NCAA REGIONAL FINALS

MY PICKS

    SATURDAY

    Florida (2) vs.
Butler (8):
The Gators have eliminated the Bulldogs in two previous NCAA             matchups (a 69-68 overtime win in the 2000 first round and in the 2007 regional             semifinals). Butler is trying to make a second straight Final Four appearance, but its

        glass slipper breaks tonight against a bigger and more athletic Florida five.

    UConn (3) vs. Arizona (5): Two great talents meet
in a clash between teams that missed the             Big Dance last year. Kemba Walker, for my money the national player of the year, has             been unstoppable in the Huskies' remarkable late-season run. Derrick Williams             dominated the second half of the Wildcats' demolition of Duke in Thursday's regional             semis. Lamont "MoMo" Jones will try to contain Walker. The two have been friends             since their junior high school days in New York. UConn waltzed through the first two             rounds before putting San Diego State away late in the semis. Arizona is lucky to be             alive after edging Memphis in the first round and miraculously beating Texas to reach             the Sweet 16. But the Wildcats seem to be peaking, while the Huskies have to be             running low on energy. Arizona ekes out a victory to eliminate the Big East's last hope.

    SUNDAY

    Kansas (1) vs. Virginia Commonwealth (11): Could the Jayhawks have had an easier path             in the tournament? Is there any question the Rams deserved an invitation? No and no.         KU won its first three tournament games by an average of 21 points. After winning its             "play-in" game, VCU dominated Georgetown and Purdue before ousting Florida State in         overtime on a buzzer beater. VCU is the kind of team that has given Kansas fits in recent         NCAA play; but the Jayhawks, the last #1 seed alive, are playing good basketball and will         end VCU's Cinderella dream. The winner will meet the Florida-Butler winner.        

    North Carolina (2) vs. Kentucky (4): Two of the most storied programs in college basketball play         Sunday with the victor advancing to the Final Four. Kentucky, with the most wins in the         history of college hoops, is in its 51^st national tournament, also a record. The Wildcats             have seven national championships, second only to UCLA. They are 103-46 all-time in             national tournaments and have been to the Final Four 13 times. North Carolina, 102-            39 all-time in NCAA tournament play, has five national titles and 18 Final Four                 appearances in 41 trips to the tournament. UNC won the title in 2009 but missed last             year's tournament. Kentucky, which last won the championship in 1998, has been in 18         of the last 19 tournaments, missing out in 2009. Carolina, playing its best ball late in the         year, slipped past Washington in the second round. Kentucky, the SEC tournament             champion, barely got by Princeton in the first round; beat West Virginia 71-63 to             advance; and eliminated top-seed Ohio State, 62-60, on Brandon Knight's jumper with             5.4 seconds to play. North Carolina beat Kentucky, 75-73, in Chapel Hill in December,             but both teams have improved over the course of the season. In what shapes up as a             classic game, John Calipari's Wildcats nip Roy Williams' 'Heels and advance to face             either UConn or Arizona.