From A Rote Tourney Comes A Thrilling Final Four

Of all the little traditions of college basketball, our favorite might be the cutting down of the nets. It's something unique to the game of basketball; in other sports, it's the fans who cause the on-field destruction after a victory. (And we're damn good at it too.) We do always worry a little about the players on those ladders; fortunately, they're tall enough not to need to use that top step, which is not a step.

We're not necessarily still swooning over the weekend of basketball we witnessed — there was only one outstanding game, the Georgetown-North Carolina game yesterday, and that was mostly outstanding because the Tar Heels went 1-for-2,239 down the stretch — but it certainly has set up something beautiful next weekend in Atlanta. (Which we will be present for, by the way; we'll talk more about that this week.)

Seriously, though: Georgetown-Ohio State and Florida-UCLA? That's a rather amazing doubleheader. Even though the whole tournament has been predictable and lacked a lot of fevered lunacy — unless you're talking the Division II tournament — it appears to have led up to something that was all worth it. Remember how lousy all three Final Four games were last year? Shouldn't be a problem this time.

For Four Teams, A Season To Remember [TimesSelect]