A collection of basket cases

When the NCAA men's basketball tournament began two weeks ago, only one thing seemed certain: There were no mortal locks for any of the 65 teams to make it to the Final Four. And even more uncertain was calling a winner for the CBS ``St. Louis Survivor'' show that will unfold Saturday night and Monday evening.

Oh, you could pick favorites. Top-seeded Illinois had been beaten only once during the regular season, and that was on a buzzer-beating basket on the road at Ohio State on the last weekend of the regular season. And North Carolina might have had the most talented group in the field. But after that, well, it was truly a jump ball.

Now the road to the Final Four has brought us to St. Louis, with four survivors - and that is in the strictest sense of the word.

Illinois made it. But anyone who thought that would happen with 4:04 left in regulation in Saturday's Chicago Regional final - when the Illini trailed Arizona by 15 points - would have had their sanity questioned. Or when Arizona was still leading by 8 with one minute left.

But in what might have been the greatest comeback in tournament history - and perhaps the greatest choke - Illinois came back to win in overtime, 90-89.

``Coaches have told me, to win the national championship, you've got to win close games, make a big shot,'' said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. ``Well, we did it.''

For that accomplishment, Illinois earns a date with a Louisville team that knows something about comebacks itself. The Cardinals overcame a 20-point first-half deficit in the Albuquerque Regional final against West Virginia and recorded a 93-85 overtime victory that sent them to the Final Four for the first time since 1986.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino, who made history by becoming became the first coach to take three schools to the Final Four, called it the greatest comeback he can remember.

As it turns out, it wasn't even the greatest comeback of the day, but it set up a Saturday night matchup worthy of Final Four hype. All Louisville has done is win 22 of its last 23 games, and all Illinois has done is win 36 of 37 games this season.

The other two Final Four teams have their own wild and crazy tales to tell. Start with North Carolina, which probably should have lost to Villanova in the Syracuse Regional semifinal and to Wisconsin in the final.

Friday's victory was aided by a bad call at the end - a traveling violation on Villanova's Allan Ray - as the Tar Heels eked out a 67-66 victory. On Sunday, they overcame two stretches of indifferent play to earn an 88-82 victory.

All that did was get the Tar Heels to the Final Four for a record 16th time, though first since 2000.

"I don't know if we met our potential,'' said Carolina forward Scott May. "But we've done our part. I think we've brought this program back. We helped bring back Carolina basketball.''

The Final Four matchup that many people expected - and hoped for - was Carolina-Kentucky. Small problem. Kentucky didn't make it, losing to Michigan State in the third regional final that went to overtime (actually two overtimes), with the Spartans pulling out a 94-88 victory in Austin, Texas.

The Spartans, a No. 5 seed, have become the Cinderella of the group. But that would be a misnomer. Coach Tom Izzo took his teams to three straight Final Fours from 1999-2001 and won the national championship in 2000. With a 23-6 record in NCAA Tournament games, Izzo has the best winning percentage of any active coach (79.3).

North Carolina had better have its A game ready, or Michigan State may be able to boast of knocking off Duke and North Carolina on successive weekends.

What happened this past weekend in the regional finals is what makes the NCAA Tournament so special and spellbinding.

"I'd say it was the best four games I've seen from regional finals in my era,'' said Izzo.

No one will argue. All that has to happen Saturday night is for Illinois, Louisville, North Carolina, and Michigan State to match it.