Final Four - Special Auto Industry Bailout Edition

A loss of feeling in my fingers. An empty numbness in my heart. I must be in shock. For the first time in 12 years, I will not get to watch any of the Final Four. Ugh. It's late and I need to wake up at 7:30am to go for a Jeep ride thru a canyon, so I'll get to the point: Predictions.

1) UNC over Villanova, 95-77
As big deal as we'd all like to make of this, I can't see much of a game here. Pundits can make all they want of Nova's final four run, but at the end of the day they beat the worst 1 seed and the second-worst 2 seed in the tourny. UNC is on another plane of existence. It still baffles me why they weren't the unanimous choice to win it all when the tourny started. In order to win this, Villanova needs to play as perfect a game as their '85 brothers did to beat Ewing's Georgetown Hoyas (they shot 80% in the 2nd half and still only won by 2). I will be shocked if this game is decided by less than 10 points. I don't see any area where Villanova has an edge.

2) MSU over UConn, 70-67
This game is really fascinating. I see two options: A UConn blowout or a razor-thin MSU victory. I'm going with the latter for these reasons:
1) Thabeet. He's an unbelievable defensive presence who can shut down any opponent's inside game, but he's going to have a tough time scoring on MSU. Also, MSU's big men can also hit from the outside. They only go inside on smart looks and have no trouble hitting those mid-range jumpers.
2) Guard play. MSU matches the Dyson-less Huskies step for step.
3) Rebounding margin. Thabeet should neutralize this advantage to an extent, but MSU has four guys who pull down ridiculous boards. EVen with a 7'3" monster under the rim, I still expect MSU to have more second-chance points.
4) Home court advantage. Not as big a deal as everyone is making, but it's still significant. Izzo used this Final Four to recruit a number of players currently on the roster. Also, this is a city in pain, and MSU knows it. Remember how the Yankes played in the Stadium after 9/11? I expect a similar level of emotion from these kids.
5) Tom Izzo. Best coach in the game today, hand's down. What's that you say? No, you're wrong. It's Izzo.
6) Big Games: UConn's path here was significantly easier than MSU's.
7) My gut. I picked MSU to make the championship game before the Big 10 conference tournament, and I'm sticking by that pick.

That said, UConn has much more star power than MSU. If MSU doesn't get boards and can't slow down AJ Price, this could be a Spartan massacre. I have faith in the Spartans...that is, until they run into Roy's Boys on Monday.