Final Four Report- The Backcourts

#5 Michigan St has arguably the deepest and most-experienced guards in the Final Four. They play a rotation of 5 to 6 guards, led by senior Maurice Ager (14.3ppg in the tourney) & sophomore Shannon Brown (13.5 ppg, including 24 against Kentucky).

#4 Louisville features senior Larry O'Bannon (17.8ppg in the tourney) and junior Taquan Dean (17ppg), both of whom have increased their scoring in each round. These two came up huge in the Cardinals' come-from-behind victory against West Virginia, scoring 24 and 23 pts, respectively, and taking over the game after star forward Francisco Garcia fouled out with 4 minutes remaining.

#1 North Carolina is led by stellar juniors Raymond Felton (12.7ppg, 4.2 rpg, 6.9apg in '04-'05) and Rashad McCants (17.8ppg in the tourney). While Jackie Manuel and Melvin Scott provide senior leadership and solid roleplay, it is really Felton and McCants that, when playing well, bring this team to a whole new level.

Jay's Pick: I'd be a fool not to go with the three-headed monster on #1 Illinois. All season, juniors Dee Brown (aka the One-Man Fastbreak) & Deron Williams and senior Luther Head have driven the best team in the nation, each averaging 13+ pts (led by Head's 15.7), 3+ boards, and about 4 assists per game. With Deron Williams stepping up his game (up 4 pts and 2 assists, to 16.5 and 8.5) and their cohesive, heady play as a unit (leading backcourt in assists) expect the Big Three to hit more than their share of Big Shots this weekend.