Glendale, Arizona – The thought of sitting in the rafters is one thing but actually doing it is another.

Looking past the grey painted, slightly rusted beams supporting the wide spanning roof just to see the figures move on the floor. Sitting in the same plain as the massive light fixtures illuminating the stadium creates its own challenges. Those daring enough to look straight ahead meet with a blinding white light.

On the floor, the players look like ants. It takes multiple trips down the floor before the distant person is matched with a name and number on the video screen. Guessing is the only hope of seeing who committed a foul if more than two players are in the area.

The stadium tries its best. Close your eyes and the floor feels feet away. Floor noise, the bands, and even coaches chatter is pumped out of hanging speakers to increase the experience for the ones on the upper level.

This is how watching the men’s Final Four from the nose bleeds goes for the fans wanting to experience college basketball at its best. Fans jam into a football stadium to watch a game played in an arena four times smaller. Needless to say they are a few difficulties.

Before going forward, the key note to all of this. The Final Four ranks with the Super Bowl in overall fan experience. Nothing beats watching the four teams, down from 68, battle to cut down the nets. Complaining about sitting near the top would be selfish but watching from above does provide a new twist.

From above, everything is within view. Not a very clear or close view but never the less still there. As the lower bowl watched South Carolina quickly move the ball on a fast break, while we saw Gonzaga star Przemek Karnowski lay in the lane clutching at his right eye. On that play the reaction came from upstairs first.

The only problem was no one knew what had actually happened. Some fans thought concussion, others thought he got slapped in the face, and a handful correctly said he’d been hit in the eye. He ended up going to the locker room for treatment, which was clear as day for everyone in the stadium. Karnowski stands taller than seven feet.

An overwhelming amount of fouls highlighted Monday nights National Championship game. Looking down at the scoreboard with just under ten minutes to go to find Gonzaga is in the double bonus. We heard the speaker amplified whistle often during the second half.

At every call very few could truly say, with certainty, they knew what the call was and who it was on. North Carolina senior Kennedy Meeks, who played with four fouls late in the second half, fouled out for many upper level fans numerous times. All eventually came to learn it was a jump ball or a foul on Isaiah Hicks.

If the officials made a decision, most of which are too far away to see visibly, the sure fire way to know is to listen to the crowd. Good call and the crowd is quiet. Bad call and the crowd will erupt, leaving the top deck to figure out what happened.

During the title game people used binoculars to feel closer to the court. With improved internet signal inside University of Phoenix Stadium, fans would have the March Madness app open to live video, giving them up to the minute replays. That was the only way anyone figured out why Joel Berry II shot free throws for an unseen technical foul.

An overwhelming amount of plays left the upper level questioning, thankfully the game was decided by a center court turnover. Everyone got a semi-equal view of the game ending play.

Watching in person and taking in the near unbelievable environment is unmatchable. Whatever seat, high or low, the experience will not disappoint.

There’s nothing like the Final Four.

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The Favorites

Gonzaga- Don’t let their status as a mid major fool you, Gonzaga has been a giant for a while now. They’ve been a tournament regular for the last two decades and have made it to the sweet 16 the last two season, including an elite eight appearance in 2015. Now don’t get me wrong, Gonzaga’s conference is an absolute walk in the park, and they were a #1 seed just four seasons ago only to fall in the second round. Still, most consider this Gonzaga team to be their best one yet, and I would have to agree. The main reason why, which has been well documented, is their three major out of conference wins against top 20 opponents. Iowa State. Florida. Arizona. If Duke or Kentucky or even a program like Maryland had three wins like that in their first eight games, critics would be singing their praises from the mountain tops. Gonzaga has sustained enough recent success to deserve that same praise. The Zags are 13th in scoring, 10th in scoring defense, and have a plus 23.4 point differential. No one has beaten Gonzaga outside of a fortunate BYU team at the end of regular season play. The Bulldogs got back on track in their conference tourney and ended with an exclamation point against a quality Saint Mary’s squad. Don’t expect Gonzaga to be going home anytime soon.

Arizona- Maybe the hottest team in the country right now. They’ve lost only four games all season, all to teams that are a #4 seed or lower in the NCAA tournament, which gives them the strongest resume of losses in the country. But at the end of the day its about the games you win, and despite winning 27 total games and 16 out of 18 in the PAC 12, it seemed as if Arizona played the entire season in the shadows of UCLA and Oregon. That changed in dramatic fashion last week, as Arizona beat both the Bruins and the Ducks on back to back nights to capture the PAC 12 conference tournament title. What impressed the nation most during those two wins was the play of 7’0 Finnish freshman Lauri Markkanen who averages over 15 points and seven boards a game while shooting just under 50 percent including 43 percent from deep. Much like Gonzaga, Arizona is a serious force to be reckoned with.

Everyone is Talking About…

Notre Dame- The #5 seed seems a tad low for the Irish considering their strong 12-6 conference record in a loaded ACC, including seven total wins against NCAA tournament foes and a trip to the conference title game. The Irish seem to always fly under the radar, but their back to back elite eight trips might have forced teams to finally take notice. However, just because opponents have taken notice of ND doesn’t mean the Irish will go down any easier. They have four different players that average over 13ppg and they can score from inside and out. All conference power forward Bonzie Colson has led the Irish all year, averaging 17.5ppg and over 10 rebounds a contest. At only 6’5, he plays like he’s 6’9 and has wowed opposing players, coaches, and fans game in and game out. The biggest obstacle the Irish face, especially if they get to the sweet 16 and face Gonzaga, is they seldom play anyone over 6’8. Mike Brey has found ways to play around their lack of size all season, and Irish fans should be hopeful that he can continue to work small ball magic in the tournament.

Don’t be Fooled by…

Maryland- The Terrapins came out of the gates with an impressive 20-2 start and were the early favorites to win the Big Ten title. A deeper look at the numbers show that their hot start was just a smokescreen. Only two of their first 20 wins were against the RPI top 50 opponents, both came at home and neither team spent any time this season in the top 25. The Terps then unsurprisingly lost six of their last 10 and are limping into March. Outside of all-conference point guard Melo Trimble, Maryland doesn’t have another playmaker. A major theme in this tournament is the emergence of several talented underclassmen, but Maryland’s three freshman starters leave much to be desired. Guard Anthony Cowan provides Trimble some relief as a ball handler, Kevin Huerter helps spread the floor as a shooter, and Justin Jackson provides some inside out flexibility at the four. But none of the three, nor senior starting center Damonte Dodd, provide enough support on the offensive end to make them a serious threat. Melo Trimble might have enough heroics left in him for one more win before he presumably bolts for the draft, but Maryland’s ceiling is probably the second round.

If the Slipper Fits….

Xavier-  Maryland’s first round opponent has limped into the tournament very much in the same fashion as Maryland has, with one huge exception. Their starting point guard Edmond Summer returned from injury in the conference tournament and helped the Musketeers win a huge game against Butler, arguably their best win of the season. Unlike Maryland, Xavier has multiple scoring options as all three of their starting guards average over 14 ppg. Xavier was a promising team before Summer got hurt, and there is reason to be optimistic that they can catch lightning in a bottle this weekend with Summer back in the lineup.

Five Players to Watch 

SO SG Alonzo Trier, Arizona- Trier was suspended for the first 19 games of the season for a controversial failed drug test. In fifteen games this season he has led the Wildcats with 17.3 ppg while shooting over 41 percent from three. The presence of Trier in the lineup has many people believing the Wildcats can win the title

JR PG Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga-  The Bulldogs’ leading scorer and assist man is also their most suffocating perimeter defender. Considering the vast amount of talented guards in this tournament, Williams-Goss is vital to Gonzaga’s chances of winning the title.

SO G/F Dwayne Bacon, Florida State- The leading scorer for the regional’s #3 see

d has all of the physical tools to excel at the next level, and he’s shown enough glimpses of that raw talent to help lead the Seminoles to an impressive 25 win season. However, he has yet to mesh all of his talents together to the point where the nation is convinced that Florida State is a real contender.

FR PF/C Jonathan Isaac, Florida State – See above.

SR SG  Steve Vasturia, Notre Dame- Yes, he’s only been playing for four years. I couldn’t believe it either. The decorated senior will be responsible for leading the Fighting Irish’s three point attack, which needs to be successful in order to make up for his team’s lack of size.

Predictions

I have been praising Notre Dame quite a bit, so it should come as no surprise that I believe they will come out and handle both Princeton and (presumably) West Virginia. The most potentially intriguing game in the regional could be Notre Dame and Gonzaga. Even though ND has gotten to the elite eight the last two years by beating teams they shouldn’t have, I have trouble believing that their most prolific player Bonzie Colson will be able to dominate the paint the way he normally does against the 7’3 Przemek Karnowski. On the bottom half of the bracket, I don’t think there is a lower seed with enough fire power to win two games, including Xavier. That would pin FSU against Arizona in the sweet 16. The duo of Bacon and Isaac likely isn’t enough to top the balanced and dangerous WIldcats, advantage Arizona.

Just like the east regional, I believe the top two seeds in the regional will face off against each other in the regional final. Even though Gonzaga beat Arizona on a neutral floor this season, that was without Alonzo Trier. With Trier being reinstated and Markkanen looking like an unstoppable force in the PAC 12 tournament, it’s hard to imagine anyone beating Arizona right now. Expect Arizona to match up against Villanova in the final four.

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