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There's only one important question concerning the Midwest Region this year:
Can Florida forward Joakim Noah go down as the ugliest repeat champion ever?
The competition's quite stiff. Currently tied for first are Duke's Bobby Hurley, winning back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992 despite his early 90s combination bowl cut/flat top; and UCLA's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from 1967-1969, who's just plain hideous.
Really, that's the only relevant issue, because the only way Florida, who's returning all five starters from last year's championship, will lose this thing is if their team plane crashes in route to New Orleans.
The Gators are essentially the same as last year's championship team, even having the same type of skid during SEC play as they did last year. And the key to this team is Noah. Due to the onslaught of phenomenal freshmen, everyone has overlooked Noah. However, he's still one of the 10 best players in college basketball.
Along with Noah, they have a bevy of talented players: Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green, are all contributors to last year's title. With that, the Gators are by far the most experienced team in their bracket, if not the entire tournament. Plus, they've got head coach Billy Donovan, who knows how to win a title.
Though they're a shoe-in for the Final Four, let's see what could potentially trip them up.
There's no doubt they'll cruise past Jackson State. Noah and Horford, 6-foot-11 and 6-foot-10 respectively, will punish a Smurf-like team that doesn't start anyone taller than 6-foot-7. To top it off, the Tigers even have blue uniforms, but sadly have no white beards or red hats.
Beating No. 9 Purdue in the first round, Arizona should provide Florida its first tourney test. Like Jackson State, they don't have Gator's size, but they have a front court as talented as Florida's. In Chase Budinger, Marcus Williams and Ivan Radenovic, the Wildcats have the talent, but inconsistency has been their consistency this year and they won't pull off two games in a row.
The first team that has a chance to upset Florida wasn't even going to make the tournament a month ago. However, the Maryland Terrapins are playing as well as the best teams in the nation. Their first-round loss to Miami in the ACC Tournament should give them a spark as the tournament begins.
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