An NCAA Tournament full of incredible performances by midmajors has now given way to four #1 seeds in the Final Four, something that’s never been accomplished in the NCAA Tournament. While some people complain about the “chalk” of this Final Four, we’re sure to close this thing out with three incredible matchups. Without further ado, a brief breakdown of the Final Four, which begins at 6:00 PM EST tomorrow.

UCLA vs. Memphis
Certainly the more intriguing game of the two, to me anyway. Both teams have been national championship contenders the last few years, but both have needed enormous contributions from true freshmen to get over the top this year. Lets start with UCLA, a team that’s been raped and pillaged by twice defending champ Florida in the last two tournaments. We know the contributers: Collison, Westbrook, Shipp, Mbah a Moute and to a much lesser extent, Mata(-Real). But without Kevin Love, this team is already out of the tournament. The Pac-10 Player of the Year has been even better than advertised. While CBS has stroked themselves to his outlet passes, Love deserves all the praise he’s received.

As for Memphis, they’ve been proving people wrong all season long. Hell, I had them losing to Pitt in the Sweet 16 and when they got into the Elite Eight, I thought they’d get spanked by Texas. Nope. You can have Beasley, Mayo, Love or any other freshman phenom. If I have the 1st overall pick, I’m taking Derrick Rose. I’ll admit to not having seen much of Rose throughout the Conference USA season but against Texas, I saw all I needed to see. Rose will be a Chris Paul/Deron Williams type of player in the NBA. No doubt about it. After dominating against guys like Drew Neitzel and D.J. Augustin, I see Rose getting the best of Darren Collison as well.

Memphis, the team with the soft schedule that can’t make free throws, will beat UCLA. The length and athleticism of this lineup will help neutralize UCLA’s two stars, Collison and Love. I like Memphis advancing to the National Championship.

North Carolina vs. Kansas
I think the hype for this game has been misdirected. Rather than a matchup of the nation’s two deepest teams, it’s been turned into a battle of Roy Williams and Bill Self, two coaches that have both received plenty of criticism during their time in Lawrence. Instead, the focus should be on the absurd talent both coaches possess. Hansbrough, Lawson, Ellington, Arthur, Rush, Chalmers. In the words of Dick Enberg, OH MY!

This game should be one of the fastest paced in Final Four history. Both teams have absolutely sick athleticism and they both love to run. Not many teams would think transition offense can be possible after giving up a basket. But if you saw Carolina run and gun against Louisville, you know it’s possible. The first to 90-95 points wins!

I’ve loved North Carolina all tournament long. Sure, that’s an obvious statement. But they’ve progressed through this tournament on a mission. Not surprisingly, I like Carolina to outgun Kansas because I see it being a game down to the wire. In a game down to the wire, I love Roy Williams over Bill Self. But even moreso, I love Tyler Hansbrough’s ability to take over a game. For Kansas, it’s been a great run. But I like the Tar Heels winning this one.