Wrapping Up the Madness

All in all, I'm pretty happy with this tournament. Plenty of upsets, dramatic games, a Cinderella story in George Mason, and a worthy champ in the Florida Gators helped make this one of the best tournaments in the past 20 years. Last weekend was the strongest one of the tournament, and earlier in the week, I explained why the Gators had to win it all, so after Billy Donovan's boys sealed the deal, I felt pretty good about things. Of course, I never could've predicted this, but they are a great champion for college basketball.

Before we go too much farther, there are 10 key things to take away from the tournament.

1. Florida has scary good talent — This is a Florida team that has the talent of a UConn, but plays team ball on the level of a George Mason. In short, this is a championship team. In the end, it was somewhat amusing to see a team with a stereotypical starting lineup win it all.

They have the scoring point guard who is an excellent playmaker, the spot-up deadly shooter as the two-guard, a prototypical small forward in the decent shooting, uber-athletic Corey Brewer, a hard-nosed power forward who is a capable shot blocker, rebounder, and post player, and then Joakim Noah, a dominant 6-11 shot blocker who also is a very strong post scorer. Florida has two players in Noah and Horford who would be top-15 picks this year, and two players in their starting lineup, Brewer and Taurean Green, who should be first-rounders by the time they leave school.

I've enjoyed watching Florida from the start of the preseason tournaments, and this has been a very special team. Don't sell them short — they are the best team in college basketball.

2. "One Shining Moment" is one of the coolest things in sports — If you haven't seen it, try going to the CBS website or downloading it somewhere, because it's well worth it. Maybe it is just me, but that is the highlight of the tournament. Simply fantastic. Side note here: is there anything better than the unbridled joy a team experiences after winning a championship? How can you not feel good about sports watching a celebration like that?

3. Experience doesn't matter — UCLA, Florida, and LSU are all very young teams. The old adage that you win with good senior leadership in March is dead, as youth can carry you to the title game. This isn't a rare "Carmelo Anthony as a frosh" phenomenon, as there are no Anthonys on any of these Final Four teams.

4. ...Unless you are a mid-major — George Mason was a senior-laden team and that was a big reason they made such a great run. Mid-majors need players who stay four years and gel together to make a serious run. They don't have the talent, but good chemistry and experience is critical for mid-majors to close that gap.

5. There are NBA-caliber players in college basketball, playing NBA-style basketball — I've ragged on UConn a lot during the tournament, and they aren't the only perpetrators of this, but they are the most notable. Too many players on that roster show an inconsistent effort at both ends of the court. It seemed like most Huskies barely cared during the tournament, and that's why I couldn't be happier a team like Florida won it all and two great defensive teams made it to the Final Four.

6. Billy Packer hates America — He apparently picked against every mid-major, hates anyone who doesn't play in a major conference, and loathes George Mason because they were nicknamed the Patriots. That is just a summary of thoughts thrown around by people in the last few weeks. Billy Packer hates the little guy, but he took too much flak this tournament. His schtick is tired and old (although he plays the role "senile college basketball analyst" well), but did anyone have George Mason in the final four? He's always hated mid-majors, and his stance or its ludicrousness doesn't change because a mid-major won.

7. Size Matters, but coaching matters more — The old theory was that guard play was the key to March, but now we've seen that the forward play is crucial to tournament success. Glen Davis and Tyrus Thomas fueled the upsets of Duke and Texas, Noah and Horford paved the way for Florida, and Will Thomas and Jai Lewis played huge roles for George Mason. That being said, coaching is the key to winning in March. When you play so many teams with so little time to prepare, games can be decided by the scouting and game planning done by the coaching staffs. Effective game plans can neutralize even the best of players (see Redick, JJ) and teams (see UConn).

8. The MVC lived up to the hype — I know that George Mason was the talk of the tourney, and rightfully so, but don't forget that the MVC had a decent showing in the tournament. You can't fault a team for failing to pull off an upset, but no one was embarrassed or blown away and Wichita State upset Tennessee to make it to the sweet 16.

9. Refs suck — This seems to be a growing trend in sports, but this was one of the worst officiated tournaments I've ever witnessed. Surprisingly, the refs did an adequate job in the Final Four, but they did not cut it during the rest of the tourney. Too many game-changing errors, blown calls, and no-calls for them to get a pass. Terrible showing for the zebras.

10. It's not okay to cry before the game is over — You can't cry before the game is over, even if you are a half-second away from winning the national championship. It's simply unacceptable and Adam Morrison's sob job with nearly three seconds left in the UCLA game was disgraceful. He's a great competitor, an emotional player, but save the tears until the game is over.

New All-American List

Earlier in the tournament, I revealed my All-American vote, but if I had to do it again, I'd fill out my ballot this way:

First Team

JJ Redick
Adam Morrison
Brandon Roy
Randy Foye
Joakim Noah

Second Team

Rodney Carney
Dee Brown
Jordan Farmar
Craig Smith
Glen Davis

Noah has played like a lottery pick, Davis definitely is third best big man in the country behind Noah and Smith (ahead of Shelden Williams and Tyler Hansbrough), Farmar gets the nod over Chris Lofton of UT, and Roy and Carney are both head and shoulders better than Rudy Gay of Connecticut.

2007 Final Four

With this year's tourney out of the way, it's time to look into the future. What better way to close this year's tournament than with a look at the Final Four teams of next year?

1. Florida — Unless two players go pro, they should be right back here next year. While Noah would be a lottery pick and Horford would go first round, I wouldn't be shocked to see both players come back to school. If they do, look-out, they will be a fun team to watch next year. They only lose backup center Adrian Moss, and the Gators have capable replacements.

2. Ohio State — Another testament to youth, next year we will see the results of the NBA age-limit as Greg Oden and the Thad Five take the Buckeyes to the Final Four. Make no mistake, Oden will be that good and should be an All-American as a freshman. There are few great big men in the college game, so Oden won't have too much competition.

3. North Carolina — Tyler Hansbrough and crew should be the team to beat in the ACC and they have another great recruiting class coming in. Roy Williams has shown he can coach, and barring any injury, they will be representing the ACC in the fold next season.

4. Kansas — I was going to take UCLA, but Farmar is gone in my opinion. I like Villanova with Curtis Sumpter, but KU has too much talent to be denied next year. They will have ridiculous talent, but it will be interesting to see whether or not Bill Self can avoid an early flame-out. Greater Kansas teams in the past have gone down early, but I think this squad pulls it off.

The Sports Gospel According to Mark is sponsored by BetOnSports.com. BetOnSports.com gives you the greatest sports action to bet on. Wager on football, cricket, boxing, rugby, horse racing, and more. Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday and Thursday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].