Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For

And the brackets for this year's Final Four are complete - and they do include a #1 seed, as Texas topped a gutty, gritty Michigan State squad 85-76 in San Antonio to win the South regional and mark the Longhorns' first Final Four appearance in the modern era (their last was in 1947, when only 8 teams were in the tournament - which meant you only had to win one game to make the national semifinals). Texas will take on Syracuse in one semifinal, with Marquette facing Kansas in the other (both on Saturday). If there was any question that the Big 12's become just as much of a basketball conference as a football one, it should be clear now: this is the second year in a row that two Big 12 teams have made the Final Four (it was Kansas and Oklahoma in '02). I like Kansas to win it all; these Jayhawks almost feel like a team of destiny (especially considering what they've achieved without Wayne Simien), and Roy Williams has never won a national championship. Mind you, I won't be suprised if Syracuse wins the title, either - Orange coach Jim Boeheim has also never won it all, and it's hard to deny freshman of the year (really, who else?) Carmelo Anthony anything. Let's go to New Orleans, y'all.