March 26
Wow, what a Goliath matchup between Maryland and Kansas. Don't you just get goose bumps thinking about it! The way these teams have been dominant this season, it's almost a shame they have to meet in the national semifinal.

If I were to re-seed this year's Final Four, I would have Maryland play Indiana and Kansas play Oklahoma.

Kansas went undefeated in Big 12 play, survived a first-round scare against Holy Cross and has marched on to Atlanta.

You had to be impressed with the Jayhawks' performance against Oregon -- a 63-34 rebounding edge and 26 offensive rebounds leading to 31 second-chance points.

Have you seen a better inside performance than that posted by the duo of Nick Collison and Drew Gooden? Talk about Windex men sweeping the glass -- they combined for 35 rebounds and 43 points against the Ducks.

That's pure domination ... and the opponent wasn't a cupcake, baby! It was the Pac-10 regular-season champion, an Oregon team that can flat-out play.

Maryland, meanwhile, refused to fold against a Connecticut team that has quite a future if super soph Caron Butler returns to school. Seniors Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter, with their winning mentality and experience, would not allow the Terps to go down to defeat. As the late Jim Valvano would say, "survive and advance."

So these two heavyweights will meet in the semis ... but I'd like to see the selection committee re-seed the teams once the Final Four is finalized. Right now there are two No. 1 seeds in one semifinal, and a No. 2 vs. a No. 5 in the other half of the bracket. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the top seeds in different halves of the draw?

I can hear Oklahoma fans screaming right now, saying it doesn't matter since the Sooners posted wins against Maryland and Kansas this season. I know that, but it still would be better if two No. 1 teams didn't play in the semis with a No. 2 and 5 in the other semifinal. That's just my way of thinking.

If I were to re-seed this year's Final Four, I would have Maryland play Indiana and Kansas play Oklahoma. The way the tournament was laid out, I believe Maryland was the overall No. 1 seed in the field, above Kansas (the Terps played the 64 vs. 65 play-in winner). Even though many said Oklahoma should have been the West's top seed instead of Cincinnati, the Sooners were in fact a No. 2. So I feel that Maryland-Indiana and Kansas-Oklahoma would be the best semifinal scenario.

Overall, the committee has done a great job and most of the chalk has arrived, except for Indiana. The Hoosiers sure spoiled the party for Duke. Let me tell you, it's going to be one special weekend, with Atlanta as the hoops capital of the world, baby!