by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Florida needs to go away.
After the Gators won the men's NCAA Tournament last year - followed by their football team winning the national championship in February - I have been praying that they don't repeat as titleholders this year.
And yet, out of all the No. 1 seeds in this year's Sweet 16, Florida has the easiest path to the Final Four.
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After I sorted through the disaster of my bracket to take a look at the Sweet 16, I couldn't believe what I saw in the Midwest Region. If Joakim Noah and company just show up, they should roll through Butler.
Then, they get to play the winner of Oregon and UNLV. The Runnin' Rebels have been the closest thing to a Cinderella team this year, but can Kevin Kruger keep nailing 3,572 clutch 3s per game? I doubt it.
And if Oregon advances to the Elite Eight to face Florida, I don't see the Ducks pulling off the upset. Besides, no team with jersey colors that horrid should be allowed in the tournament anyway.
So, with the Gators' spot basically secured in the Final Four, it's up to one of the remaining 12 to take out the creepy mustache of Noah and his psychotic celebration dances that are probably still giving children nightmares.
With the West Region still boasting its top four seeds, it's obviously much tougher than the Midwest.
I see Kansas meeting up with UCLA in the Elite Eight in that region. Kansas just may be the most loaded team in the nation this year, but I think the Bruins' loss in the Finals last year has them hungrier than any other squad.
Point guard Darren Collison has filled the shoes of Jordan Farmar - currently Kobe Bryant's water boy - and the defense has been as stout as any in the NCAA. Even if their guards have off shooting nights, the Bruins can slow down the pace of the game to a lull. Sure, their play can be boring at times, but at least that will keep one of the 87-year-old announcer's heads from exploding with excitement.
In the East Region - another loaded side of the bracket - I picked North Carolina to advance. As a Tar Heel fan, Georgetown and USC make me want to pee my pants, but Tyler Hansbrough has been a madman since getting his nose shattered against Duke.
It's like he's embarrassed to the point of rage by that hilarious mask he has to wear and is taking it out on everyone else. In the first two games of the tournament, he has scored 54 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. That, coupled with the fact that UNC is shooting better than 50 percent from the field, makes me feel good about the team's chances.
The South is another solid region that can't be easily determined. Greg Oden and Ohio State have obviously been a favorite to win it all the whole season.
However, something I saw at the end of the Buckeyes' overtime win against Xavier makes me wary of OSU. After Oden fouled out before the end of regulation, I thought he would be the biggest cheerleader on the sidelines, firing up his teammates.
Instead, Oden the Ogre just sat there with an indifferent look on his face, as though he was hoping for a loss. Would it be that surprising? Oden has been a future NBA lock since he was born a 2-foot tall, 35-pound baby.
The new NBA rule preventing players to go pro straight out of high school had to have pissed off Oden. He could be making millions right now and not worrying about school, but there he was in a college basketball game as his team struggled with a school named Xavier.
I wonder if he thought to himself, "Hey, maybe if we lose now, I can just drop all my classes and start shopping for $100,000 cars."
The half-hearted clap he gave after the Buckeyes pulled out the win makes me think that scenario is not at all impossible.
Anyway, I see Acie Law IV and Texas A&M advancing from the South. Law has been as hot as any player in the tournament thus far and came up clutch in the win over Louisville.
By the time the Final Four comes around, I will have completed my voodoo doll lineup of the Florida players, so UCLA will get its revenge and advance to the Finals.
Law and the Aggies will come up short against the Tar Heels, setting up a championship matchup of UNC and UCLA.
As long as Hansbrough keeps looking at his mask in the mirror before games - leading to a few minutes of uncontrollable sobbing and then rage - the Tar Heels will be college basketball's new champion.
