Well, almost all. We're down to the final eight. See if you can recognize the pattern here:
- #1 North Carolina against #2 Georgetown in the East
- #1 Kansas against #2 UCLA in the West
- #1 Ohio State against #2 Memphis in the South
- #1 Florida against #3 Oregon in the Midwest
While I haven't gone to the record books to check, I can't recall a year where all four number one seeds and three of the number two seeds survived to the final eight. To win a bracket pool requires only that you move the top seeds along.
What's truly remarkable is that each of the teams was challenged and struggled at times to win in the Sweet Sixteen. Each of the games could have gone the other way with a better bounce here, a made free throw there, and a turnover over there. Georgetown should have dropped the game to Vanderbilt, but the officials missed Jeff Green's pivot foot exchange, and the shot drops. North Carolina was in trouble in the second half against USC, but a fourth foul to Taj Gibson led to a 22-2 UNC run, so there you go. Florida was tied at 54 with Butler with a little over 3 minutes to go. Ohio State needed a miracle to beat Tennessee - and got one. Kansas squeaked past the SIU Salukis, who closed to one point with 48 seconds to play. UCLA let a lead slip against Pitt, who finally decided to be aggressive offensively and defensively. But that was too little, too late by the Panthers. And so on.
So, who will make it to the Final Four? Hey, the way things are playing out, go with the chalk. UNC, Kansas, Florida and Ohio State.