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Message: [QUOTE="Carnac, post: 2240763, member: 5798"] [I]"[B]About 90 percent of the teams we play in our non-conference schedule probably have a chance to go to the Final Four," Auriemma said.[/B] "That's a good thing. The more we do that the better it makes us, the better for our fans, the better for everyone. I don't know if it could get any stronger. It would be virtually impossible for us to have a better non-conference schedule than we have coming up. That's the way it is going to be from here on in." [/I] That is a very strong statement. There are also some teams that figure to make the FF that are not on their schedule. Since there are only 4 invitations available for the last weekend, there will be an all out dog fight for them. Teams that have a legitimate chance of getting their ticket punched for the final weekend's activities, will no doubt sell out, and play all of their aces to get there. Which is worse, to lose that final weekend, or fail to qualify for the final four? Many teams that feel they are good enough to go, and deserve to go, won't. UConn figures to be there. Who will the other three be? The usual invitees? i.e. Notre Dame, USCe, Maryland?, or other would be party crashers such as Baylor, Texas, Florida St, Louisville, Stanford, Miss St, Oregon St, UCLA, etc ? Baylor and Notre Dame where ranked in the top 4 all year, and failed to make the final four for the second year in a row. Will they slip on that banana peel, or stumble and fall once more as they approach the tape, and achieve the trifecta? As interesting and competitive (and fun to watch) as last season was, this season should be even more interesting and competitive. Several teams that failed to live up to what could be considered [I]moderate[/I] expectations, failed to do so. Teams that had an exceptional recruiting year, are looking to move beyond the log jam near the top, and position themselves to earn a top seed come March. They want to make a statement and a strong one. Ten or so teams vying for 4 FF tickets. Teams once again, are going to be sent home during the tournament extremely disappointed, forced to regroup, and go back to square one. Who will they be? [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach