Kentucky Held On, While Kansas Came From Behind

Kentucky 69 Louisville 61

The first Final Four matchup was the Battle of the Bluegrass between Kentucky and Louisville. Kentucky built the lead early behind great defensive prowess, especially that of Anthony Davis. Louisville looked like it had a chance when they pulled even on Peyton Siva's three-pointer with just over nine minutes to go in the game, but the Cardinals failed to score over the next six minutes. The Wildcats took over during that stretch, and the Cardinals could never recover. In the game, Davis showed why he is the best player in the country. He had 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks. That in and of itself is impressive, but that doesn't even take into account the number of shots Davis altered or influenced. The Wildcats had the better talent on the floor, and it showed in the result.

Kansas 64 Ohio State 62

In the second Final Four game, Ohio State came out on fire. They built the lead to 26-13 and seemed to be in complete control. Kansas head coach Bill Self called a timeout and whatever he said turned things around for the Jayhawks. Over the next 12 minutes, Kansas went on a 25-12 run to tie the game up at 38. Ohio State regained the lead, but were never able to put away the Jayhawks. With 2:22 left in the game, Aaron Craft put the lead at 3 for the Buckeyes. From that point on, the Kansas defense took it up a notch. In the final seconds, Ohio State trailed by 3, so Kansas fouled Aaron Craft before he could get off a shot. He made the first free throw and missed the second on purpose. However, he was called for a lane violation trying to get the rebound. The Buckeye players were so busy yelling at the official that Kansas inbounded the ball and won the game. Everyone will talk about Kansas' Thomas Robinson's dominance on offense in the paint as the difference in the game, I would argue that it was the other Jayhawk big man, Jeff Withey, who was the biggest difference maker. Withey quietly had 8 rebounds and 7 blocks. He bothered Ohio State star Jared Sullinger all night and made every shot in the paint difficult for the Buckeyes. Kansas showed why once again why you can't count them out. Kentucky might be the big favorites on Monday, but don't count out the Jayhawks just yet.

Frozen Four: Predicting the Victor

Hello, Tampa. It's good to see you this time of year.

It is fascinating to look over the past season and see all the things that might have been. Crazy to see all the ups and downs every team had. Incredible to see all the injuries teams battled through.

And to realize that it all comes down to one weekend in the palms of Florida to crown a champion.

At this point, the games are set--Ferris State will play Union and Boston College gets Minnesota.

Let's break it down.

FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS

From the cold north of Michigan, Ferris State players probably don't mind the warm temperatures or the time off from college. Especially when there's hockey to be played.

This is Ferris State's first-ever Frozen Four appearance, and it couldn't come at a better time. Since the switch of the season into 2012, the Bulldogs are 4-1-1 against teams that made the NCAA tournament (including games played in-tournament). Since 2012, Ferris has gone 14-3-4, with two of those three coming in the CCHA playoffs. While that may cause Ferris to look unstoppable, losing in the playoffs is not a good thing--especially to a perennial-cellar team like Bowling Green. The Bulldogs looked quite vulnerable at that point, yet rebounded nicely in the tournament with 2-1 wins over Denver and Cornell. Ferris will be quite the task for Union to take down.

UNION COLLEGE DUTCHMEN

Union comes in with the least experience against this year's tournament teams during the regular season. Including the tournament, they only played the teams six times, going 3-1-2. That said, Union is solid. They have 17 wins in their last 21 games (17-2-2). The Dutchmen took down Michigan State 3-1 and UMass-Lowell 4-2. Though their top-twenty schedule is probably the least experienced of the four remaining teams, the Dutchmen have been unstoppable. They get the job done. Plain and simple, the Dutchmen will give the Bulldogs a run for their money...and could even win the whole thing.

BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
It helps that BC has yet to give up a goal in the NCAA tournament. Goaltender Parker Milner has only given up seven goals in the last ten games...with five shutouts for the Eagles. The current consecutive shutout minutes for the BC goalkeeper is currently at 149 minutes and 31 seconds. Boston College is easily the best team coming into the tournament, as they have won their last 17 games. It will be a daunting task for anyone (including Minnesota) to score on this team, much less beat them.

MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
Minnesota has an offense that has exploded during the NCAA tournament, scoring 12 goals in just two games (7-3 over Boston University and 5-2 over rival North Dakota).  Minnesota, however, is the only one of the Frozen Four teams that is not coming into the tournament smoking-hot. They haven't been bad...13-7 since 2012...but they also started the year at 10-1. And they have only been 7-5-1 against teams in this year's tournament (including NCAAs). One thing the Gophers do not lack though is offense and experience. They have five championship titles, with the last one in 2003. They are hungry enough to knock off BC, if they can score. Which they can.

There you have it...my breakdown of the teams. Now comes the hard part: deciding which team will emerge victorious. Here are my predictions.

Ferris State:           2     Union:           3
Boston College:     3      Minnesota:   4


Minnesota: 3
Union: 2  (OT)


NCAA Champion: University of Minnesota

Ageless Moyer Makes Rockies' Rotation

When Jaime Moyer missed all of last season due to Tommy John surgery, many thought that it would be the end of his incredible career. However, Moyer rehabbed and signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies to see if he could make their rotation. The 49 year-old found out that he did just that today. In fact, he gained the #2 spot in the rotation. This season Moyer will gain the opportunity to become the oldest pitcher to earn a victory in MLB history. He earned the rotation spot due in part to a great Spring Training, where he posted a 2.77 ERA.

Moyer will be entering his 25th major league season. He made his big league debut June 16, 1986 with the Chicago Cubs. Moyer has a career record of 267-204 with a 4.24 ERA. He was an All Star in 2003. Moyer will turn 50 in November. He is one of only 29 players to play in major league games in four decades. Moyer has been honored with numerous philanthropic and community service awards.

Moyer seems to be able to simply defy Father Time. He has never been a dominating pitcher, but he has been as consistent an inning-eater as there has been in major league history. On April 7, Moyer is scheduled to make his first start for the Colorado Rockies, a club that didn't even exist when he debuted in 1986. His crafty style still manages to deceive hitters, despite his fastball only being thrown in the 70s. Many might doubt Moyer will have success this season, but he has already overcome so much to make the rotation. I wouldn't be surprised by anything when it comes to Moyer at this point.