I thought as we begin the tourney, I’d look ahead a little bit and give my Final Four picks. I feel certain that when the Facebook Bottom Line Bracket Challenge ends I will not be opining about my own wisdom but rather someone else’s as my bracket is likely to hit any number of roadside bombs along the way to April 5. I’m unflappable, however, in my confidence in my Final Four picks.

East Regional: North Carolina

Midwest Regional: Kansas

South Regional: Texas

West Regional: UCLA

1. North Carolina - Far and away the best team in college basketball. With Tyler Hansbrough, the hardest working man in college basketball, and Ty Lawson coming back from injury, Roy Williams has got to feel pretty good about his squad going into March.

2. Kansas - Don’t sleep on the Jayhawks. While I question whether or not Bill Self can get it done in the postseason as Kansas head coach (KU has lost in the first round two of the last three years), this is a pretty great, balanced team. Led by All Big-12 first teamers Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur, Kansas comes into the tournament as an under-the-radar powerhouse. A run through the Big 12 tourney could be a sign of things to come for this team.

3. Memphis - Perhaps one of the most talented teams of the elite teams in the tournament but certainly the most untested. After running through all of the teams in Conference USA, March Madness will certainly serve as an interesting test for John Calipari’s Tigers. No shortage of talent and athleticism, Memphis doesn’t do the little things well that traditionally help teams win close games in the tournament

4. UCLA - The luckiest team in college basketball. If not for two ATROCIOUS calls, UCLA would be a three seed going into March but you can’t argue that UCLA is a pretty good, if not undisciplined, unfocused, team. UCLA is still kind of a mystery to most people. Will they be the team that came back from a double-digit deficit against Stanford or will they be the team that should have lost to NIT reject Cal at home? Time will tell.

With March Madness tipping off Thursday (sorry play-in game participants).. everyone in your office or class becomes Andy Katz or Digger Phelps. But I guess that’s what makes this event great, right?

After looking at the brackets, there are certainly some interesting match-up possibilities. Of course, those matchups could be completely torched by upsets (i.e. last year) but here’s a couple as my bracket predicts.

Midwest Regional: Oregon/Wisconsin - Drinking the Pac-10 Kool-Aid is something I vowed never to do again but I’m awfully impressed by this Oregon team. The chance to see the Ducks, who handled any and all comers in the Pac-10 tournament, square off against the Badgers (see: POY-candidate Alando Tucker) is a game I’d pay to see. Oregon/Florida - Every one of the Worldwide Leader’s talking heads are picking the Gators to return to the Final Four but I’m not sold. The SEC fielded an unspeakably weak field this year and I’m not sure the Gators have what it takes to beat Arizona, Maryland and Oregon but this game could potentially be a classic. Taj Porter, Aaron Brooks and Bryce Taylor vs. Joke-kim, Brewer and Horford.

West Regional: Of the four regionals (go Hoosiers) this is probably the weakest and least exciting (go Hoosiers). The only potentially exciting matchup would be the elite 8 showdown between Kansas and UCLA. Though I have Kansas in the Final Four, I think they’re the most enigmatic. Bill Self’s resumé in Lawrence has been far from excellent and but I think the Jayhawks will have a relatively easy time disposing of everyone in their half of the bracket. The possible Pitt/UCLA storyline has people excited but I think Saturday night Pitt showed that if they don’t get good looks from the perimeter and Aaron Gray is defended well in the post, they’re easily beatable.

East regional: Hands-down the most exciting bracket in the tournament. Anyone of these match-ups will be worth watching: Texas/USC, Texas/UNC, BC/Georgetown, Washington St./Georgetown, Georgetown/UNC. If this weekend proved anything, it was that Georgetown is the real deal. The low-post combination of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert might be the best in the country. I’m picking Georgetown to emerge from this impressive pack but I wouldn’t be at all surprised I were wrong.

South regional: O-H-I-O. That’s really all you need to say about this bracket. Memphis is the hottest team in the country, Texas A&M and Acie Law could be a tough out but the Buckeyes will be Georgia-bound when it’s all said and done. This is the bracket with the least amount of intriguing potential match-ups. Ohio State’s biggest challenge will be its own youth and inexperience and even though they’re awfully young — they’re awfully good.

My final four picks:

In the past 24 hours, we’ve heard from both sides of the aisle. Everyone who hates Duke seems convinced that Gerald Henderson intended to hurt Hansbrough when he smacked Hansbrough in the face with 12 seconds left in the game with UNC up by 12.

You have Henderson, after the game, saying he “didn’t mean to hurt the kid” but sounding pretty cold saying it. Coach K called any speculation that the foul was malicious, “ridiculous.”

Henderson will be suspended for Duke’s first game in the ACC tournament, according to an NCAA rule that requires ejected players to miss a game but Duke should levy a heavier penalty. This foul was ugly and brutal.

The “What was Hansbrough doing in the game?” defense is absolutely ludicrous.

I don’t think they should through the book at Henderson but Duke, the NCAA and the ACC must send a very clear message to the players. Hard fouls are part of basketball but cheap shots and flagrant fouls will not be tolerated. Commit them and you will be punished. This could easily have erupted into a very ugly scene. And next time, it just might.