NCAA Tournament: ...And then there were Four.

Sweet 16/Elite 8 Recap

East Region

#1 UNC vs #4 Washington State

The top seeded Tar Heels were able to beat Washington State at their own game, stifling defense. UNC held the Cougars to 31.6% shooting and were led by Tyler Hansbrough's 18 points. The game wasn't even as close as the 68-47 final as UNC controlled throughout.

#2 Tennessee vs #3 Louisville

The Cardinals, despite 20 turnovers, hammered the cold shooting Vols 79-60. Five Louisville players scored in double figures, led by super sub Earl Clark's 17 points and 12 rebounds. Tennessee never really got on track all tournament despite the two wins, and it showed against a more skilled opponent.

#1 UNC vs #3 Louisville

Tyler Hansbrough took over in the last few minutes with a couple clutch outside jumpers and led his Tar Heels to Final Four for the first time since 2005. The Cardinals, who ended their season 27-9, battled back from a 12 point halftime deficit to tie the game at 59 in the final minutes. In the end, too much Hansbrough and the Heels moved on with an 83-73 victory.

Midwest Region

#1 Kansas vs #12 Villanova

In what amounted to pretty much a dunkfest, the top seeded Jayhawks pounded the young, upstart Wildcats 72-57. Kansas was led by Brandon Rush's 16 points and held Villanova to 35.6% shooting. Star guard Scottie Reynolds never got on track, and the game was never in question as Kansas maintained a 19 point halftime lead.

#3 Wisconsin vs #10 Davidson

The Cinderella story continued as Davidson took over in the second half and hammered the Badgers 73-56. Tournament sensation Stephen Curry led the way for the Wildcats with 33 points, including 22 in the second half. The Big Ten champions biggest weakness showed up in the second half, the ability to consistently put the ball the in the basket.

#1 Kansas vs #10 Davidson

The dream is over for Davidson, as they fell to the veteran Jayhawks in a thriller, 59-57. Kansas was able to force Stephen Curry into a 9-25 shooting performance, and held on as Davidson missed a three-pointer at the buzzer. Congratulations to Bill Self, who is making his first Final Four appearance after Elite Eight losses with Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas.

South Region

#1 Memphis vs #5 Michigan State

Wow. The top seeded Tigers cruised to a 30 point halftime lead and destroyed the Spartans 92-74. Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts combined for 52 points to lead Memphis. Memphis controlled from the opening tip, harassing star Spartan guard Drew Neitzel into 2-8 shooting for only 6 points in his final game.

#2 Texas vs #3 Stanford

Texas used a 30-11 finish to bust open a very entertaining game and won 82-62. Stanford clawed back from a nine point halftime deficit and made it a one point game, but D.J. Augustin took over and led the Longhorns with 23 points.

#1 Memphis vs #2 Texas

The Tigers do it again, controlling the first half and cruising to a 85-67 victory. The Longhorns, down 11 at the half, scored the first six points of the second half to make it a game at 39-34, never quite got on track against Memphis' size on the perimeter. Memphis goes back to the Final Four for the first time since 1985.

West Region

#1 UCLA vs #12 Western Kentucky

A game that was a joke at halftime, credit the Hilltoppers for making the Bruins sweat a little, cutting a 21 point deficit to 3 before finally falling 88-78. Kevin Love led the way for the Bruins with 29 points and 14 rebounds. The Cinderella story is over for Western Kentucky.

#3 Xavier vs #7 West Virginia

In one of the best games of the tournament, the Musketeers outlasted the Mountaineers in OT 79-75. B.J. Raymond hit two crucial three pointers in OT as Xavier moved back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2004. Joe Alexander led West Virginia with 18 points, but missed a free throw with 14 seconds left in a tie game and fouled out in OT.

#1 UCLA vs #3 Xavier

UCLA controlled the tempo throughout, forcing Xavier into 36% shooting and beating the A-10 champs 76-57. The Bruins were again led by Kevin Love, who scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds. UCLA returns to the Final Four for the third consecutive year, will this be the year they finally breakthrough?

Final Four Preview

For the first time since seeding began in 1979, all four #1 seeds reached the Final Four. I had three in Kansas, UCLA and UNC, but I just didn't see Memphis getting to San Antonio. They proved me, and most of the country for that matter, wrong (well except my brother Pat, who texted me about 300 times yesterday with Memphis this and that, even trying to justify that Memphis could in fact shoot free throws. He picked Tennessee to win it, but I digress - sorry Dad, I know you did too...). Should be a Final Four for the ages, with lots of star power and big time coaches battling it out.

#1 UNC vs #1 Kansas

Roy Williams squares off against the school he coached from 1989 to 2003 in a dynamite match-up. In what could be a tempo that would make NASCAR jealous, both teams will look to transition opportunities and easy baskets early and often. The key match-up, for me, is at the point guard position. Ty Lawson must stay on the floor for North Carolina by avoiding both foul trouble and further injury. Kansas is very deep on the perimeter with Russell Robinson, Sharron Collins and Mario Chalmers, all who can interchange at the PG position. In the end, I'm not sure Kansas' front line will be able to handle the tenacity of Tyler Hansbrough, and I'll stay with my pick of North Carolina.

#1 Memphis vs #1 UCLA

In a battle of styles, Memphis will look to push and UCLA will look to force feed their star freshman Kevin Love. Memphis has done an outstanding job defending the perimeter, but really has yet to face a dynamic inside talent and test their front line lead by Joey Dorsey. UCLA, on the other hand, has shown a propensity to allow teams to hang around with long droughts scoring points. They can ill-afford to do that against the high-octane Tigers. The match-up to watch, for me, is Chris Douglas-Roberts against Russell Westbrook. Although Douglas-Roberts has a four inch height advantage, I'd be surprised if Howland didn't use Westbrook on him because of his athleticism. Westbrook has to keep CDR from penetrating and hitting mid-range jumpers. Slugfest, UCLA wins. High octane, Memphis wins. I haven't picked Memphis yet... and I'm not starting here. UCLA wins an ugly game, let's call it 64-59.