It’s hard to predict the Final Four. I’ve said before this season that I don’t think the two preseason favorites - Florida and North Carolina - will win it all.

Based on history, of course, it’s hard to tell. Two years ago, UNC and Illinois were expected to play for the title. In the end, they did. The same thing happened for the favorites in 1993 (North Carolina and Michigan), 1999 (Duke & Connecticut) and in 2001 (Duke and Arizona).

Last year, Duke and Connecticut were again the favorites, but neither even reached the Final Four. Kansas failed to reach the Final Four as one of the favorites in 1992 and 1997. North Carolina failed to reach the Final Four in 1984 with probably one of the best teams in history to not win a title. And the examples go on and on.

In other words, being the favorite means little. You might get there, you might not. It seems unlikely that both UNC and Florida will fail to reach the Final Four, but it could happen. Regardless, I’ve made my picks, so if by some miracle they were to be accurate, here’s where I’d go from there.

Final Four

Florida vs UCLA
A rematch of the title game from last year. UCLA has had a great year and is better than they were last year. Although I think they’ve improved somewhat this year, I don’t know that Florida can play better than they did in last year’s tournament. However, when it’s all said and done, UCLA remembers last years title game. It’s always harder to beat a team you’ve beaten earlier in the season, and it’s often the same with a team you sent home the previous year. This year, I choose UCLA.

Ohio State vs Georgetown
I think it’s unfortunate that these two would meet in the finals, because I believe it would be the best matchup of this Final Four. Oden and Hibbert facing off would be a sight to behold. While both teams have been on fire to end the season, I’m going to give the edge to the older Georgetown team. I really hope this matchup happens simply because it might just be the game above all others that I’d like to watch in this year’s tournament. So, I’m going with Georgetown.

Championship

UCLA vs Georgetown
Not only do I think OSU and Georgetown would be the best matchup, I also think it would be the actual championship game. This has happened in years past (Kentucky-UMass 1996 and UConn-Duke 2004 come to mind). I think Georgetown is playing as well as anybody coming in, so that’s why I have them here. I like JT III and believe he may well have reestablished Georgetown as the national power they were under his father in the 80’s and early 90’s. In the end, UCLA fails to capture #12 yet again, as Georgetown takes home the prize.