Kentucky, N. Carolina, UCLA, Kansas, and Duke "The Phat 5" of College Basketball at 500 Report Volume #10 -- NCAA Tournament Preview

(PRWeb) March 14, 2007 -- "The Phat 5" of College Basketball at 500 Report Volume #10 (NCAA Tournament Preview)

Kentucky 104 years, 1903-2006-07
N. Carolina 97 years, 1911-2006-07
UCLA 88 years, 1920-2006-07
Kansas 109 years, 1899-2006-07
Duke 102 years, 1906-2006-07

"The Phat 5" of College Basketball at 500 Report Volume #10 (NCAA Tournament Preview) is dedicated to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem came to UCLA in 1965 as Lew Alcindor as the most hyped Prep player in history from Power Memorial High School in New York City. He would lead the Bruins to an 88-2 record during his career at UCLA. Kareem was a 3-time NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player (1967-69) and 2-time National Player of the Year (1967 and 1969). Kareem played 20 NBA seasons winning 6 NBA Championship (5 L.A. Lakers, 1Milwaukee Bucks), and 6 NBA MVP's. Jabbar was selected as an 19-time NBA All-Star. He retired in 1989 and still remains as the NBA's All-Time leading scorers with 38,387 points. Kareem was enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame on May 12, 1995.

The "Super 5" of "The Phat 5" Post-Season Awards
Kentucky- Randolph Morris (All-SEC First Team selection)
N. Carolina- Tyler Hansbrough (All-ACC First Team selection)
UCLA- Arron Afflalo (PAC-10 Player of the Year, All-PAC-10 First Team selection)
Kansas- Brandon Rush (All-Big 12 First Team selection)
Duke- Josh McRoberts (All-ACC Second Team selection)

Arron Afflalo and Tyler Hansbrough were named to the 2007 NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) All-America First Team. Julian Wright (Kansas) was an Third Team selection.

Kentucky 21-11, 9-7 SEC E. unranked in the AP poll. West Region #8 seed. The Wildcats are 3-6 since losing to #1 ranked Florida (02/10). Kentucky lost to Mississippi St. in the Quarter Final round of the SEC Tournament 84-82 (03/09). They have been inconsistent on the offensive end of the floor all season. UK plays good defense but lacks the ability to score during crucial times of the game. UK is the worst of "The Phat 5" programs heading into the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will play a tough #9 seeded Villanova squad from the Big East on Friday March 16. Kentucky has an possible second round match-up vs. "Phat 5" program member Kansas who is the #1 seed in the West Region.

Prediction: Kentucky will lose in the second round to Kansas, "Phat 5" vs. "Phat 5."

N. Carolina 28-6, 11-5 ACC, ranked #4 in the AP poll. ACC Tournament Champions, East Region #1 seed. The Tar Heels had back-to-back defeats to Maryland and Georgia Tech before winning it's regular-season final game vs. Duke 86-72 (03/04). UNC rolled into the ACC Tournament and won the crown for the first time in 9 years. They posted wins over Florida St. 73-58 (03/09), Boston College 71-56 (03/10), and N. C. State 89-80 (03/11). Carolina was a very young team last year that was eliminated early. They can make a run to the Final Four if they can keep a fast tempo of the game. UNC has great guard play with Ty Lawson and post play with Brandan Wright and Tyler Hansbrough. Carolina will play #15 seed Eastern Kentucky Thursday March 15.

Prediction: UNC will play Kansas for the National Championship "Phat 5" vs. "Phat. 5"

UCLA 26-5, 15-3 PAC-10, ranked #7 in the AP poll. PAC-10 Regular-Season Champions, West Region #2 seed. The Bruins had won 8-9 games before losing it's regular-season final game to Washington St. 61-51 (03/03). They were put out of the PAC 10 Tournament in the Quarter Final round by California 76-69 OT (03/08) who was 6-12 in PAC- 10 play. UCLA is coming into the NCAA Tournament on a 2-game losing streak. The Bruins have one of the best back-courts in college basketball with Afflalo and Collinson. They play great perimeter defense and rebound pretty well. UCLA will potentially have to beat Indiana, Duke, and Kansas to make it back to the Final Four. The Bruins will play Weber St. Thursday March 15.

Prediction: UCLA will play Kansas in the Elite-8 round, "Phat 5" vs. "Phat 5."

Kansas 30-4, 14-2 Big 12, ranked #2 in the AP poll. Big 12 Tournament Champions, West Region #1 seed. The Jayhawks are coming into the NCAA Tournament with the most momentum of any team in the country. KU was down 32-10 to Texas for the Big 12 Championship this past Sunday (03/11) and rallied to beat the Longhorns in overtime 88-84. KU is riding an 11-game win streak. Kansas is led by the Big-3 trio of Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, and Julian Wright. They have already beaten the defending National Champs Florida (11/25) in an earlier meeting this season. Kansas is the only one of "The Phat 5" programs who didn't play another "Phat 5" this season. KU like UCLA will potentially need to beat Kentucky, Duke or UCLA, and N. Carolina to win the NCAA Championship. KU will play the winner of the Florida A&M and Niagara game Friday March 16.

Prediction: Kansas will face N. Carolina for the National Championship. KU wins the NCAA title, "Phat 5" vs. "Phat 5."

Duke 22-10, 8-8 ACC, unranked in the AP poll. West Region #6 seed. The Blue Devils started this roller-coaster ride on January 14 vs. Miami as they would win 5 straight after losing the first 2 games of conference play. They went to Virginia February 1 and lost 4 straight . Duke then beat Boston College on Valentines Day and won 4 straight. On the last day of the month (02/28) Duke lost to Maryland and now are riding a 3-game losing streak. The Devils are young and talented but will be eliminated early from the NCAA Tournament potentially by a "Phat 5" program member.

Prediction: Duke will lose to UCLA in the Sweet 16 round, "Phat 5" vs. "Phat 5."

"The Phat 5" Stat of the Week:

For the first time in their NCAA Tournament history together one of "The Phat 5" will eliminate another "Phat 5" program from NCAA Tournament. It will come as they conclude the 2006-07season as they collectively celebrate the 500 years of combined play, and make it the "Greatest Year of College Basketball."

"The Phat 5" will make it 20 straight at the Final Four when N. Carolina and Kansas advance and play one another for the National Championship.

For more information or interview request on "The Phat 5" and their 19-year Final Four streak contact Derrick E. Vaughan of Dunkadelic Inc. 443-851-5244.

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