Final Four?

Written on March 3, 2008 – 7:24 am | by kbarkley |

With the March Madness upon us here is a look at why some of the top teams will and will not make it to the Final Four:

1. Tennessee- Will: Chris Lofton is an outstanding shooter. They play pressure defense allowing them to get easy looks in transition. Going through the tough SEC prepares them for the tournament.

Will not: No proven big man in the post. Without that in the event that everything slows down there is nooone to bail them out by throwing it into the post for easy baskets or fouls. Free throw shooting. The Vols are not the best at shooting free throws buut they are better than some.

2. North Carolina- Will: Tyler Hansbrough is one of the best players in the nation. He plays hard all the time and will do the dirty work. Intestinal fortitude. It seems no matter how many points they are down the Heels never give up. Boston College had them down by 18 in the second half and Clemson had them by 14 with less than 10 minutes to play and they both loss.

Will not: Defense. This is the achilles heel for the Heels. Time and time again they alloww easy baskets for teams. They give up 75 plus points a game. Way too high for a top ranked team. Also the clock will run out one of these times they allow a team to build a double digit lead in the second half.

3. Memphis- Will: With Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts leading the way the Tigers are poised to finally reach the Final Four. Defense. They play hard nosed in your face defense all the time.

Will not: The Tigers are the worst free throw shooting team I have seen in the last 20 years. This will cost them in the tournament. Conference USA. Getting through a weak league will not prepare you for what is ahead. That is a problem.

4. UCLA- Will: Defense is the name of the game for Ben Howland’s team. They simply will not allow you eay shots at no time. Pac 10. This year the Pac 10 is the best conference from top to bottom. Getting through this conference will make the Bruins battle tested and a difficult out for any team. The last two years. Losing to eventual National Champion Florida the last two years have left bad tastes in the mouths of these guys.

Will not: Having your best player be a freshman never bolds well for a team looking to make it to the Final Four. Kevin Love is a fantastic player. Will the pressure get to him?

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