SPORTS
And then there were four. Although teams have been upset in the 2007 edition of March Madness, the last four standing are top seeds—Florida and Ohio St. are number ones and Georgetown and UCLA number twos.
But the apparent lack of drama leading up to the tournament semifinal doesn’t mean that the Final Four is going to be bland.
There is excitement for this weekend’s action and fans are gearing up for some very good basketball. There will most definitely be some madness on the final day of March.
Final Four @ Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Saturday, March 31, 2007
(No. 1 South) Ohio State Buckeyes vs. (No. 2 East) Georgetown Hoyas
Game Time: 6:06 p.m. EST
Line: Georgetown -1
Total: 129½
March Madness Betting Stats
Ohio State: 2-2 ATS, 4 Overs and 0 Unders
Georgetown: 2-2 ATS, 2 Overs and 2 Unders
Greg Oden has gotten into foul trouble the past two games and is in for even more of a challenge as Georgetown will counter with 7’2” C Roy Hibbert.
Hibbert isn’t clunky either; he has averaged 13 ppg throughout the tournament as well as 11.5 rebounds. For his part, Oden has averaged 14.75 ppg and 8.5 rpg throughout the tourney.
(No. 1 Midwest) Florida Gators vs. (No. 2 West) UCLA Bruins
Game Time: 8:47 p.m. EST
Line: Florida -3
Total: 130
March Madness Betting Stats
Florida: 2-2 ATS, 3 Overs and 1 Under
UCLA: 3-1 ATS, 0 Overs and 4 Unders
It will be a case of déjà vu all over again in the game between representatives of the Midwest and West regions. The Gators and the Bruins met in last year’s final—with Florida winning 73-57—and both should be rearing to go at it, at least for old times sake.
2006 Tournament MVP, Joakim Noah, is averaging 12.2 ppg, while Taurean Green leads the team with
13.3 ppg. Green and Noah are just two of five Gators who average double-digit points per game totals.
But it would be foolish to think that the defending champs will walk all over UCLA again. Darren Collison has filled in for the departed PG Jordan Farmar quite well (5.7 assists a game) and Arron Afflalo leads the team in scoring with 16.9 ppg.
The championship final between the winners of this weekend’s games takes place on April 2, 2007.