Extra Point

By Mike Fitzgerald

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Or is it really the Final Two and then a consolation game?

Again, one of the two best teams in the NCAA men's semifinals will be eliminated as No. 1 seeds Kentucky and Massachusetts square off next Saturday.

It's two surprise teams on the other side of the bracket, with Syracuse taking on Mississippi State.

The question is just as obvious as the matchups. Why didn't the NCAA Tournament selection committee separate UMass and the Wildcats in the beginning?

They have been the two best teams in the country all season, so now they predictably make it to the Final Four - and one won't get to the championship game.

One reason could be that it was planned after all. At least one great matchup on Saturday locks in a huge TV audience. And the title game itself on Monday will reel in the ratings, even if it is a letdown from the "real" championship showdown.

Or the committee just goofed, which is also quite possible.

The other solution, as proposed by TV announcer Billy Packer, is to re-seed the teams once they reach the Final Four.

This is an interesting idea and would secure a more-balanced Final Four. But it takes away the luck of the draw and would be another chance for politics to enter into the NCAA games at a critical point.

Anyway, let's take a look at what should be one of the best NCAA Final Four games of all time.

Kentucky has been awesome since the tournament started, winning by huge margins and working its inside and outside games to near-perfection. Throw in their relentless defensive pressure, a strong bench rotation and, well, how do you have a chance of beating them?

The Wildcats destroyed a solid Utah team, then took apart Wake Forest, in their last two games.

But the Minutemen looked great against a previously red-hot and physical Georgetown team, also winning by a big margin.

The sensible choice might still be Kentucky, which has been untouchable since losing to Mississippi State in the SEC tournament.

And there is no edge in coaching, with Rick Pitino and John Calipari being clones.

But I'm still sticking with my pre-NCAA Tournament choice of Massachusetts to win it all.

Why? Their guards, Carmelo Travieso and Edgar Padilla, two players who do not rattle under any circumstances.

The Puerto Rico natives, who were born on the same day and play the same tireless game, can also score. They should handle Kentucky's pressure defense and at least keep a hand in the faces of the Wildcats' array of 3-point shooters.

Marcus Camby is a bit overrated in my book, but he should help contain the Wildcats in the paint, where they have scored so many easy baskets in the tournament.

And, by the way, throw out the UMass victory over Kentucky at the beginning of the season. It is meaningless at this point.

So I'll take UMass in a sensational game by four points.

SYRACUSE against Mississippi State? Who cares?

Actually, I like the Bulldogs by 10 points or so.

Kansas played one of its worst games of the season in yesterday's loss to the Orangemen. The Jayhawks missed so many open shots in the second half.

Mississippi State did beat Kentucky in the league tournament, but that victory again means nothing in the Final Four.

The Bulldogs actually did the Wildcats a favor with the upset several weeks ago. It was the loss that a slightly overconfident Kentucky team needed.

Mississippi State had a tremendous trip to the Final Four, but I don't give them or Syracuse a shot against Kentucky or UMass.

Let's go with UMass over Mississippi State in the final game by 14.