Alright people, tonight is the night we put the 2008-09 college basketball season to bed. So before you wake up tomorrow morning, a national champion will crowned in Detroit. But will it be preseason favorite North Carolina cutting down the nets at Ford Field or will a determined Michigan State team pull off one more upset to claim the title? Check back here for some post-game analysis and final thoughts on this year's NCAA tournament.

Championship Game: North Carolina 89, Michigan State 72

We're hours away from the 2009 national championship game, but before North Carolina and Michigan State tip off Monday night at Ford Field, here's five things to consider about the matchup (also in picture form here) we've been waiting five months to see.

UNC's 3-point shooting

If North Carolina wants to cut down the nets in Ford Field on Monday night, Roy Williams will need his shooters to find their rhythm early and often. Against Villanova in the national semifinals, the Tar Heels got off to a hot start and never cooled off, finishing the game with a 50-percent clip from three thanks to a 5-for-7 performance from wingman Wayne Ellington and a 2-for-4 effort from point guard Ty Lawson.

Michigan State's frontcourt

Michigan State handled Connecticut's physical and intimidating frontline Saturday in its national semifinal win, and the Spartans will have to do it again Monday night against North Carolina. If Goran Suton (pictured) and Raymar Morgan can match the intensity of Tyler Hansbrough and the rest of the Tar Heel big men, Tom Izzo's team will have a chance to pull off another stunning win in the Motor City.

UNC's transition game

When you have a point guard as quick as Ty Lawson, you have little choice but to run. Since returning from a toe injury that kept him out for the ACC tournament and North Carolina's first-round game vs. Radford, the 5-foot-11 speedster has been the difference for the Tar Heels' offense, and if he can create easy runouts off of Michigan State turnovers, UNC could cruise to its fifth national championship.

The Spartan faithful

North Carolina may be the favorite to win Monday night's national championship game, but there's no question which team will have the home-court advantage. With Ford Field looking like a belated St. Patrick's Day party on Saturday night, Michigan State will hope its "Sixth Man" can carry it to a national title only 90 minutes away from its East Lansing home.

The officials

They shouldn't decide the outcome of the title game Monday night, but they'll certainly be a factor. Both North Carolina and Michigan State will have to judge how the officials decide to call the game and adjust their defensive game plans accordingly. Whichever team can figure out how tight or loose the game is being called could gain an early advantage.

To check out my latest power rankings, click here.

There are only three games left in the college basketball season, and two of them will be played tonight at the Final Four in Detroit. Will Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun continue his streak of wins in the Final Four or will hometown favorite Michigan State make it back to the title game for the first time in nine years? Will North Carolina All-American Tyler Hansbrough get to play for a national championship on Monday night or will Big East foe Villanova pull the upset and continue its thrilling NCAA tournament run? Find out who the last two teams standing are and who's headed home with some tidbits from Saturday's Final Four.

Game 1: Michigan State 82, Connecticut 73

Tom Izzo couldn't have been happier last weekend to see Michigan State reach the Final Four and have a chance to play on college basketball's biggest stage only 90 minutes from the Spartans' East Lansing campus. But to have a chance to win the national title on Monday night is almost icing on the cake for the 14-year head coach. Izzo's team will have that opportunity thanks to another gusty effort by sophomore point guard Kalin Lucas (21 points and five assists) and a breakout performance from junior forward Raymar Morgan (18 points, nine rebounds and five steals) that sparked an 82-73 victory at Ford Field. Connecticut, of course, didn't help itself by committing 16 turnovers just a week after turning it over 17 times against Missouri in the Elite Eight, but the turnovers were only part of the problem for the Huskies on Saturday. Senior point guard A.J. Price never got comfortable against Michigan State's defense, shooting a dismal 5-for-20 from the field, and freshman backup Kemba Walker showed that he should spend the offseason working on his stroke from the free-throw line after making just 3-of-9 attempts. The Huskies' one bright spot, meanwhile, remained 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet, who tallied 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks in what may likely be his last game at UConn. In the end though, a better overall game plan from Izzo and a never-say-die mentality from his players is what has the Spartans preparing for another game - the last of the 2008-09 season - in the Motor City when few thought they'd still be playing by now. 

Game 2: North Carolina 83, Villanova 69

With all five starters returning after a trip to the Final Four last year, North Carolina was tabbed early on as the perennial favorite to cut down the nets in Detroit on April 6. And after Saturday's convincing 83-69 victory over Villanova, the Tar Heels now stand just one win away from accomplishing that highly-anticipated feat. That's in large part due to the recent play of junior point guard Ty Lawson, who is showing NBA scouts that he may be worthy of a lottery pick in June should he decide to leave Chapel Hill. Against the Wildcats, he made sure to bring his "A" game, contributing in every which way possible and finishing with an impressive stat line that read 22 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals. Lawson, however, didn't have to do it all on his own. His backcourt mate Wayne Ellington, for one, came ready to play, and he brought his jumpshot with him, canning 5-of-7 threes and finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds in 34 minutes of floor time. Much like Ellington, Danny Green also found his stroke from deep, chipping in 12 points on four 3-pointers and adding three rebounds and three blocks on the defensive end. It was a night, after all, where not much seemed to go wrong for UNC, which will be playing for its second national championship in five years when it takes the floor Monday night against Michigan State at Ford Field. But for Villanova, it was a night to forget - a night in which Jay Wright's team fell in love with the 3-point shot too many times down the stretch and bricked too many of its attempts from beyond the arc before finishing a horrendous 5-for-24. Because as they often say this time of the year, you either live or die by the three.

To check out my latest power rankings, click here.

With the second weekend of the NCAA tournament over, only four teams in the country remain, and each of them are hoping to cut down the nets on April 6 in Detroit. But what's been the biggest story thus far? Here are the top 10 storylines (also in picture form here) from last week's Sweet 16 and Elite Eight action.

10. Mr. Big Shot

Levance Fields has no fear when it comes to taking shots at critical junctures in a game, and he showed that in Pittsburgh's Sweet 16 win over Xavier. The senior point guard nailed a three with less than a minute left and then picked off a pass for a layup on the next possession that sealed the Panthers' 60-55 victory in Boston.

9. No repeat for Kansas

Kansas pulled off a remarkable run through the NCAA tournament last season to win the national title, but the Jayhawks won't be doing the same this year. Bill Self's team made it to the Sweet 16 before running into Michigan State, which held on for a thrilling 67-62 win in Indianapolis.

8. Missouri runs past Memphis

Missouri got little to no national attention during the regular season, but Mike Anderson's team showed that it can compete with the big boys when it counts. After getting past Cornell and Marquette in the first two rounds, the Tigers upset a Memphis team many tabbed to reach the Final Four.

7. Duke's disgrace

The Blue Devils got out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years, but Duke couldn't make it past the Sweet 16. Despite taking down Binghamton and Texas, Coach K's team got absolutely spanked by Big East foe Villanova, losing by 22 points in Boston.

6. Bye-bye Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin won't win a national championship this year, but he certainly left his mark at Oklahoma. The favorite to win National Player of the Year honors, the 6-foot-10 sophomore forward most likely won't be headed back to Norman with most pundits pegging him to be the top pick in the NBA draft this June.

5. UConn powers through

Connecticut was hit with some off-court distractions last week, but they didn't faze Jim Calhoun's team one bit when it came time to play. The Huskies had an easy time with Big Ten foe Purdue in the Sweet 16 and then took care of a speedy Missouri team in the Elite Eight to reach the Final Four for the third time in school history.

4. Two No. 1 seeds go down

Two teams from the Big East made it through to the Final Four, but two also didn't. Those two, Pittsburgh and Louisville, were heartbroken in the Elite Eight, as Pittsburgh fell in the final seconds to Villanova and Louisville suffered a disappointing loss to Big Ten regular-season champ Michigan State.

3. Tar Heels storm into Final Four

With a trip to the Final Four last season and all five starters returning, the expectations were there for North Carolina to reach Detroit this April. And after taking out Radford, LSU, Gonzaga and Oklahoma in convincing fashion, the Tar Heels and Tyler Hansbrough will get their shot at redemption.

2. Michigan State going to Detroit

If there was any year Tom Izzo wanted to get his team to the Final Four, it was this one. And after upsetting Louisville, the No. 1 overall seed, in the Elite Eight, Michigan State will get to play in the Final Four only 90 minutes away from its East Lansing campus.

1. Villanova's last-second shot

In a back-and-forth game between two Big East rivals, it took a last-second shot from Scottie Reynolds to decide whether Villanova or Pittsburgh would be headed to Detroit for the Final Four. Reynold's basket with 0.5 ticks left was a big moment for the Wildcats, who are playing in the national semifinals for the first time since winning the national title in 1985.

To check out my latest power rankings, click here.

We've got half of our Elite Eight field set after yesterday's Sweet 16 games, and after today's action in Memphis and Indianapolis, we'll be down to just two teams in each region. Which other four teams are headed to this weekend's regional finals? Find out who's still alive and who's going home with some more running tidbits from Friday's action.

Midwest Regional: Louisville 103, Arizona 64

In its first two NCAA tournament games against No. 16 seed Morehead State and No. 9 seed Siena last week, Louisville struggled to pull off wins in Dayton, Ohio. But the top-seeded Cardinals had no trouble disposing Pac-10 foe Arizona in the Sweet 16 Friday night. The No. 12-seeded Wildcats, who slipped into the field of 65 on Selection Sunday, had upset fifth-seeded Utah in the first round and managed to get a favorable draw in the second round against No. 13 seed Cleveland State. Rick Pitino's team, however, is on another level compared to either of those teams. The Big East champs didn't let Arizona hang around for long, quickly jumping out to a double-digit lead on the 3-point shooting of Jerry Smith and running away with a 103-64 rout in Indianapolis. Smith finished with 16 points in only 18 minutes, while junior wing Earl Clark led the way with team highs of 19 points and nine rebounds. Chase Budinger, on the other hand, had a solid game for the 'Cats in a losing effort, dropping in a team-high 22 points.

South Regional: Oklahoma 84, Syracuse 71

Syracuse had been playing its best basketball of the season after reaching the Big East Tournament championship game and winning NCAA tournament games over No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin and No. 6 seed Arizona State. But trying to hang with Blake Griffin and second-seeded Oklahoma was another story for Jim Boeheim's squad. The Orange struggled from the perimeter, knocking down only 29.2 percent (7-for-24) of its three-point attempts, while the Sooners shot the ball at an efficient rate - 54.2 percent overall and 42.9 percent from three - to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2003 with an 84-71 victory. While Griffin, the favorite to win National Player of the Year, was a monster down low for Jeff Capel, posting another double-double with 30 points and 14 rebounds (eight offensive), teammate Tony Crocker was just as good offensively, pouring in a career-high 28 points after being held scoreless last weekend in Miami against the Sun Devils.

Midwest Regional: Michigan 67, Kansas 62

If there's one thing we know after three rounds of the NCAA tournament, it's that Kansas won't be repeating as national champs on April 6 in Detroit. Despite leading most of the way in its Sweet 16 matchup with No. 2 seed Michigan State Friday night, the Jayhawks couldn't make enough plays down the stretch to earn its way into Sunday's Midwest regional final. Instead, it was Kalin Lucas (18 points, seven assists and four steals) coming up big for the Spartans, driving to the basket with the game tied at 60-60 and converting a three-point play to give Michigan State a lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the way. That's in large part thanks to the sophomore point guard, who kept his poise during the final 48 seconds, knocking down all four of his free-throw attempts to seal a 67-62 win in Indianapolis.

South Regional: North Carolina 98, Gonzaga 77

While some called for the upset, many pundits expected Gonzaga to give No. 1 seed North Carolina a tough battle in the Sweet 16 after beating the Tar Heels two years ago in their lone meeting during the Preseason NIT semifinals. But the fourth-seeded 'Zags were no match for Roy Williams' club, getting out-muscled on the glass and out-played on the defensive end before suffering a 98-77 beat down in Memphis. Led by Jeremy Pargo's 16 points, the Bulldogs did have four players finish in double figures despite shooting only 30.4 percent from three. UNC, meanwhile, got four of its own players to tally double-digit points, as last season's National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough took over down low and powered his way to 24 points (on 8-of-10 shooting) and 10 rebounds and point man Ty Lawson chipped in 19 points, nine assists and four rebounds in 27 minutes of action.

To check out my latest power rankings, click here.