HELP! Throw me a life jacket! Final Four will be
a rouser; the winner is ...I'm drowning in our NCAA Tournament office pool.
Actually, I'm 13th out of 20 right now -- but three of my Final Four teams are back home tuning in their TV sets, their oversized sneakers plopped on the coffee table instead of pounding the hardcourt.
Like everyone else in the free world, I had Kansas rolling untouched out of the Southeast Region on its way to the NCAA crown.
I also penciled in Wake Forest over Kentucky in the West and South Carolina in the East, with Indiana eliminating North Carolina along the way!
Too much cheap rum.
My lone initial survivor is the Minnesota Gophers, those fine lads from the Big Ten.
But here is one of the truly great advantages of being a sports columnist. You get a second chance to get it right. Heh-heh.
So here are some more dumb picks, I mean peerless prognostications, now that the Big Dance has been whittled from 64 teams to a more-manageable four footstompers -- including two of college basketball's all-time heavyweights in North Carolina and Kentucky.
Only Arizona, which is usually knocked out of the tournament before breaking a sweat, isn't a No. 1 seed among the Final Four finalists.
North Carolina (28-6) vs. Arizona (23-9): Do the "other Wildcats" in the Final Four have one more huge upset in them? Can Lute Olson somehow outmaneuver Dean Smith, now the winningest coach in college basketball history?
Forget about it.
Olson and Arizona sure can take the big bow of the tournament up to this point for holding on to beat Kansas. But the Wildcats have won their four tourney games by a total of 19 points, rallying to beat South Alabama and barely holding on to defeat College of Charleston, Kansas and Providence.
Still, they did win those games, which is a tribute to their tenacity. And I love the way Arizona freshman guard Mike Bibby is playing like a tested veteran.
But this supposedly "down" North Carolina team, which is riding a 16-game winning streak, is simply too big and strong inside -- and plays great defense -- for the Wildcats.
Hey, the Tar Heels have former high school All-Americans selling game programs while they wait to step into their hallowed lineup.
I like North Carolina by 12 points.
But the Rainbows didn't have the guns that the Wildcats have left, especially Ron Mercer. Still, you have to love Rick Pitino's
up-tempo, rotation style that continues to wear down its opponents, including Utah -- the last WAC survivor.
Kentucky's only somewhat close call was against Iowa (75-69), then the Wildcats beat a strong St. Joseph's team by 15 and the Utes by 13.
The Gophers routed a tough Temple team by 19, but then had to survive double-OT against Clemson and rallied in the second half to beat UCLA by eight.
Ah, let's go out on a limb and take Clem Haskins' guys in a last-second upset.
I like the Gophers' unselfish style of play -- and their tough defense. Plus, Bobby Jackson has turned into a big-play man.
Minnesota by one point.
In one of the greatest NCAA title games in history, Minnesota is the new national champion after another last-second victory -- this time by two points on a shot at the buzzer by (who else?) Bobby Jackson!