And it all comes down to this, with chalk everywhere in my Final 4 who do I slot in as the champion, a hint may lie somewhere months previous from today.
Final 4
Ohio St. vs. Georgetown
What an ideal matchup for Oden to showcase his skills. Posting up fellow 7+ center and draft prospect Roy Hibbert. What gets me here is why Georgetown ever struggled to begin with this season. They have 7 foot 2 stud in the middle, Jeff Green is a legit lottery pick, a solid point guard in John Wallace, and great energy off the bench from Patrick Ewing Jr. They're only loss in the past month was to the Cuse and that was right after they knocked off Pitt to clinch the Big East crown, so it was obviously a mental gap. But as much as I like Gtown I like the Buckeyes more. They have three losses this season, to who? How about #1 UNC at the Dean Dome without Oden, #1 Florida in Gainesville with Oden just coming back, and #2 Wisconsin in Madison. They lost to 3 top 8 teams on the road, when those teams were playing well and twice without Oden at full strength, and yet people are doubting this team and a bunch of people have Texas A&M who struggled down the stretch and lost twice to Texas Tech in the final 4 over them? I do not understand that "sexy" pick. To me the Buckeyes smoke through that brackout and they do much the same to a very very good Georgetown team here in the second half. I see Hibbert getting into foul trouble struggling to deal with the stronger Oden while Conley Cook and and Lewis take full advantage of the double teams while Hibbert is out of the game. Winner: Ohio St.
Kansas vs. Florida
We've seen this matchup already, well some of us have, not me, it was played on a saturday night late night while I was probably are blitzed at a bar. But I did read the box score and Kansas won by 2 and more impressively the win came in overtime. But that's not the only reason I'm taking them, just a proof that they certainly can play and beat the Gators. Here's what I like about the Jayhawks over the Gators, they played in a better conference hands down, with teams like Texas A&M and Texas being legitimate Final 4 contenders, name another SEC team with that potential, Kentucky? Vandy? Arkansas? no dice there. As down as the Big East and Big 10 appear to be at first glance, they don't even compare to the ineptitude that was the SEC this season. So why then the 3 game losing streak in mid February for the Gators, was it lackluster effort? I just don't think they'll have the same hunger and passion they had last season when they hammered through the field. In addition the Jayhawk team has only gained experience down throughout this season and come into the tourny riding an 11 game winning streak which includes knocking off the Longhorns twice. Horford and Noah may be tough to handle downlow but I'm going with the 3 man sophomore tandem of Wright, Chalmers and Rush to advance to the finals. Winner: Kansas
Championship Game: Kansas vs. Ohio St.
And it comes down to the hired guns of Ohio St. versus the under the radar #1 seed. Neither team relies on a single scorer and both have several players which score in double digits and several players whom they could feel comfortable throwing the ball to in the clutch. In the end I see Oden working like an avalanche in this tournament getting better and better and more unstoppable with each game until the championship when he drops 26 and 18. He's got 4 inches and 5 pounds on Kansas most reliable big body Darrell Arthur. So ya I'm sticking with my preseason pick. A hired gun championship and off the the Celtics in the lottery, solid job Greg.
Champion: Ohio St.
*Note my preseason final 4 was Wisconsin, Florida, OSU & UNC. I abandoned UNC and picked the hot team Gtown and couldn't pick both Wisconsin and Florida because they are in the same bracket.
Final 4
Ohio St. vs. Georgetown
What an ideal matchup for Oden to showcase his skills. Posting up fellow 7+ center and draft prospect Roy Hibbert. What gets me here is why Georgetown ever struggled to begin with this season. They have 7 foot 2 stud in the middle, Jeff Green is a legit lottery pick, a solid point guard in John Wallace, and great energy off the bench from Patrick Ewing Jr. They're only loss in the past month was to the Cuse and that was right after they knocked off Pitt to clinch the Big East crown, so it was obviously a mental gap. But as much as I like Gtown I like the Buckeyes more. They have three losses this season, to who? How about #1 UNC at the Dean Dome without Oden, #1 Florida in Gainesville with Oden just coming back, and #2 Wisconsin in Madison. They lost to 3 top 8 teams on the road, when those teams were playing well and twice without Oden at full strength, and yet people are doubting this team and a bunch of people have Texas A&M who struggled down the stretch and lost twice to Texas Tech in the final 4 over them? I do not understand that "sexy" pick. To me the Buckeyes smoke through that brackout and they do much the same to a very very good Georgetown team here in the second half. I see Hibbert getting into foul trouble struggling to deal with the stronger Oden while Conley Cook and and Lewis take full advantage of the double teams while Hibbert is out of the game. Winner: Ohio St. Kansas vs. Florida
We've seen this matchup already, well some of us have, not me, it was played on a saturday night late night while I was probably are blitzed at a bar. But I did read the box score and Kansas won by 2 and more impressively the win came in overtime. But that's not the only reason I'm taking them, just a proof that they certainly can play and beat the Gators. Here's what I like about the Jayhawks over the Gators, they played in a better conference hands down, with teams like Texas A&M and Texas being legitimate Final 4 contenders, name another SEC team with that potential, Kentucky? Vandy? Arkansas? no dice there. As down as the Big East and Big 10 appear to be at first glance, they don't even compare to the ineptitude that was the SEC this season. So why then the 3 game losing streak in mid February for the Gators, was it lackluster effort? I just don't think they'll have the same hunger and passion they had last season when they hammered through the field. In addition the Jayhawk team has only gained experience down throughout this season and come into the tourny riding an 11 game winning streak which includes knocking off the Longhorns twice. Horford and Noah may be tough to handle downlow but I'm going with the 3 man sophomore tandem of Wright, Chalmers and Rush to advance to the finals. Winner: KansasChampionship Game: Kansas vs. Ohio St.
And it comes down to the hired guns of Ohio St. versus the under the radar #1 seed. Neither team relies on a single scorer and both have several players which score in double digits and several players whom they could feel comfortable throwing the ball to in the clutch. In the end I see Oden working like an avalanche in this tournament getting better and better and more unstoppable with each game until the championship when he drops 26 and 18. He's got 4 inches and 5 pounds on Kansas most reliable big body Darrell Arthur. So ya I'm sticking with my preseason pick. A hired gun championship and off the the Celtics in the lottery, solid job Greg.Champion: Ohio St.
*Note my preseason final 4 was Wisconsin, Florida, OSU & UNC. I abandoned UNC and picked the hot team Gtown and couldn't pick both Wisconsin and Florida because they are in the same bracket.
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