North Carolina, Connecticut, Michigan State and Villanova are the only four teams that remain in this years NCAA Tournament. Some had easier roads than others to get here but no matter the path that was taken, only one team will emerge as the 2009 College Basketball Champion. Continuing our stellar selections over the past few weeks, That’s-All-Folks.com has turned in our picks for the championship game below. Enjoy.

(2) Michigan State (30-6) vs. (1) UCONN (31-4) 6:07pm ET Tip

The Michigan State Spartans will have the home crowd of Detroit on their side when they square off against the Huskies of UCONN at Ford Field in Detroit Michigan. Both sides have had unlikely leaders throughout the tournament; Michigan State relying on the hot hand of Goran Suton and UCONN finding an inside presence with Stanley Robinson. The Spartans are certainly a deeper team than UCONN but that might not matter if UCONN can dominate the low post. The Huskies won’t be able to skate away with an easy win unless their guards play better than they have in previous tourney games. A.J. Price has not been impressive lately, so look for Michigan State to slow the game down and put pressure on Price late in the shot-clock. With the roar of the crowd and a little bit of luck, expect Michigan State to make the Big Dance once again.

PREDICTION: Michigan State 65 – UCONN 60

(3) Villanova (30-7) vs. (1) North Carolina (32-4) 8:47pm ET Tip

Although North Carolina is a collection of stars, Villanova is looked at more as a team. None of those players are being projected as having big NBA futures. Guard Scottie Reynolds, of course, is already a college star, courtesy of his floor-length dash and layup for the winning basket against Pittsburgh last weekend. He will need to have a HUGE game in order to take down the Tar-Heels tonight. On the other side, Ty Lawson has looked 100% in North Carolinas last few games, as he is torching opponents for 20+ points. Back when Lawson was seven years old, he and Villanova leading scorer Dante Cunningham were teammates on a Rec basketball team. Undoubtedly, Cunningham will not be rooting for his long-life friend in this one, but sadly I don’t think it will matter. North Carolina has size, speed, strength and almost every intangible known to man. Villanova has Jay Wright. Although it’s a pretty even split, go with North Carolina in this one, and expect Tyler Hansbrough to put together a monster.

PREDICTION: North Carolina 79 – Villanova 71

Here at That’s-All-Folks.com, we really don’t like to brag but after a perfect four for four night, we’re gonna.

Not only were all four selections correct, it’s almost as if each games write-up was perfect too. Even the predictions of margin of victory were near exact for three out of four games! I would suggest if you want to know who will win tonight’s games, just read below!

(12) Arizona (21-13) vs. (1) Louisville (29-4) 7:10ET Tip

The Louisville Cardinals pulled off a rare feat for the Big East this year, winning the Regular Season crown, Big East Tournament, and capturing the number 1 overall seed in the tournament. Arizona pulled off a rare feat by making this tournament when they should not have been considered. Whether you agree with their selection or not, they have played well enough to advance to the Sweet 16. Unfortunately, the party stops here. Louisville has what I consider to be the deepest team remaining in the tournament, and should have little trouble dispensing an over-achieving Wildcats team. From Tip-Off to final horn, this one will be an annihilation.

PREDICTION: Louisville Cardinals by 19

(3) Syracuse (28-9) vs. (2) Oklahoma (29-5) 7:25ET Tip

Player of the year Blake Griffin takes on the Orange of Syracuse in what proves to be the most even of the Sweet 16 games. (At least on paper) Syracuse has had a few memorable games of late, specifically in the Big East tournament where they outlasted UCONN in six overtimes. The Sooners have played well enough not to sweat the last few minutes but you can guarantee this one won’t be as easy for them. If Jackson and Onuaku can stay out of foul trouble, (Hard to do against Griffin) expect the Orange to find their way into the Elite 8.

PREDICTION: Syracuse Orangemen by 5

(3) Kansas (27-7) vs. (2) Michigan St (28-6) 9:35ET Tip

The rebuilding year that Kansas was supposed to have just won’t end as tonight they face-off against #2 seed Michigan St. The Spartans come into this match-up winning the Big Ten regular season title, which was no major accomplishment yet again. Summers and Lucas have provided sparks for the Spartans this year but the team lacks consistent shooting throughout a game, making them a shaky selection for the next round. Kansas has certainly over-performed this year, and unless Aldrich has another triple-double, expect Michigan St. to squeak by in a terribly sloppy game.

PREDICTION: Michigan St Spartans by 2

(4) Gonzaga (28-5) vs. (1) North Carolina (30-4) 9:55ET Tip

The North Carolina Tar Heels playing only a few miles from home take on the Bracket Busters of years ago Gonzaga Bulldogs for what should be the game that wraps up the Sweet 16. Gonzaga had a cake-walk first two games, beating Akron and Western Kentucky (Not convincingly) and North Carolina should be able to take advantage. Although Gonzaga played a tough non-conference schedule, they haven’t faced a top quality team in months. With Lawson back to 90+%, expect this game to be a romp like the first, regardless of what Heytvelt and Daye can do for Gonzaga.

PREDICTION: North Carolina Tarheels by 20

Later this evening, the first half of Sweet 16 action in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will begin. Let’s take a look at the game-by-game match-ups and predict who will make it to the Elite Eight. (A post will follow Friday, Saturday and Sunday for those games)

(5) Purdue (27-9) vs. (1) UCONN (29-4) 7:10ET Tip

The Huskies of UCONN come into this match-up without being tested in either of the first two rounds, while the Boilermakers of Purdue struggled in both of their previous rounds to get this far. Few would argue that the Big East was a stronger conference this year than the Big Ten and even though UCONN will be playing yet again without Jerome Dyson, they should have little trouble getting past a scrappy Purdue bunch. Expect the bigs from UCONN (Thabeet, Adrien, Robinson) to dominate the Boilermakers down low, and UCONN to be firing on all cylinders, on what should be another easy Husky win.

PREDICTION: UCONN Huskies by 13

(4) Xavier (27-7) vs. (1) Pittsburgh (30-4) 7:25ET Tip

The reverse of the match-up above, it is the #1 seed Pittsburgh that has struggled to reach the sweet 16, while the Musketeers of Xavier have cruised to another Sweet 16 berth. Xavier is a very deep team that has a different high scorer every night, where as you can always expect to see Sam Young or Dejuan Blair at the top of the box score for the Panthers. The depth of the Musketeers will certainly cause problems for Pitt late in the game, so expect this game to come down to the wire. Even though Pitt has always fizzled early in the tournament before they should have, don’t expect it this time around.

PREDICTION: Pittsburgh Panthers by 4

(3) Missouri (30-6) vs. (2) Memphis (33-3) 9:35ET Tip

The symbol of C-USA squares off against the Missouri Tigers in what figures to be a back and forth game from start to finish. Missouri loves to run the tempo, and Memphis doesn’t mind following suit, so I see this game finishing in the 80’s for both teams. Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll are the 1-2 punch for Missouri, while Evans and Dozier are Memphis’ go to guys. If the supporting cast for Memphis doesn’t have a spectacular game, I expect to see Missouri pull away late. Memphis is an excellent team but lack of tournament experience for their guards will send them out early this year.

PREDICTION: Tigers by 7 … more specifically, the Missouri Tigers by 7

(3) Villanova (28-7) vs. (2) Duke (30-6) 9:55ET Tip

Villanova looked every bit a Final Four team in their last match-up, running UCLA out of the gym. Their opponent Duke was able to fend off a tough Texas team with the luck of a few missed chippies and some timely rebounds. Both teams had the luxury of playing at home for the first two rounds, so the atmosphere should be a little different this time around. Duke is still a very young team, and I have to say I am very impressed with the development by Coach K thus far. However, if Scottie Reyonlds finally shows up for Villanova, expect Duke to look like a bunch of underclassmen, and Villanova to advance to the Elite 8.

PREDICTION: Villanova Wildcats by 11

Earlier tonight, the field for the 2009 NCAA Tournament was announced and once again the Selection Committee has shown it doesn’t know a lick about College Basketball. Ever since the NCAA expanded the Tournament to include 65 teams (one play-in game) there have been 31 automatic bids and 34 at-large births. Unfortunately, if you don’t play in one of the Big Six Conferences, (ACC, Big10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 10, SEC) your chances of making the tournament as an at-large team have decreased significantly each year. This year, a paltry 4 teams were granted bids that are not members of the conferences above. (BYU, Dayton, Butler, Xavier) Why does the Selection Committee continue to downplay the 25 small conferences, no matter their resume at the end of the year?

Let’s compare the resumes of the first two Mid-Major schools left out of the dance, Creighton and San Diego State to Arizona (Pac-10), the last team to gain entry into the field. We will look at the three major areas the Selection Committee looks at: Their overall records, RPI, and the team’s latest play before Selection Sunday.

• Creighton (26-7) [RPI *40] Won 11 of their last 12 games
• San Diego State (23-9) [RPI *34] Won 5 of their last 6 games

• Arizona (19-13) [RPI *62] Lost 5 of their last 6 games

Granted, there are a few other factors that are looked at (Road Wins, Record vs. Top 50 RPI, Quality Wins etc.) but I assure you that those do not go in Arizona’s favor either. Almost every statistical category you can think of belongs to the Mid-Major schools in this example (Plenty of other examples as well), so why pick a sub-standard team when others are obviously more deserving? Why continue to decrease the number of bids for up-start basketball programs in favor of increasing bids for those that have solidified their mark in College Athletics? To be honest, this Blogger can’t figure it out. I’ve looked at the money angle, the booster angle, and the television angle… and none of them would suggest more is gained from selecting Arizona.

It appears this one can simply be chalked up to pure, old-fashioned stupidity. Eventually the system will attempt to correct itself (As the BCS did for College Football… HA) but for the next few years, if your looking to sacrifice a little bit of academics to attend a school that plays in March Madness, you better pick a school from the Big Six conferences. Otherwise, get used to the most overused phrase in sports “There’s always Next Year”