The pinnacle of March Madness is upon us. The Final Four is set and there is no shortage of intruiging matchups. Florida, fresh of its 85-77 win over Oregon, has claimed the Midwest region. The Western region champion Bruins of UCLA will face off against the Gators in a rematch of last year’s championship game. The Bruins are hoping for a much better outcome than last season’s matchup in which they were run out of the building. From the East region the 2 seeded Georgetown Hoyas defeated the North Carolina Tarheels in overtime to reserve their spot in the Final Four. The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the very athletic Tigers of Memphis to claim the South region title. In what is perhaps the most anticipated one-on-one matchups in the Final Four, the fantastic freshman Greg Oden will face off against the 7ft. 2 Roy Hibbert of Georgetown. Each is regarded as a defensive game changer who causes teams to alter shots in the lane. The star studded lineup of Florida is hoping to have repeat success against Ben Howland’s UCLA team, but the talented Arron Afflalo will do his best to keep the Gators at bay.

There’s really only one important piece of news in the Sweet Sixteen—  Vanderbilt is still in it.  Let’s face it, Vandy is never going to bring home a football championship, so basketball is their only shot at a major national title. 

March 22 is the next round, which will see the following:

Kansas vs. Southern Illinois—  I guess I’ll go with Illinois on this one.  When in doubt, I usually choose an Illinois team.

Pittsburgh vs. UCLA—  I have no real opinion on this one—  Pittsburgh?  Just because.

Ohio State vs. Tennessee—  You can’t cheer for Vanderbilt and Tennessee, so I have to favor Ohio State in this game.

Texas A&M vs. Memphis—  Clearly, as a Texan, I have to root for A&M, even if I normally favor the Longhorns.  (As you can see, my picks are in no way based on who is expected to win.  It’s all about who I like, which quite often in the NCAA Tournament gets me just about as far as people who like to think they can predict who will win.)

Then on the 23rd:

Florida vs. Butler—  Florida is, of course, favored to win, but I’d like to see Butler pull off a win.  Florida showed they could be vulnerable to a loss when they played against Purdue, so it’s not as though it’s an impossibility.  My husband went to FSU, so it’s forbidden to hope the Gators win.  I guess that leaves me cheering for Butler.

Oregon vs. UNLV—  I don’t have any strong feelings on this one.  My son likes Oregon, so we’ll go with them.

North Carolina vs. USC—  This comes down to who I want to see face Vanderbilt, when they annihalate Georgetown (okay, I’ll settle for a win).  Well, North Carolina was predicted far and wide to win the East, so I’d probably prefer that they lose.  But USC is playing better than some expected…  Hmm.  It’s a difficult decision.  USC did beat the Longhorns, which makes it hard for me to want them to win.  So, I guess I’ll be going with North Carolina for this one. 

Vanderbilt vs. Georgetown—  Do I really have to tell you who I want to win this one?

In case you want to participate in a bracket challenge but aren’t sure where to start, here are a few websites offering substantial prizes if you can pick the winners:

Rival.com offers a $1 million pot to anyone who can pick a perfect bracket.  There are other prizes for those who are somewhat less than perfect.

ESPN offers $10,000 to the person who picks the most correct wins.

CBS Sportsline is also offering $10,000.

Fox is offering a 60 inch flat screen HDTV.

AOL is offering a 42 inch flat screen plasma HDTV.

Want to create your own challenge?  Head over to Pick Hoops and set it up.

Want help picking your bracket?  Check out the following for recommendations and expert picks:

Yahoo Sports expert predictions

Mike Greenfield’s Power rankings

ESPN’s Bracketology predictions

College HoopsNet’s Predictions

Haven’t a clue who to choose?  Use Coke Zero’s Bracket-O-Matic.  (I ended up with Florida A&M versus Belmont in the Finals, with Florida A&M winning by setting it to complete Cinderella and Underdog.  That would be a tournament worth watching.  Upsets in every game—  wouldn’t that be fun?  The Twilight Zone of college basketball.)  If you’re feeling more serious, then use Team Ranking’s Bracket Brains.

My underdog favorite?  Vanderbilt.  I was there when they won the NIT in 1990, and I would love to see them win the NCAA Tournament.

This isn’t the first time Cooper Brannan has been recruited.  The last time was by the Marines.  He did a tour in Iraq where he lost his left pinky finger when a flash grenade went off in his hand, but now he’ll be pitching for the San Diego Padres.  You can read more about his story here.