March Madness: THE FINAL FOUR!!

LSU
■ Preseason projection: The Tigers figured to be somewhere around last year’s 20-10 record, a season that ended with an opening-round NCAA Tournament loss to Alabama-Birmingham. LSU welcomed a nice recruiting class that included Tasmin Mitchell, Magnum Rolle and Garrett Temple. Redshirt freshman Tyrus Thomas would play for the first time this season. But the Tigers figured to miss SEC player of the year Brandon Bass.
■ Regular season: LSU didn’t take December by storm and stood 8-5 after a loss at Connecticut on Jan. 7. But players said they felt good about the team’s direction and rattled off a seven-game winning streak. The Tigers ran away with the West Division title with an SEC-best 14-2 record. Glen “Big Baby” Davis became SEC player of the year as a sophomore, and senior Darrel Mitchell ran the show from the point
■ Postseason: One victory and done in by Florida in the SEC tournament, but the Tigers felt good about their NCAA Tournament situation. A fourth seed in the Atlanta Regional, LSU needed a Mitchell three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left to beat Texas A&M by one. The Tigers then whipped top-seeded Duke and second-seeded Texas in reaching the program’s third Final Four. Thomas and his springs-for-legs dominated the regional.
Florida
■ Preseason projection: The Gators were predicted to be Kentucky’s toughest challenge in the SEC East, but three lost starters and others who accounted for 60 percent of the team’s scoring would make it tough for Florida to match last season’s 12-4 league mark.
■ Regular season: Florida stunned college basketball by racing to a 17-0 start. The schedule wasn’t exactly Murderer’s Row, but Syracuse and three SEC opponents were part of the quick start. Then came a 5-6 middle, which included two losses to East winner Tennessee. The starting lineup consisted of four sophomores, including emerging star Joakim Noah, and they got their act together in time for a regular-season final victory at Kentucky.
■ Postseason: By holding off South Carolina to win the SEC championship, Florida got what appeared to be an inflated No. 3 seed in the Minneapolis regional. But the Gators proved ready for tournament play by blistering South Alabama and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, then holding off Georgetown and Villanova as Noah’s stock as a future pro soared.
UCLA
■ Preseason projection: Somewhere behind Stanford and Arizona, fighting for third with Washington and California was said to be the Bruins’ fate. Coach Ben Howland won 11 games in his first season in Los Angeles two years ago and 18 last season as UCLA returned to the NCAA Tournament. A similar victory total seemed a reasonable goal.
■ Regular season: The Bruins picked up steam throughout the season. By Feb. 2 they had completed a season sweep of Arizona, and four straight victories ending the regular season clinched the Pacific-10 championship. A wonderful backcourt of Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo built on last year’s solid freshman seasons. Most games, UCLA controlled the tempo and played rugged defense. It won at Washington State 50-30.
■ Postseason: UCLA hardly broke a sweat sweeping through the Pac-10 tournament at Staples Center and won the No. 2 seed in the Oakland regional. The Bruins were all but beaten by Gonzaga in the regional, trailing by nine with 3:27 remaining. But UCLA scored the game’s last 11 points and pulled out a miracle and then put a defensive hammerlock on top-seed Memphis to gain its 16th Final Four.
George Mason
■ Preseason projection: Defending champion Old Dominion returned most of its roster and was supposed to run away with the Colonial. The Patriots? They returned a nice mix of veterans such as Jai Lewis, Lamar Butler and Tony Skinn, while Folarin Campbell had a good freshman season. But Mason would fight it out with Hofstra and North Carolina-Wilmington for second.
■ Regular season: A 20-point loss to Creighton opening the home schedule didn’t bode well for the Patriots. No great nonleague conquests in December meant George Mason was off the radar screen. But the Patriots were terrific in league play, tying North Carolina-Wilmington for the championship at 15-3 and may have picked up the biggest of all BracketBusters victories, at Wichita State.
■ Postseason : It was a nervous team on Selection Sunday. The Patriots lost in the league tournament semifinals, and national pundits were predicting that if the Colonial landed an at-large spot, it might go to tournament runner-up Hofstra. But George Mason got the nod and an 11th seed in the Washington, D.C., regional. Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut all became part of tournament history in the Patriots amazing odyssey to the Final Four.
Source: www.kansascity.com