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There are a number of contenders this year, but nobody seems to want to win the title. Florida was No. 1 for what, 10 minutes, before losing their very next game. Arizona has been No. 1, but they do not seem to strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. Louisville went on a 17-game winning streak and was No. 2 in the country and on the cusp of something great, but what do you know, that's right, they lose -- to St. Louis of all teams.

A quick overview of the USA/ESPN poll reveals that this is one of the biggest years for parity in NCAA men's college basketball. Three of the top five teams (Kentucky, Texas, and Oklahoma) have at least three losses and two of the teams (Texas and Oklahoma) have four losses. Seven of the top 10 teams have four losses with two teams (Kansas and Notre Dame) having five losses on the year, though ND's loss at Syracuse will definitely knock them out of the top-10.

Duke is still in the top-10, but that is on past merit, although they should stay put with a home win over Maryland Wednesday. But that is what makes college basketball and especially the tournament great, isn't it? A team that is red-hot going to into the tourney can come out and win it all, no matter where they are ranked or bracketed.

Right now, I would have to look at a Louisville with Rick Pitino back in his wheelhouse of college basketball, coaching a team out of nowhere and back into prominence. As good as they are right now, they can only figure to get better with the return of Marvin Stone. But where will they be bracketed? Kentucky is just as hot and playing just as well with a 15-game winning streak to put them in the No. 2 slot ahead of the Cardinals.

Geography would dictate that they would be bracketed together, but we all know that that is not how the selection committee works, so it is safe to assume that they will be in maybe the South or Midwest each and make the Final Four, giving us two teams right there. But who was Kentucky's last loss against? That's right, you guessed it -- the Louisville Cardinals (81-63 on Dec. 28).

Arizona will take a No. 1 seed into the tournament with an easy schedule down the stretch, but look for them to get upset in the Sweet 16 round. As strong as they can look at times, they can also have some inexplicable losses (see LSU and Stanford). Right now, I would have to look for Notre Dame to beat Arizona, filling in the third team in the Final Four.

The East bracket is the hardest bracket to call. With no true dominant team in the East anymore, look for a team to come out of its part of the country and put itself in the East. I have heard that Texas could become the No. 1 team in the East. But the one team I keep coming back to in the East is Syracuse.

I have had Syracuse basketball shoved down my throat my whole life and they can be one of the most frustrating teams in the world to follow. I don't know if Jim Boheim is a terrible coach or a genius, but I know one thing, he wins. He has a team this year featuring Carmelo Anthony that is tailored made to make one of their inexplicable runs to the Final Four as they did back in 1987 and 1996, when they were led by John Wallace. I like Syracuse in an upset to take this bracket, giving us the Final Four matchups of Louisville vs. Notre Dame and Syracuse vs. Kentucky.

Kentucky and Louisville will meet in the finals and of course the media will blow the game out of proportion with Pitino coming back to beat his old team for another national championship, but Keith Bogans will make sure that no such thing happens as Tubby Smith wins his second national title.

Of course, the way college basketball is going this year, by next Monday, it could all be different.

It's great, isn't it?

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