The Fantastic Final Four

I'm supposed to tell my Final 4 and why I picked 'em. Well, I can do that; but I figured I'd do a mash-up to make it more fun (at least for me). So I combined my Final Four with the Fantastic Four to get the Fantastic Final Four. I know, I know; that's pretty underwhelming. But at least it has alliteration.

The Participants:

Duke/Mr. Fantastic- The thinker team. The real cerebral choice that most people would naturally choose to be the winner. And I'm sure someone at some point has called J.J. Reddick, "Mr. Fantastic". It was probably Dick Vitale.

Kansas/The Human Torch- The hot, young upstarts. Full of youth and they just really caught fire at the end of the season: rolling right into the top 25, beating Texas for the Big 12 title, and a #4 seed in the NCAA's.

Connecticut/The Invisible Woman- The most talented and potentially most powerful of the 4. Always mentioned as a possible National Champ along with Duke. You almost can't have one without the other...it's like they're married. Get it? Whatever.

Boston College/The Thing- A big, hulking team that just pretty much "clobbered" its way through the season to an 11 ranking, finishing second to Duke in the ACC tourney, and getting a #4 seed at The Big Dance. This team showed they can hang with, and beat, the best in the country. So it's no surprise they're here in the Fantastic Final 4.

The Fight:
Match 1:
Duke/Mr. Fantastic vs Kansas/The Human Torch
Too many mistakes are made by the young Kansas team; and the older, wiser Duke team capitalizes on turnovers and is able to teach them a thing or two about being "on fire" from behind the arc.
Winner: Duke/Mr. Fantastic

Match 2:
Connecticut/The Invisible Woman vs Boston College/The Thing
BC is still a little tired from slugging it out in the ACC tournament and first couple of rounds to get to this point. UConn has had an easier road, and shows its quickness and plays nearly impenetrable defense that is able to shut bruising BC down.
Winner: Connecticut/The Invisible Woman

Championship:
Duke/Mr. Fantastic vs Connecticut/The Invisible Woman
UConn out thinks Duke and reacts well to any adjustments, playing the best defense they've played all year to shut down "Mr. Fantastic." That's not to say Duke won't get their fair share of hits in with a few runs, but they'll come up short in the end as a rally fails late in the game. UConn squeaks out a win.
Winner: Connecticut/The Invisible Woman

There you have it. Your 2006 National Champions: The University of Connecticut Huskies.

Wow. That was actually a little more fun than I had anticipated...

D