Calhoun and Izzo are two of the best. It hasn't paid off for me so far, but I'm going to pick against Michigan St. yet again. UConn has been one of the two most impressive teams in this tournament so far in my opinion and I like them to advance to Monday's championship game.

(1) North Carolina vs. (3) Villanova - CBS, Saturday - 8:47pm

North Carolina's closest game thus far in the tourney has been a 12 point victory. The Tar Heels have been nothing short of dominant so far, beating Radford, LSU, Gonzaga, and Oklahoma by an average of 22.5 points per game. The Sooners were expected to provide a battle in their Elite 8 matchup, but Blake Griffin is the only person that offered some competition. He finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds, but only one other Sooner scored in double figures. Meanwhile, UNC got 19 from Ty Lawson and 18 from Danny Green, not even needing last year's player of the year, Tyler Hansbrough to do much of anything. Hansbrough took only 4 shots on the game, scoring just 8 points. Roy William's team shot 51% and never trailed in the game. North Carolina had a walk in the park through the South regional and look like a tough out for the remainder of the tournament.

Villanova was perhaps a bit underrated heading into the tournament because of the depth of talent in the Big East, but they've proven themselves amongst the elite teams in the nation this year. They had to squeak past Pitt at the last second to make the Final Four, but prior to that, they had no trouble with American, UCLA, or Duke, whom they embarrassed in the Sweet 16. The Wildcats jumped out to a quick lead against Pittsburgh, but endured a back and forth battle throughout the second half before eventually winning on Scottie Reynolds last second basket. 'Nova had trouble controlling Pitt's big men DeJuan Blair and Sam Young, who combined for 48 points, but countered with 4 players in double figures. The Wildcats also went 22/23 from the free throw line while Pittsburgh was 21/29, a difference that likely decided the game.

North Carolina is at it's best when they get out on the run and score transition baskets. Villanova however, matches up well with that style of play with athletic guards and forwards like Reynolds and Dante Cunningham. Judging by Villanova's difficulty against Pittsburgh's big guys, UNC might be better suited to try and run the offense through Tyler Hansbrough and work the inside. Whichever tactic Roy Williams decides upon, it's going to be difficult for Villanova to keep up with the Heels. Ty Lawson has been playing fantastic ball despite his injury thus far, and Wayne Ellington is capable of contributing at a high level as well. Add in the occasional game like Green had against Oklahoma and it becomes a matter of who do you focus your attention on. The Wildcats rely very heavily on their starting 5 and it's going to be hard for them to avoid wearing down over the course of 40 minutes.

The bottom line is that nobody has made winning look as easy as North Carolina so far in this tournament and I don't see any of the remaining teams being able to match up well with them. It's going to take an off game to slow down the Tar Heels at this point, but somebody always seems to step up for them. As much as it pains me to say so, I simply can't pick against them at this point. Be sure to check back sometime on Monday as I preview the National Championship game!

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.