UNC v Big East

Chef's Log 12.25.08

After a brief hiatus due to an exhausting March '08, we kick off this year's analysis with an installment on 08-09's best. As a culinary lover, I tend to overuse kitchen metaphors. We'll ignite the burner with some sizzle between dominant favorite North Carolina and the baker's dozen of potential teams from the Big East. North Carolina, with most key contributors from last year returning, have only themselves and perhaps an inconsistent defense to steer clear of. If they can duck a piping hot March team, they should slide into the Final Four & Championship Game like a casserole into a pre-heated oven.

Any key competitor should come from the Big East. With potentially 9 teams coming out of the Big East into the Dance, the question is which teams will come out of the double-broiler, known as the Big East conference schedule, relatively unscathed. Big men lead teams such as UCONN, Pitt, & Notre Dame are top favorites. Louisville should not be discarded despite their rocky start. They started slow last year and cruised into the Elite 8 before falling to UNC. Marquette & Cuse have solid shooting. G-Town is turning some heads despite losing several key contributors in the off season. But Connecticut has the slight edge over the conference especially with the return of the unrefined athletic freak Stanley Robinson joining studs like AJ Price, Jerome Dyson, Hasheem Thabeet, Jeff Adrien, and newbie Kemba Walker. If these guys can get it together and mesh like a good sheppard's pie, look out North Carolina!

More to come, you keep posted and I'll keep cookin' up college hoops!

Happy Christmas
-Naked Chef