I just can’t help myself!  Tip-off is next week and I’m already filling out you know what.   Maybe I’ll just give you my top 25.   I’ll spare you that, but…I think 25 is a good number, as in 25% OFF all FINAL FOUR Original Retro Brand t-shirts!  Just use the code: BBALL at checkout on Distantreplays.com to receive your discount – Now that is a bracket worth filling out now!

NO MAGIC NEEDED THIS YEAR!

Sure it is too early for such nonsense, but I do have my pre-season Final Four teams dribbling around the basketball court in my mind.   All have been there before, and I predict that Magic Johnson’s alma mater will repeat what his team did in 1979,  and the same that  Mateen Cleeves alma mater team did in 2000.   Most of you know what that means;  National Championship for the Michigan State Spartans in 2010.  Coming off a rout at the hands of a North Carolina team destined for victory in the 2009 final in Detroit has left them hungry to return and win it all.  Having won the Big 10 last year, and having the nucleus of the team returning, including Big 10 player of the year, sophomore Kalin Lucas and his backcourt buddies Durrell Summers, Korie Lucious, and Chris Allen means they will not be denied cutting down the nets victoriously come April 5, in Indianapolis.

The # 2 team will be the Kansas Jayhawks.  They gave the Spartans a run for their money right down to the wire in the 2009 Sweet 16.  I think they will run into that wall again.  However, the one thing that could be a difference maker for Kansas is having several players returning for another shot at a second National Championship while at Kansas.  No, Danny Manning from the 1988 squad won’t be suiting up, but Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins passed up sure-shot NBA rookie seasons to make the commitment of bringing a second title in the past 3 years to Lawrence.

HE'S NOT HERE!

Coming in at # 3 will be North Carolina.  They’re gone.  One of the best players in college basketball history (Not Michael Jordan from the 1982 National Championship team) is now an Indiana Pacer, and the other is a point guard for the Denver Nuggets.  Losing Tyler & Ty will definitely be a blow to the defending National Champion North Carolina Tarheels, but the guys filling the void are no slouches!  The Wear twins (David & Travis), and returning front court stalwarts Ed Davis and Deon Thompson still make for a formidable group.  Still, the loss of Hansbrough & Lawson will be too much to overcome.

CALIPARI TO THE RESCUE

At # 4 will be the Kentucky Wildcats.  Am I nuts? You would think new coach John Calipari, he of many skeletons in his UMass & Memphis closets, would have too much baggage to overcome, but the man WINS, and the Wildcats are happy to have him.  He has a lifetime .746 winning percentage and needs to win the big one before the NCAA finds more baggage!   Kentucky has not won the National Championship since they won two in 1996 and 1998, and the Big Blue Nation is getting restless.  Power forward Patrick Patterson and point guard John Wall, are among the very best at their positions in the country.  That should be enough to get deep in the tournament.

NEXT BEST:  Texas, Villanova, Tennessee and Purdue.

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