Southern Comfort

"One more time for y'all..."

Big Boi - Red Velvet

A month ago my friend Vince sent me a text that read: Duke is going to win it all. And while I didn't totally scoff at his message...I had a second thought or two on the matter.

Fantastic Four

Coach K always talks about how the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back...and if there is one thing you can say about the Blue Devils...you can express without hesitation that they play together as team. Their last two games are proof positive that they can play with the best of them, after defeating Purdue, and Baylor...no easy task by any means.

This has been one of the best NCAA tournaments in recent years. It was as unpredictable as it was entertaining, and now that West Virginia, Butler, Michigan State, and Duke have advanced...it seems that anything can happen...mainly because it already has.

Nonetheless the ride is far from over...and if the world had it's say, the Dookies would have lost in the first round. I don't understand why EVERYONE despises Duke...they get the Yankees, Cowboys, and Lakers treatment. That's what happens when you are a proven winner, however Michigan State is also an elite program, winning the national championship twice, along with numerous trips to the Final Four within the the past ten years...but they don't receive the distain that Duke does.

West Virginia is the only team I have left in my bracket after watching Kansas, Kentucky, and Villanova fall by the wayside. It's really good for college basketball to see these schools as the last ones standing. On one end there is the familiarity and experience with Tom Izzo leading the Spartans, and then Duke making the return trip after several years on the outside looking in. On the opposite side of that spectrum is Butler making their first ever trip to the Final Four, and West Virginia is back for the first time since Jerry West led them in 1959...his son Jonnie ironically is a guard on the current team.

The possibilities are endless, however I'm going to stick to my Big East pick West Virginia, and just pray that Duke doesn't make me look too bad this weekend.

Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images