Final Four Predictions

Guide Note: The Final Four is one of the most prominent events in college sports, and as such, predicting the teams that will be in the Final Four and ultimately win the NCAA tournament is a common practice for sports fans and gamblers alike. Ultimately, the safe bet is to stick with the #1 seeds until they are knocked out of the tournament, though many sports analysts often pick lower-seeded teams to make an upset.

Betting on lower-seeded teams to make the Final Four can be highly profitable, though the odds of those teams reaching the later rounds are significantly lower. In 2006, the 11th-seeded Patriots of George Mason made an improbable run to the Final Four, and few analysts made this prediction at the beginning of the tournament.

Final Four Stats:

17 teams have entered the tournament undefeated. 12 made the Final Four and 7 won the National Championship
Lowest seed to win tournament: #8 Villanova (1985)
Lowest seed to reach Final Four: #11 LSU (1986), #11 George Mason (2006)
Most Final Four Appearances: UCLA has 17; North Carolina has 16
2008: First time the Final Four consisted of all #1 seeds

Also try: Final Four History | Final Four Odds | NCAA Championship Live Coverage

Final Four Predictions

USA Today: Final Four Predictions (March 18, 2008)
- Though two of the analysts predicted that Georgetown would be going to the Final Four, Davidson's unexpected upsets over UMBC and Georgetown have brought them up to the Sweet Sixteen.
NBADraft.net: 2008 Final Four Predictions
- Posted on March 19, Aran Smith's prediction for the final four are UCLA, Kansas, Texas, and Tennessee, two #2 seeds and two #1 seeds. This assumes a Texas victory over Stanford and then a victory over Michigan state or the #1 seeded Memphis. For the other #2 seed, Tennessee, to advance to the final four, they would need victories over Louisville and the winner of the North Carolina/Washington State match-up.
Detroit Free Press: Final Four predictions and tips for your bracket (March 17, 2008)
BetFirms.com: 2008 Final Four Predictions
ESPN Video: Why Kansas is Headed to the Final 4 (Time: 0:30)
ESPN Video: Why UNC is Headed to the Final 4 (Time: 0:32)

Mahalo's Final Four Predictions

Submitted By: Jonathan h
Jonathan: UCLA is my pick to win it all. Kevin Love and his role players will bounce back from a victory that was tougher than it should have been against Texas A&M and dominate the rest of the tournament. I think Louisville will be the surprise out of the East, but Davidson's historic run will end against either Wisconsin or Kansas. Memphis and Kansas will be the other teams to round out the Final Four.

Submitted By: Raymanukay
Ray: UCLA is my pick to win it all. I predict they will defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Finals. Two straight years losing in the Final Four have prepared them for this season. Although they had a scare to get into the Sweet Sixteen, I believe that game will be the final bump in the road to spur them on to the championship. Obviously, I believe North Carolina will come out of the East Region Bracket since they have the most depth and skill players, while I predict Texas to win the South Region Bracket and Kansas to come out of the Midwest.

Submitted By: Deanmachine777
Dean: Kansas is going to win it all in 2008. I was lucky enough to serve as a member of Mahalo's Live Coverage team during the first two rounds of the tourney, so I got to blog games from Wisconsin and North Carolina in addition to a Jayhawks game. UNC was certainly impressive, but I only saw their first rounder. Wisconsin's incredible at forcing opponents to slow down and play their deliberate, focused style...but if they get by Davidson, they're going to run into the most balanced team I think I've ever seen in Kansas.

KU's smothering 'D' held a pretty resilient UNLV team to 12 made shots from the floor during the game I blogged, and on the offensive side they had almost everyone contributing and dominating. Their leading scorer only had a basket more than their second-leading scorer, who only had a few points more than their third- and fourth-leading scorers. The Jayhawks are too deep and too talented, even for the Tar Heels, I'd say.

Before the Madness began I picked Memphis to beat Tennessee in the title game, but with the Tigers' embarrassing foul shooting of late, I'm about-facing and picking Texas to beat Memphis to get into the Final Four as the only non-#1 seed. Then they'll get thumped by UCLA, and UCLA will get thumped by Kansas in the championship. Kansas will find a way to wear down UNC in the other semi.

Submitted By: Angieh
Angie: From the East, North Carolina is playing strong and looking good as usual, so I have to take them there. Neither Louisville or Tennessee have impressed me this season so far. Kansas is also looking pretty good for the Midwest. Davidson won't pull out the win over Wisconsin; they've just been really lucky so far. Both the South and the West are going to be close, with lots of talent in each region. As much as I would love to see Michigan State top Memphis, I don't see that happening. I'll take the Texas Longhorns over Memphis in a buzzer-beater. In the West I was really looking forward to the Bruins-Huskies game, unfortunately UConn made an early exit. With Duke also out of the picture I have to take UCLA to the finals against UNC. Overall, I see UNC taking the crown. Great depth and plenty of playoff experience will prevail.

Submitted By: Kenbothe
Ken: There has never been a Final Four featuring all #1 seeded teams, and I think they will be one short of that this year. While #1s North Carolina, UCLA, and Kansas will make it to San Antonio, Memphis will be heading home and the Texas Longhorns will be taking their place. After that I think it comes down to Tyler Hansbrough's Tar Heels and Kevin Love's Bruins. My pick to win it all? UNC in one of the best NCAA Championship games ever.

And in my "a guy can dream, can't he" scenario, Bob Huggins leads West Virginia all the way to the title.

Submitted By: Jon m
Crief: My colleagues have all given phenominal insight into their selections, and they will all verify that, on my tournament sheet, all of my Final Four selections are still intact. Nothing from the first weekend changes my mind that Tennessee from the East, Michigan State from the South, Wisconsin from the Midwest, and UCLA from the West will get it done. Of course, all four will find significant challenges ahead of them. For Tennessee, the challenge will come from trying to stop a dominant player down on the low blocks: in the first game, that will come in the form of Louisville big-man David Padgett, and potentially in the Regional Final from Player-of-the-Year candidate Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina. The Vols also need to be more consistent at the free throw line. For Michigan State and Wisconsin, it's all about game pacing. For the Spartans, they must look to work the shot clock and wear down the up-tempo style that Memphis will want to play at. For Wisconsin, they must do what Gonzaga and Georgetown could not do for 40 minutes - clamp down on Stephen Curry. And as for UCLA, the scary thing about their season is that they really haven't put together a 40-minute effort, but for the most they have waited to rescue games from the jaws of defeat. Though it may seem on paper as if they have the easiest road to San Antonio, the Bruins must avoid playing down to the level of competition in order to reach a third consecutive Final Four appearance. Team no one is talking about: Stanford. They have a great size advantage with the Lopez brothers, and Anthony Goods has the capacity to get hot from the outside. They've shown no fear in hostile environments, and could surprise the Longhorns in their own back yard.

The Final Four Bracket

Be sure to check back on Sunday March 30 for the actual pairings.
All games airing on CBS

	Regional Finals March 29 & 30					National Semifinals April 5 Alamodome, San Antonio TX					NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP April 7 Alamodome, San Antonio TX

	1	North Carolina	83
	3	Louisville	73
						E1	North Carolina	66

						M1	Kansas	84
	1	Kansas	59

	10	Davidson	57
											M1	Kansas	75
											S1	Memphis	68
	1	Memphis	85
	2	Texas	67
						S1	Memphis	78

						W1	UCLA	63
	1	UCLA	76

	3	Xavier	57

The Kansas Jayhawks have won the 2008 National Championship

2008 East Region Bracket

All games airing on CBS

	First Round March 20 & 21 Sites TBD					Second Round March 22 & 23 Sites TBD					Regional Semifinals March 27 Charlotte Bobcats Arena, Charlotte NC					Finals March 29 Charlotte Bobcats Arena, Charlotte NC

	1	North Carolina	113
	16	Mount St. Mary's	74
						1	North Carolina	108

						9	Arkansas	77
	8	Indiana	72

	9	Arkansas	86
											1	North Carolina	68

											4	Washington St.	47
	5	Notre Dame	68

	12	George Mason	50
						5	Notre Dame	41

						4	Washington St.	61
	4	Washington St.	71

	13	Winthrop	40
																1	North Carolina	83

																3	Louisville	73
	6	Oklahoma	72

	11	Saint Joseph	64
						6	Oklahoma	48

						3	Louisville	78
	3	Louisville	79

	14	Boise State	61
											3	Louisville	79

											2	Tennessee	60
	7	Butler	81

	10	South Alabama	61
						7	Butler	71

						2	Tennessee	76
	2	Tennessee	72

	15	American	57

2008 South Region Bracket

All games airing on CBS

	First Round March 20 & 21 Sites TBD					Second Round March 22 & 23 Sites TBD					Regional Semifinals March 28 Reliant Stadium, Houston TX					Finals March 30 Reliant Stadium, Houston TX

	1	Memphis	87
	16	UT Arlington	63
						1	Memphis	77

						8	Mississppi State	74
	8	Mississppi State	76

	9	Oregon	69
											1	Memphis	92

											5	Michigan State	74
	5	Michigan State	72

	12	Temple	61
						5	Michigan State	65

						4	Pittsburgh	54
	4	Pittsburgh	82

	13	Oral Roberts	63
																1	Memphis	85

																2	Texas	67
	6	Marquette	74

	11	Kentucky	66
						6	Marquette	81

						3	Stanford	82
	3	Stanford	77

	14	Cornell	53
											3	Stanford	62

											2	Texas	82
	7	Miami FL	78

	10	Saint Mary's	64
						7	Miami FL	72

						2	Texas	75
	2	Texas	74

	15	Austin Peay	54

2008 Midwest Region Bracket

All games airing on CBS

	First Round March 20 & 21 Sites TBD					Second Round March 22 & 23 Sites TBD					Regional Semifinals March 28 Ford Field, Detroit MI					Finals March 29 Ford Field, Detroit MI

	1	Kansas	85
	16	Portland State	61
						1	Kansas	75

						8	UNLV	56
	8	UNLV	71

	9	Kent State	58
											1	Kansas	72

											12	Villanova	57
	5	Clemson	69

	12	Villanova	75
						12	Villanova	84

						13	Siena	72
	4	Vanderbilt	62

	13	Siena	83
																1	Kansas	59

																10	Davidson	57
	6	USC	67

	11	Kansas State	80
						11	Kansas State	55

						3	Wisconsin	72
	3	Wisconsin	71

	14	Cal St. Fullerton	56
											3	Wisconsin	56

											10	Davidson	73
	7	Gonzaga	76

	10	Davidson	82
						10	Davidson	74

						2	Georgetown	70
	2	Georgetown	66

	15	UMBC	47

2008 West Region Bracket

All games airing on CBS

	First Round March 20 & 21 Sites TBD					Second Round March 22 & 23 Sites TBD					Regional Semifinals March 27 US Airways Arena, Phoenix AZ					Finals March 29 US Airways Arena, Phoenix AZ

	1	UCLA	70
	16	Miss Valley St.	29
						1	UCLA	53

						9	Texas A&M	49
	8	BYU	62

	9	Texas A&M	67
											1	UCLA	88

											12	W. Kentucky	78
	5	Drake	99

	12	W. Kentucky	101
						12	W. Kentucky	72

						13	San Diego	63
	4	UConn	69

	13	San Diego	70
																1	UCLA	76

																3	Xavier	57
	6	Purdue	90

	11	Baylor	79
						6	Purdue	78

						3	Xavier	85
	3	Xavier	73

	14	Georgia	61
											3	Xavier	79

											7	West Virginia	75
	7	West Virginia	75

	10	Arizona	65
						7	West Virginia	73

						2	Duke	67
	2	Duke	71

	15	Belmont	70

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