No weak link among Final Four teams
Jeff Goodman / FOXSports.com
After getting an opportunity to watch three of the Final Four teams play in person twice in the past two weeks, I feel fairly well-qualified to break down each team and its chances of cutting down the nets in Atlanta:
Florida
The Gators aren't stomping over the opposition as they were a year ago when they snuck up on some people en route to their first national title, but they are getting contributions from all five starters.
Billy Donovan's team has the same balance it had a year ago with seemingly a different player leading the team in scoring every game. When Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey are making shots, this team is extremely difficult to defend. It's a matter of picking your poison.
Odds of Winning: 40 percent
Why The Gators Hang Another Banner: When these guys get it going, it looks easy. They share the ball, have chemistry, play with passion and, most of all, they already know exactly what it takes to win a national title.
Chink in the Armor: Horford's ankle could still be an issue. It hasn't been 100 percent all season.
Player to Watch: Taurean Green — The Gators' floor leader has plenty of responsibility. He needs to handle the pressure and also must make shots from the perimeter so that teams can't double-team Horford on the block.
UCLA
The Bruins are the best defensive team of the four — and have a three-pronged perimeter attack that features point guard Darren Collison and wings Arron Afflalo and Josh Shipp.
Shipp wasn't able to play in last year's Final Four because of a hip injury. Collison was backing up Jordan Farmar. Afflalo is a terrific two-way player and the Bruins have terrific defensive interior guys in Lorenzo Mata, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Alfred Aboya.
Odds of Winning: 30 percent
Why the Bruins Hang a Banner: Guards and defense win national titles. Ben Howland has both.
Chink in the Armor: The problem is that UCLA is unable to dump the ball in the low post to anyone for a bucket. Florida has Al Horford, Ohio State has Greg Oden and Georgetown has Roy Hibbert. The Bruins don't have anyone.
Player to Watch: Luc Mbah a Moute — He's a guy who was a hot commodity a year ago and some were even talking about him leaving school early. The versatile forward is a terrific defensive player — and he'll need to come up big against Horford.
Ohio State
It hasn't been an easy road for Thad Matta's Buckeyes, who have had a few close calls along the way. However, that'll make freshmen such as Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr., better prepared for the Final Four. They won't get rattled.
Ron Lewis has averaged 24 points and has made 27-of-46 shots from the field in the four tournament games. Matta has plenty of weapons — Oden, Conley, Lewis, Jamar Butler, Daequan Cook and Ivan Harris are all capable of putting up 20 points.
Odds of Winning: 20 percent
Why the Buckeyes Hang a Banner: Conley is Mr. Poise, Oden is the most dominant defensive player in the country and Lewis has shown he's more than capable of taking — and making — the shot when the game's on the line.
Chink in the Armor: Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble. The Buckeyes have been able to get away with it thus far, but it will eventually catch up with them.
Player to Watch: Daequan Cook — The less-heralded freshman will need to play with more intensity — especially on the defensive end — if he's going to be a factor in the Final Four. He's ultra-talented, but he's only averaged 6.3 points in the Buckeyes' four tournament games.
Georgetown
The Hoyas have played as well as just about anyone over the latter part of the season and the comeback victory over North Carolina legitimized them as a team capable of winning it all.
Roy Hibbert has had five straight double-doubles and Jeff Green just does whatever the Hoyas need for them to win. Georgetown's defense is a close second to UCLA's. Once considered a weakness, the backcourt of Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp has now turned into a strength.
Odds of Winning: 10 percent
Why the Hoyas Hang a Banner: The 1-2 punch of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert is extremely difficult to match. Green does it all and Hibbert is the most-improved big man in the last decade.
Chink in the Armor: Hibbert's foul trouble — The 7-foot-2 junior has had his share of foul problems. If he can stay out of foul difficulty, that certainly makes life much easier for John Thompson III.
Player to Watch: Dajuan Summers — While freshman Vernon Macklin got all the hype in high school, it's Summers who is the team's best freshman. He is versatile and can extend the defense.