now that the tournaments are nearly over, it's about time we take a look back. If you recall, I predicted a men's final four of Wake, Duke, UNC and Arizona, with UNC eventually claiming the title over WF. Well, I was obviously very wrong about most of this, as the only thing that has a chance of happening at this point is for Roy Rogers' Tarheels to come away with the national championship that has eluded him thus far. For the record, the actual Final Four competitors turned out to be Illinois, Louisville, UNC, and Michigan St. I was pretty slow getting this out, so I can already tell you that #1 UNC will be facing #1 Illinois for the title of 2004 top dog. If carolina can pull out the W, it will be the end of a dominating string of victories against Big Ten opponents. As much as they've been conditioning me to hate carolina here, I have ACC pride, so I've still got to say carolina all the way. I also can't say that I'm too upset about the fate of Rick Pitino-led Louisville, given his history with the Boston Celtics (actually, I think the same thing would have happened to Krzyzewski, had he jumped ship for Laker-ville. Given their current record, I'll bet he's thanking his lucky stars that he avoided that mess!).

On the women's side, while there were fewer huge upsets than throughout the course of the men's tourney, things were still shaken up. My predictions: LSU, Minnesota, Rutgers, and Stanford in the final four, with Stanford beating LSU for the title. Reality: LSU, Tennessee (I don't know what possessed me to count a Pat Summit-led team out so early), Baylor, and Michigan St. I know that last weekend, when all this was set, they were partying like there was no tomorrow out in East Lansing. However, the double championship that UConn pulled off last year was not to be repeated, as the men have already been sent home. Better luck next year. I don't know if I can continue to root against Tennessee, although both Baylor and LSU have looked really strong throughout the tournament. Hmm...I think I'll have to take LSU over Tennessee for the title, because they're just too strong this year. Sorry Pat.