In order to be the best, you have to beat the best, or so the cliché goes.
However, when push comes to shove, it is not often that the so-called "best" of the NCAA Final Four actually includes the best teams in the country. Fortunately or unfortunately, this year it does.
Never before have the preseason pollsters been so dead-on for the top teams in the country. Consider the first Associated Press Poll of the year: No. 1 Arizona, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Maryland. There were no flukes, simply great teams the media has followed and built up all year long.
And now it all comes down to this. The best four teams in the country, duking it out for the national championship. Whoever wins this dog-fight will truly be able to say they beat the cream of the crop en route to their 2001 title.
"The Final Four should not be something where one team wins two games by a combined 60 points," Duke forward Shane Battier said. "To be a national champion, you should beat the best so we look forward to that competition."
Battier is correct. No one will win these games by more than a few points. All of the teams are great, and they are all playing out of their minds. Even the teams that were having problems at the beginning of the year are peaking at the right time.
It is a dream Final Four for any fan outside of Chapel Hill. Even though it is not four No. 1 seeds, it is exactly what the selection committee dreams of each time they sit in the war room to draw out a possible bracket.
In short, it may be the best Final Four ever.
"I think all three teams have great athletes, have very good defensive teams, have very good quickness and it's going to be a heck of a tournament," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I think it's going to be one of the better team tournaments here in recent years."
One thing that makes this Final Four so great is the teams in it. Although they have had their ups and downs, they are great programs, especially in the past few years.
Together, they boast four of the last 10 national championships and have participated in six of the last 10 Final Fours. Three coaches have won national titles. Each program has a long, rich basketball tradition and is from a powerhouse conference.
"It looks like anyone there has an outstanding chance to win the whole thing," Arizona coach Lute Olsen said. "We would certainly would like to put ourselves in that group, as well."
Long gone is the Final Four of last year which saw two No. 8 seeds in North Carolina and Wisconsin. In the national championship game, No. 1 seed Michigan State battled past Florida, a No. 5 seed for the title. The 199 Final Four did have three No. 1 seeds, but it also contained a No. 4 in Ohio State. The year before that, it contained two No. 3 seeds and a No. 2 seed.
Honestly, the selection committee did not do a terrible job any year but last year. The top seeds have always dominated the Final Four, and that is what exactly what they did last year-they dominated weaker teams.
What makes this year different and great is that there is no clear favorite. Throw seeding out the window now, it is anyone's title to win or lose.
"I think Maryland could beat Duke and Arizona could beat Michigan State and vice versa all the way around," Izzo said. "I think it is a toss up in a lot of ways."
Izzo is correct: Betting big on one of these teams is like putting a million bucks on a coin flip. The bookies have no excuse for putting any of the spreads at more than two points.
Even when the Final Four has consisted of three No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 seed, like in 1993, it was not as tight as this one. Back in those days, Michigan had its fab five, while the Tar Heels stood a few inches above everyone else. This year, Duke, the Vegas odds-on favorite, measures in slightly ahead of the biggest underdog, the Terps.
The thing that makes this Final Four so unique is that if it was played 10 times, it is unlikely that any team would win more than three championships. That type of competition should be every NCAA fan's dream.
Four great programs. Three great games. One national champion to go down in history. Flip a coin, roll a set of dice, but get ready for the best Final Four ever.
"You have great teams with great tradition here battling it out," Duke freshman Chris Duhon said. "This could be one of the best Final Fours ever."
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