Simply put, it was the greatest collection of Elite Eight games in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
On Saturday, Louisville overcame a 20-point first half deficit to defeat West Virginia in overtime, in a game where the teams launched an astounding 55 three-pointers, making an even more astounding 55 percent of their field goals all while combining for a mere 25 turnovers.
Hours later, top-seeded Illinois rallied from 15 points down in the last four minutes to defeat a poised Arizona team, also in overtime. A day later, North Carolina fought off a valiant effort from overachieving Wisconsin to win by six. In the weekend's final game, Kentucky and Michigan State battled into double overtime, with Michigan State fending off Kentucky's swarming defense and a classic buzzer-beater to prevail.
After the unforgettable weekend, four teams are left --- each with an equally incredible story.
Louisville entered the tournament incensed at what they perceived as an unfair seeding. Four wins later, the Cardinals have proven their real worth, making history along the way. With the win on Saturday, Rick Pitino became the first coach to take three teams to the Final Four.
Illinois entered the tournament as the number one overall seed and came within a buzzer-beater of going undefeated throughout the regular season.
All this occurred only two years after coach Bruce Weber received a less-than-hospitable welcome in Champagne, with many questioning the decision to hire him. Before this year started, star guard Luther Head offered to leave the team, believing his personal and behavioral problems were too much of a strain on his teammates.
However, the team rallied around Weber and Head, and with the help of backcourt leaders Dee Brown and Deron Williams, the Illini fought their way to St. Louis and the Final Four.
North Carolina, the most talented team in the country, faced a much less rocky road to the Final Four, though it still has many compelling stories to tell.
Coach Roy Williams, though a future Hall of Famer, has yet to win a national championship. Forward Sean May looks to equal the feat of his father, who led the undefeated 1976 Indiana Hoosiers to the championship. May and guards Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants compose the school's most hyped recruiting class and will strive to collectively silence critics who have accused the stars of underachieving over the past few seasons. Finally, freshman forward Marvin Williams may be the best player in the tournament and the top pick in this year's NBA draft -- and he doesn't even start for the Tar Heels.
Finally, Michigan State upset Kentucky and Duke to become only the fifth team seeded fifth or lower to reach the Final Four since 2000. Led by a variety of athletic role players and a deep bench, Michigan State used its veteran coaching staff and intelligent play to win, despite a lack of star players.
Though few believed Michigan State would make it this far, the Spartans have proven the doubters wrong, and look to continue the trend in St. Louis over the weekend.
As for the games themselves, all four teams will try to use the momentum of the Elite Eight to carry them to the championship. Though Louisville has remained resolute in character and efficient in its game, Illinois' big three of Williams, Brown and Head will be too much for Taquan Dean, Francisco Garcia and Larry O'Bannon to handle.
In the other semifinal, Michigan State's depth will present a formidable challenge to Carolina's talent. In the end, however, Marvin Williams and senior Jawad Williams will provide enough offense for the Tar Heels to advance to the championship game.
To reach the Final Four, each team put forth some of its better performances of the season, which resulted in a great weekend of college basketball. Hopefully, though, they will have saved the best for last.
