Georgetown is back with John Thompson's son roaming the sidelines. Billy Donovan
and all five of his starters are back.
This is as unpredictable of a Final Four as in recent memory. It's not just a
line, but anyone of these four teams can cut down the nets on Monday night.
Ohio State's 7-foot freshman man-child Greg Oden finally gets to go up
against someone his own size.
Or at least close to it. Oden's actually giving away a couple of inches when
he faces Georgetown 7-foot-2 junior center Roy Hibbert on Saturday in the first
national semifinal.
Oden vs. Hibbert may be the best legitimate big man matchup since the days
when Patrick Ewing went up against Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon.
While the victory could depend on which 7-footer stays out of foul trouble,
it could also come down to whether the Buckeyes have anyone to slow down the
Hoyas' versatile 6-foot-8½ junior forward Jeff Green.
Ohio State's athletic freshman David Lighty could be Thad Matta's best hope.
Green just may be the most underrated player in the entire country. He's the
type of guy that can go for 25 points in any given night, but he's unselfish and
would prefer to get his teammates involved and do all of the little things to
don't necessarily show up in the stat column.
The Hoyas guards — Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp — could be
overmatched against the Ohio State guard tandem of senior Ron Lewis and poised
freshman floor leader Mike Conley Jr.
Wallace and Sapp have played well, but Lewis and Conley have been even
better. Lewis has already proven he can make shots with the game on the line —
and Conley is so adept at running the show and taking what the defense gives
him.
While Oden, Conley and even Buckeyes wing Daequan Cook have received most of
the freshman headlines this season, don't overlook Hoyas frosh DaJuan Summers.
Summers' ability to make shots from the perimeter could be critical against
the Buckeyes.
Prediction: Ohio State. The inside-out combo of Oden and Conley prove
to be too tough for the Hoyas to handle. And yeah, we know they're freshmen. But
these guys have been playing together, so they're not your typical freshmen.
It's a rematch of last year's national championship game. You know, the one
that the Gators practically ran away with.
Billy Donovan's club returned all five starters from last season's squad and
while the Gators haven't dominated opponents in the Big Dance thus far, they are
back in the Final Four — and face a Bruins team that is more formidable this
time around.
Ben Howland's team lost Jordan Farmar, Ryan Hollins and Cedric Bozeman off
last year's team, but Darren Collison hasn't missed a beat in replacing Farmar
at the point guard spot and Lorenzo Mata gives the Bruins more toughness in the
middle.
Josh Shipp, who sat out nearly all of last season with a hip injury, replaces
Bozeman and is a significant upgrade, at least offensively.
Add in the fact that UCLA's top scorer, Arron Afflalo, has stepped up his
game this season and is the team's go-to guy when they need a critical basket.
However, the key will be defense.
It's been a staple of Howland's teams since he was at Pittsburgh, while
Donovan's team has been up-and-down on the defensive end.
Joakim Noah and Al Horford had their way a year ago in the paint, but it may
not be quite as easy this time around with Mata in the middle.
Still, the Gators know exactly what it takes to win it all. They have
terrific chemistry and balance. Any one of their five starters — Noah, Horford,
Corey Brewer, as well as guards Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey — is more than
capable of putting up 20 points.
Prediction: Florida. Been there, done that. The Gators bring back all
five starters from their national title team of a season ago, yet still remain
sufficiently hungry to return to the championship game.