For the first time in the history of the NCAA tournament, all four number one seeds have advanced to the Final Four.
An interesting tidbit for the haters of all poll-based ranking systems is the fact the four remaining teams occupied the top four slots in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls for the pre-season, the first three weeks of the season, week 10, the AP poll in week 18, and both polls again in week 19.
UNC and Memphis are two of only three teams to occupy the number one position in both polls, with Tennessee being the other. UCLA was the only other team ranked number one in either poll, residing there in week three in the ESPN/USA today poll.
Now to the games:
Memphis (37-1, South #1) vs. UCLA (35-3, West #1) 6:07 PM
The opening match-up Saturday night will pit the Tigers and the Bruins, who will face each other for the first time since UCLA defeated Memphis 50-45 in the Elite Eight in 2006. Rodney Carney may be gone, but the Bruins will face a stronger, more well-balanced team as they look to repeat that feat and get themselves back into the National Championship game. It is also interesting to note than Memphis and UCLA are the only two teams to have made the Sweet 16 each of the last three years.
Memphis is led by junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who is averaging 17.7 points/game, and freshman guard Derrick Rose, who is averaging 14.6 points/game and 4.7 assists/game. Joey Dorsey is a presence in the middle for the Tigers, averaging almost 10 rebounds/game.
Besides a last-minute heartbreaking loss to then-#2 team in the country Tennessee, Memphis has not lost all season, and that can be attributed to both their solid team chemistry of the players and the coaching of John Calipari.
The eight-year coach has built Memphis into a nationally relevant one, despite the fact that it spends the majority of its season beating up on the otherwise weak Conference USA. Memphis has victories this year against perennial Big East powerhouses UConn and Georgetown, as well as wins against Pac-10 powers Arizona and USC.
UCLA can attribute its much of its success to their center, freshman sensation Kevin Love. Love comes into the game averaging 17.6 points/game and 10.7 rebounds/game. Darren Collison also figures prominently for the Bruins, averaging 14.8 points/game.
UCLA's path to the Final Four has had some bumps along the road, many of which can be attributed to injuries. An early season injury for Collison and a string of other ailments, including the loss of forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute threatened to derail the UCLA train, but the Bruins overcame the adversity, stringing together 14 straight victories coming into this game.
Coach Ben Howland enters his fifth season UCLA, and for the third consecutive year, he's led the Bruins to the Final Four. UCLA has dominated play in the Pac-10 during this time. Howland is looking to finally break through and win the title that has thus far eluded him, and return to the tournament finale for the first time since 2006.
UCLA has accumulated an impressive resume, with victories against Xavier, Stanford (3x), USC (2x), Washington St. (2x), Arizona (2x), Arizona St. (2x), and Davidson.
The Result: Memphis 72, UCLA 66
Memphis will survive a close, physical game with UCLA. Despite the Big-East brand of defense that Ben Howland has so successfully transported out to the left coast, Derrick Rose steps up and has a monster game for the Tigers. Memphis gets revenge against UCLA for the 1973 loss to the then Bill Walton-led Bruins in the National Championship game.
North Carolina (36-2, East #1) vs. Kansas (35-3, Midwest #1) 8:47 PM
Much of the buzz of this game will be centered on UNC coach Roy Williams going up against Kansas, the team he coached for 15 years before heading to North Carolina. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 6-2, including a 2-0 lead in NCAA tournament games. Kansas last met UNC in the semi-finals of the preseason NIT in 2002, a game which was won by the Tar Heels 67-56.
North Carolina is led by NCAA Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. The junior forward is averaging 22.8 points/game and 10.3 points/game. Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, and Danny Green have each averaged more than 10 points/game for the Tar Heels.
UNC has been the AP #1 team in the country 13 out of 19 weeks this season, despite losing Lawson for a significant chunk of it. After mid-season hiccups against Maryland and Duke, North Carolina has rattled off 15 straight wins.
Coach Williams leads this impressive squad, which has dominated teams thus far in the tournament, with their closest game, a victory over Louisville in the Elite 8, having a 10 point margin of victory. Williams looks to lead the Tar Heels to their second National Championship in his fifth year as their coach, and it will be the first time that he will be facing his former team.
UNC dominated the ACC, and the NCAA in general this year, with victories against Duke, Louisville, Washington St., Clemson (2x), Virginia Tech (2x), Davidson, Kent State, and Kentucky, to name a few.
Kansas is led by Junior guard Brandon Rush, who is averaging 13.1 points/game. Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers, Darnell Jackson and Sherron Collins combine to score 45.8 points/game and grab 19 rebounds/game.
The Jayhawks were perfect at home, but all three of their losses that came on the road were also in-conference (Kansas State, Texas, Oklahoma State) towards the end of the regular season. Kansas recovered nicely, winning the Big 12 title game and ensuring them of a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, which they rode all the way to the Final Four.
Bill Self leads the Jayhawks into San Antonio this weekend. In his fourth season, Self finally broke through a personal barrier by finally reaching the Final Four this year. Before '08, Self had reached the Elite 8 with three different teams (Kansas, Illinois, Tulsa), the only coach to do so besides Louisville coach Rick Pitino.
Kansas racked up some impressive victories this year, due in part to their success in the always-tough Big 12. The Jayhawks hold victories over Davidson, Villanova, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Arizona.
The Pick: Kansas 68, North Carolina 64
Kansas wins in what must be considered an upset. After a scare against Davidson, Kansas carries Bill Self to a championship game, and completes a resurgence against the man who left them hanging. Tyler Hansbrough has a big game, but it's not enough for the Tar Heels as Kansas is able to limit the rest of Roy Williams' squad.
-- Tim Fiorvanti