The 2008 What If Tournament

I compiled the best college basketball teams in my lifetime of watching hoops and put them through the What If Sports simulator. These teams aren't necessarily champs, although lots of them are. Picks and rankings, of course, are all mine. The year of the team is the year of the NCAA Tournament, not the beginning year, so assume a team from "1992" is the 1991-1992 team.

This is a great way to waste some time, by the way.

The Teams
1. 2005 North Carolina
2. 2007 Florida
3. 1993 Michigan
4. 1996 Kentucky
5. 1997 Arizona
6. 1992 Duke
7. 2000 Michigan State
8. 1999 Connecticut
9. 1995 UCLA
10. 1994 Arkansas
11. 2001 Duke
12. 2003 Syracuse
13. 2008 Memphis
14. 2005 Illinois
15. 1996 UMass
16. 2006 Villanova

The Matchups
(game) Teams
(1) 2005 UNC vs. 2006 Villanova
(2) 1999 UConn vs. 1995 UCLA
(3) 1996 Kentucky vs. 2008 Memphis
(4) 1997 Arizona vs. 2003 Syracuse
(5) 1992 Duke vs. 2001 Duke (a coincidence)
(6) 1993 Michigan vs. 2005 Illinois
(7) 2000 Michigan State vs. 1994 Arkansas
(8) 2007 Florida vs. 1996 UMass

First Round
All games simulated at neutral sites

UNC 93, 'Nova 84
Sean May's 19 points and 11 rebounds propelled top-seeded UNC to a win against the four-guard Wildcats of Villanova. Randy Foye had 29 points and Villanova made 14 3-pointers, but UNC's big rebounding advantage took the cake. Mike Nardi had one weird-looking mustache for the game. I was rooting for 'Nova.

UCLA 93, UConn 81
All five UCLA starters scored in double figures to help UCLA upset UConn. Diminutive guard Khalid El-Amin had 24 points and Rip Hamilton had 23, but UCLA's balance and 62-percent shooting made the difference. Coach Jim Harrick celebrated with his team by buying them stuff.

Kentucky 98, Memphis 88
Derek Anderson's 22 points off the bench sparked Kentucky's win in this shootout. Derrick Rose had 22 points, four assists and four rebounds and Chris Douglas-Roberts had 19 points and nine rebounds, but poor free-throw shooting plagued the Tigers. Rick Pitino and John Calipari agreed to a suit- and slick-hair-off.

Syracuse 86, Arizona 78
Carmelo Anthony had 25 points and nine rebounds and Hakim Warrick added 20 points to help Syracuse upset Arizona. Jason Terry had 17 points and seven assists, but the Wildcats shot just 42 percent as a team. Don't call 'Melo overrated ... because he isn't ... unlike someone else ...

01 Duke 116, 92 Duke 95
Jason Williams scored 35 points in the highly anticipated Williams-Bobby Hurley showdown. Hurley had 15 points, but 2001 Duke's 11 more 3-pointers did the trick in this shootout. I did not see this coming. I thought Thomas Hill's tears would stream out in this one, playing against his old coach and all. In related news, Grant Hill made it through the entire game uninjured.

Illinois 82, Michigan 78
Luther Head led the way with 16 points, six assists and four rebounds and Dee Brown had 11, six and three in this stunning upset of the Fab Five. Juwan Howard had 24 points and Chris Webber and Jalen Rose each had 14, but Michigan's cold outside shooting did it in. Years later, Michigan will have to vacate this game because a laundry list of violations.

Arkansas 97, Michigan State 83
Corliss Williamson had 22 points and seven rebounds and Al Dillard had 21 points off the bench in yet another first-round upset. The Spartans' defense made more stops than a small-town cop at the end of the month. Somewhere, Mike Miller (the NBA) and Teddy Dupay (jail) are vindicated.

Florida 72, UMass 69
The ugliest basketball player ever Joakim Noah had 11 points and nine rebounds to help the Gators stave off an upset bid. Marcus Camby was held to 10 points and nine rebounds. Florida's defense was so tough, even Calipari was held to just 1 pound of hair gel (he had averaged 6).

Second Round
All at neutral sites

UNC 92, UCLA 90
The O'Bannon brothers combined for 41 points, 22 rebounds and eight assists, but North Carolina had five double-digit scorers. It's impossible to know if Tyus Edney ran the length of the floor and missed a layup at the buzzer.

Kentucky 92, Syracuse 64
Antoine Walker scored 22 points and Kentucky held Syracuse to just 37 percent shooting in the second-round blowout. Carmelo Anthony only had 12 points. Rick Pitino had 10 white suits.

Duke 101, Illinois 75
Jason Williams had 24 points, Shane Battier had 21 and Chris Duhon and Mike Dunleavy each had 14 as the Blue Devils stomped the Fighting Illini. Illinois' Big Three -- Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head -- was just 12 of 28. Bruce Weber, however, was a perfect 1 for 1 in delivering a squeaky-voiced press conference after the game.

Arkansas 91, Florida 82
In a shocking upset of what many considered one of the greatest college basketball teams ever, Arkansas had a plus-nine rebounding advantage that made the difference. Corliss Williamson and Roger Crawford each had 19 points, while Taurean "The Dream" Green (11 points), Corey Brewer (8) and Joakim Noah (9) were just 10 for 26 from the field.

Final Four
All games simulated at neutral sites

Kentucky 87, North Carolina 74
The top seed crumbled under the heat of Rick Pitino's full-court press. Derek Anderson continued his big tournament with 21 points, thanks to four 3-pointers. UNC's 19 turnovers and its woeful 6-of-20 3-point shooting made the upset possible. Fourth-seeded Kentucky advances to the title game to play ...

Duke 106, Arkansas 73
With revenge for the 1994 title game, where Arkansas topped Duke, on its mind, 11th-seeded Duke continued its miracle ride to the championship. Shane Battier had 30 points and a weird head, while Jason Williams (20 points), Mike Dunleavy (16) and Carlos Boozer (16) had big games. Arkansas committed 22 turnovers and had only one scorer, Corliss Williamson, in double figures.

Title Game
Neutral site

Duke 101, Kentucky 93
In a shootout among two of the best college basketball programs of all time, Duke completed its stunning run to a championship. Against all odds, the 2001 Blue Devils toppled some of the greatest teams of my life. Shane Battier earned Final Four MVP with his second consecutive 30-point performance. Jason Williams added 25 points and Carlos Boozer had 13. Despite shooting 58 percent, Kentucky's run-and-gun offense met its match. Tony Delk led the Wildcats with 18 points.