Mar 29, 2014; Memphis, TN, USA; Florida Gators forward Will Yeguete reacts after defeating Dayton Flyers in the finals of the south regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament at FedEx Forum. Florida won 62-52. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
And then there were four…
The craziest weekend in sports, followed by another somewhat less frenetic weekend of basketball, has pared down 68 teams to just the Final Four. Despite having three out of the eight teams left in the NCAA Tournament, the Big Ten got just one of them to North Texas, with both teams from the state of Michigan being sent home.
I am sitting at 45-19 with my round-by-round picks and with only three games to go!
Here’s a little recap of what went down this past weekend:
» Florida vs. Dayton: Last weekend saw Dayton’s miracle run end as Florida just smothered them, taking the largely pro-Dayton crowd out of the game. The Gators did not let the Flyers get out in transition and run the floor, which was what had led them to big wins over Ohio State, Syracuse, and Stanford.  Florida was the only team that succeeded in stopping that part of their game.
That was the only game of the weekend that was not within single digits. The Gators finally erase the sting of three straight losses in the Elite Eight with a 10-point win over the Flyers.
» UConn vs. Michigan State: Connecticut, carried by strong guard play once again, matched Michigan State’s defense punch for punch. UConn jumped out to a 12-2 lead, but back came Michigan State with outside shooting, playing themselves to a four point halftime lead. The Huskies overcame an eight-point deficit in the second half to win by six.  They became the first seven seed to make the Final Four since the tournament expanded to it’s current format in 1985.
Michigan State’s inability to get the ball inside against the UConn D (they had just six points in the paint) doomed them. They just aren’t good enough shooters from outside, but it was the only (somewhat) open shots they could get. Shabazz Napier once again took over the game for the Huskies. He scored 25 of their 60 points. The Spartans had the misfortune of drawing a regional team that pretty much had a home game in New York City. The Garden was filled to the brim with Husky fans. Sparty was lucky if they had 20 percent of the building. The crowd fueled UConn’s first Final Four trip since they won the National Championship three years ago.
Mar 29, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers players celebrate against the Arizona Wildcats after overtime in the finals of the west regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament at Honda Center. The Badgers defeated the Wildcats 64-63. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
» Wisconsin vs. Arizona: Wisconsin is headed back to the Final Four for the first time in 14 years — thanks to Frank Kaminsky and his 28-point outburst, including six in overtime.
You may think that 28 is no big deal, that several players do that on any given week in basketball, but take this into consideration: the Badgers only scored 64 points total, meaning Kaminsky had nearly half of their points.
Wisconsin also defeated No. 1 seed Arizona in the Regional Final in 2000, the last time the Badgers made it to the promised land. In fact, this was the first time under Bo Ryan that the Badgers have beaten a team seeded four or better. They were 0-6 prior to this game.
This game was a physcial, defensive struggle for the whole 45 minutes. Neither team was able to compile much of a lead. It came down to the wire. Arizona had the ball with just over five seconds left in overtime and made a move to the basket, but an unprecedented offensive foul was called on Pac-12 Player of the Year Nick Johnson.
Was it a foul?
I guess it depends on where your allegiances lie, but I’ve seen far worse things go without being called in the last possession of a game. It was a foul, but it wasn’t so obvious that it is always called, especially at this point in the game where the officials usually let the more petty things go.
Still, the Wildcats were given a gift when Wisconsin couldn’t control the inbounds pass, resulting in a lengthy review, and Arizona getting the ball with two seconds left. Johnson again had a chance to win it for the Wildcats, but he was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer, resulting in the highest sales of Miller products in the state of Wisconsin since the Packers won the Super Bowl in 2011.
» Kentucky vs. Michigan: If Kentucky was winded or sore after the in-state brawl vs. Louisville, it sure didn’t show agianst Michigan.
The Wolverines were dominated on the boards, especially on the defensive end. Kentucky came up with a whopping 17 offensive boards — nearly as many as they had defensively (18). The Wildcats’ size eventually wore down Michigan.
Glenn Robinson III hit a couple of huge three-pointers from the corner to keep Michigan’s hopes alive down the stretch, but once again, Aaron Harrison took over the last eight minutes of the game like he did against Louisville. Harrison was cold for the first 32 minutes of the game, but he hit four huge threes down the stretch, including the game-winner from NBA range.
Kentucky became the first team ever to oust the defending National Champion and runner-up from the same tournament. The Wildcats are also the first all-freshman starting five to make the Final Four since the 1992 Fab Five of Michigan that included future NBA players Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Chris Webber. The difference was that all five of the Michigan freshman came back to school to try and win a title. How many will return from this Kentucky squad? I will set the over/under at two.
And now for the what you’ve been waiting for, the predictions are in…
Mar 30, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Shabazz Napier (13) shoots the ball against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half in the finals of the east regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
THE FINAL FOUR at ARLINGTON, TX:
(1) Florida vs. (7) Connecticut:
Florida won the South Region by beating Albany, Pittsburgh, UCLA, and Dayton. While they didn’t look dominant in any of these games (besides maybe the UCLA tilt), they still won all of them by double-digits.
Connecticut won the East Region by beating St Joseph’s, Villanova, Iowa State, and Michigan State. Shabazz Napier has carried the Huskies through the last two games nearly by himself.
Connecticut was the last team to beat Florida. 30 games ago.  In Storrs.  On December 2nd. Of 2013.
Florida will have their work cut out for them again, but they lost on a last second shot on the road. This time the game is at a neutral site. And the Gators are only the second team in tournament history to win all four regional games by double-digits and hold their opponents under 70. The other two were the 1999 Duke Blue Devils and the 2000 Michigan State Spartans. Duke lost in the Championship Game that year (to Connecticut), and Michigan State won the title in 2000. I can’t bet against history. (Pick: Florida)
(2) Wisconsin vs. (8) Kentucky:
Wisconsin won the West Region by beating American, Oregon, Baylor, and Arizona. The Badgers did it by being physical with American, Baylor, and Arizona, but they proved that they can also win a track meet, scoring 85 against the Ducks. This is not your older brother’s slow-footed, strong-armed Badger team. They are more complete this time around.
Kentucky ran the gauntlet known as the Midwest Region by beating Kansas State, Wichita State, Louisville, and Michigan. Before you call this an unlikely run, remember that Kentucky was the preseason No. 1 team, and some thought that they might run the table on the entire season. Yes, they have that much talent.
This will be another game of tempo.
Kentucky likes to run the floor and get high-flying dunks to amp up themselves and the crowd, not to mention demoralize their opponents. Wisconsin would much rather slow you down where they can run their offense to find an open shot. Kentucky has the size so they won’t get pushed around by Wisconsin the way Baylor did. Kentucky is a better shooting team than Arizona from the outside, so even if the Badgers take away the lane, they can still light up the scoreboard from outside. The Badgers are a really good free throw shooting team, and we are at the point in the tournament now that games are only separated by a few points. This skill cannot be underestimated.  Both of these teams are playing very well right now, and I expect another entertaining one here. (Pick: Wisconsin)
Come to Fantasy CPR on Sunday to see my prediction for Monday’s Championship Game!
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