San Antonio is going to be the host of what may be the tightest race for the Final Four in this year's March Madness. Texas, Connecticut, Maryland and Michigan State will face off to represent the South bracket.
The first game at the Alamodome Friday night will see Texas and Connecticut duke it out. Texas is considered to be the weakest No. 1 seed in the tournament. However, since the regional is in San Antonio, TX, Texas may be able to take advantage of this \home court."" Sophomore guard T.J. Ford is one of the nation's finest guards and is considered a threat any time he is on the court.
Aiding Ford is junior guard Brandon Mouton, a consistent shooter for the Longhorns, giving Ford an outlet to hit on the outside as he drives to the paint.
No. 5 Connecticut plays a very tough inside-outside combination offense that leaves defenses having difficulties keeping everyone blocked. UConn also has their own multi-talented threat in sophomore forward Emeka Okafor, who has a great ability to get the boards and block shots.
To compliment Okafor in the inside-out game of UConn's is sophomore guard Ben Gordon. Head Coach Jim Calhoun believes that Gordon is a capable leader for this team.
""I told him after the game [against Stanford Saturday], 'You're one of the best guards in America. You're that special.'""
If Gordon can keep up with Ford long enough, UConn may upset the Longhorns in their home state. The game will ride solely on the shoulders of Ford. His game play will determine whether Texas or UConn will move on.
The other half of the Sweet 16 ticket in San Antonio will pit the red-hot No. 7 Michigan State Spartans against the defending national champion No. 6 Maryland Terrapins. Michigan State got all cylinders firing just at the right time. After what has been a rocky regular season for the Spartans, Michigan St. had what was their most dominating performance all season in their 68-46 victory over No. 2 Florida.
Head Coach Tom Izzo acknowledged that their performance against Florida was about the best the Spartans have played all seasons on both ends.
Sophomore guard Chris Hill has matured to lead the team that was in need of strong guard play. Senior forward Aloysius Anagoyne is Michigan St.'s man down low, but has help from freshman forward Erazem Lorbek.
The Terrapins have proved in their first two games that they are not to be taken lightly. After defeating UNC-Wilmington in the first round with senior guard Drew Nicholas' last-second three-pointer and Xavier the next round, Maryland now has its hands full with a tough Spartan team.
The Terrapins are chocked full of seniors, with five in the lineup. Yet, even with the many seniors and title from last season, Maryland has garnered little respect so far.
""We're the only team in the tournament who's the defending champs,"" senior guard Steve Blake said. ""We want to prove how good we are.""
Blake gives Maryland a tough backcourt with Nicholas. Senior forwards Ryan Randle and Tahj Holden give the team strong bodies in the low post and a powerful inside game. Holden also has a great outside shot to give defenses headaches.
Any one of these four teams is able to move on to New Orleans for the Final Four. No one has that dominating aspect of their game that will blow out anyone else. This lack of a dominating team will lead to close games and tight finishes, leading to what should be a strong team to compete in the Final Four.
