Final Four Revisited

At the start of the season I nominated the following teams as my Final four picks. Let’s see how we’re doing so far.

Duke: Of course I took them, what did you expect? They have a gaudy record but the numbers behind the scenes aren' as glamorous, just 87th in defensive efficiency. Last night’s game showed me something though as they still won shooting horrendously from behind the arc. Is Mason Plumlee coming into his own or was last night a fluke. This is the difference between a Final Four run or a Sweet Sixteen elimination

Kentucky: Looked good on paper and looks good during the season. Terrence Jones has been a no-show all year but this team is loaded with talent. Preseason I had them as 1 of 2 possible champions and I’m sticking with it so far. The other possible champion….

Syracuse: 1A to Kentucky’s 1B, I loved them leading up to the season and nothing has changed. I thought the Bernie Fine scandal might be a distraction but they seemed to have moved on and forgot all about it. A recent bump against Notre Dame is a non-factor and as long as Fab Melo comes back I’m penciling them in for another Final Four run.

UCLA: And Boom goes the Dynamite. This team was a disaster from the get go. Losing to Loyola Marymount and booting Reeves Nelson, their best player, off the team it has been one mistake after another. Not only is this team not going to the final four, they might not even be going to the NIT. Is Ben Howland’s job safe?

My other 4 preseason Elite Eight teams were North Carolina, Ohio State, Louisville, and Michigan. Louisville is a reach but the other 3 are still in it.