What will happen on Saturday

As I have made abundantly clear, I picked all four Final Four teams correctly. I have been flaunting my bracket prediction prowess about for the past couple of days, and as a result I believe that my predictions for Saturdays games are valid. You should listen. What I say in the ensuing paragraphs is gold. Treat it as such.

Georgetown vs. Ohio State
The sexyness of this matchup cannot be overestimated. Greg Oden and Roy Hibbert may be the most legit centers in the country. In college, a lot of teams play 6-8, 6-9, or 6-10 guys at center because that's all they've got. These guys are centers and will be at the next level. The key here will be foul trouble. Bill Simmons, whether you like him or not, made a great point a couple of weeks ago regarding foul trouble in college basketball. Though the proportion of game minutes to fouls is the same in college as in the NBA (1 foul for every 8 minutes), foul trouble is much more of an issue at the college level. If a guy gets two first half fouls in college, he is crippled for not only the rest of the half (if he isn't on the bench) but for the second half as well because a third foul would be a death wish. In the NBA, a guy can get three first half fouls and still be far from serious trouble. Frankly, a pro isn't in trouble until he gets five, and even that can be argued because getting a sixth foul is difficult. The point is that one of these guys will get into foul trouble. The question is: which one? My money is on Hibbert, for a couple of reasons. First, Oden, though he has gotten into foul trouble a lot in the tournament, is a fabulous defender and is adept at avoiding cheap fouls that plague big men. If he commits a foul, it's a legit foul, not a nickel-dimer. Hibbert is more likely to commit a foul he doesn't need to, like clobbering a guy on a drive trying to block a shot instead of simply trying to affect the shot like Oden does. Also, since Jeff Green is option #1 for the Hoyas, Hibbert won't be asked to do a ton on offense. On the other hand, the Buckeye offense is better when Oden gets touches. Hibbert will have to play more one-on-one defense and hence will see more foul possibilities. There you go. I have inconclusively proven that Hibbert will get into foul trouble.

However, even if Oden gets into foul trouble, the Buckeyes might still be in good shape. Remember, they were a top five team before Oden was playing. They went toe-to-toe with Carolina at Carolina. If Oden sits, there is still enough talent to stay in the game. Throughout the tournament, the Buckeyes have been solid when Oden has been in foul trouble. Jeff Green is a great player, and I would love to see him in a Blazer uniform next year, but he would be asked to carry G-Town with Hibbert on the bench, while the Buckeyes have a handful of guys who can pick up the scoring if Oden is out. Where Oden's presence would really be missed would be on the defensive end, but if OSU can make it an up and down game without Oden on the floor, that would cancel out Oden's absence.

I like Ohio State to win. They have more talent up and down the roster if one of their studs goes cold. Foul trouble amongst the big men will be a big issue, but Ohio State is more prepared to deal with it if Oden is out. Take it to the bank! OSU in the title game!

Florida-UCLA later.