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Bracket Briefing: 7 reasons not to pick Louisville

Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports
  • Louisville is the overwhelming favorite to cut down the nets at the Final Four
  • Wichita State takes on Louisville first%2C followed by Syracuse vs. Michigan
  • Louisville turned a 16-point second-half deficit into a win against Syracuse
Syracuse Orange guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) and forward Rakeem Christmas (25) react after defeating the Marquette Golden Eagles during the finals of the East regional of the NCAA tournament at the Verizon Center. Syracuse won 55-39.

Welcome to our Final Four session of Bracket Briefing, our attempt to provide you with essential information on the Big Dance — highlighting the Florida Gulf Coasts and Wichita States of the college basketball world.

Soundtrack: Before you read any more, take a listen to this morning's jam of the day.

The first word: Finally, it's the weekend. It's not just any weekend, though. It's Final Four weekend. Saturday night, Louisville, Wichita State, Syracuse and Michigan will take the court in Atlanta to set up Monday night's championship game.

Finally, we can start talking about the actual games for a change after a week of other news. Rutgers and its ball-chucking, now-fired coach Mike Rice along with just-resigned AD Tim Pernetti have dominated the spotlight that was supposed to belong to the teams in Atlanta. But tourney madness has the power to trump all scandals. Tipoff of 6:09 p.m. ET cannot come soon enough.

Will Michigan cut down the nets for the first time since 1989?

Going against the odds: If you picked Louisville to cut down the nets on Monday night, please, don't consider yourself a genius. It was the obvious choice for a number of reasons back on March 17. The Cardinals had just won the Big East tournament, were boasting a momentous winning streak and their defense was unquestionably the best in the country — supporting the defense wins championships adage. Now, with Final Four games here, Rick Pitino and his players are even better positioned to have their one shining moment. Of all the shockers that happened in this NCAA tournament — Florida Gulf Coast's Sweet 16 run, Harvard's first-round upset, Wichita State ousting Gonzaga — Louisville not winning would be just as surprising.

But there's a reason plenty of sports fans don't want the New York Yankees to win every year. It's boring. That's why the tournament has an unmatched aura. Only in the NCAA tournament can an Atlantic Sun coach become the front-runner for a USC coaching vacancy in mere weeks. Only in the NCAA tournament can Ali Farokhmanesh be pronounced correctly. Only in the NCAA tournament can Christian Laettner be ranked ahead of Michael Jordan.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino led his team to the Final Four despite an injury-plagued year.

Yesterday we discussed the key ingredients to Wichita State staging one of, if not the biggest upsets of all-time if it were to take out the heavily favored Cardinals. Here's a simpler hypothetical rundown of how and why favorite Louisville won't hoist up the title.

  • Louisville will lose against Wichita State if Russ Smith isn't going on a scoring tear.
  • Louisville will lose against Wichita State if Malcolm Armstead outperforms Peyton Siva like he did Aaron Craft.
  • Louisville will lose against Michigan if Trey Burke carries the most offensively potent team on his back like he did in the second half/overtime against Kansas.
  • Louisville will lose against Michigan if UM's role players — Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III, Mitch McGary — have big shooting nights.
  • Louisville will lose against Syracuse if the Orange's vaunted 2-3 zone forces the Cards to get turnover-happy.
  • Louisville will lose against Syracuse if if the Orange can handle the Cards' fullcourt pressure better than they did in the Big East tournament title game when Louisville turned a 16-point second-half deficit into an 18-point lead.
  • Louisville will lose if a key player suffers a serious injury, particularly if it's a guard where they do not have much depth after Kevin Ware's injury..

Final Four corner: Background behind each team.

The matchup (at 6:09 p.m. ET): Louisville vs. Wichita State in-depth analysis.

The matchup (approx. 8:49 p.m. ET): Michigan vs. Syracuse in-depth analysis.

Syracuse: Point guard Michael Carter-Williams is the Orange's 'rock.' Read the story here.

Louisville: 10 reasons why the Cardinals will win the national title. Read the story here.

Wichita State: Former oil-changer Armstead steering Shockers' well-oiled machine. Read the story here.

Michigan: John Beilein "born" to be head coach, never an assistant. Read the story here.

75th Anniversary: Fans pick best players, moments, games. Did they get it right? Read the story here.

No hard feelings: Mike Kyrzyzewski posed with Louisville stars Russ Smith, Peyton Siva and Gorgui Dieng for the photo of the day.

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Quotable: "I saw the USA TODAY. I think I'm getting underpaid, too. So I don't know what's going on here." -- Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said jokingly.

In the news: Legendary coach Jerry Tarkanian is poised to be inducted into the hall of fame. (Via USA TODAY Sports)

The highlight reel: Detroit's Doug Anderson landed a reverse between-the-legs 360 dunk to win Thursday's College Basketball Slam Dunk Contest. It was rather Vince Carter-like.

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Must-read: Columnist Bob Kravitz argues, If coaches can jump schools, why can't athletes? Via USA TODAY Sports

Sounding off: "Rutgers is Penn State all over again. It's another sports program at a major university run amok. It's athletic department leaders who look the other way and/or make very wrong decisions. And when the outside world finds out, those leaders duck for cover and call it a "failure of process," not the very personal failing that it is." — USA TODAY Sports' Christine Brennan.

Kickin' it old school: The vintage clip of the day goes to...

Vermont, T.J. Sorrentine stun Syracuse.

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Follow/engage with college hoops junkie Scott Gleeson @ScottMGleeson.

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