This discussion took place at 11 a.m. Monday, March 27, 2006, and is now closed.

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Moderator: Welcome back to N&O Live, Lorenzo. First of all, what's up with George Mason? How does this team continue to pull off the upsets?

LP: You mean you didn't have the Patriots in your Final Four? Too bad, because you could have gotten 400-to-1 odds on them in some sports books a couple weeks ago. Oops, premature answer on that one. It's hard to question the value of karma for a team that allowed UConn to shoot 47 percent from the field and forced only nine turnovers Sunday.

If you want something more concrete, however, look at George Mason's ability to slow down the Huskies' fast break. Whenever they could, the Patriots sent as many defenders back as quickly as possible. Looking back to their win over North Carolina, give George Mason coach Jim Larranaga credit for some shrewd moves, including switching to zone late in the first half to befuddle the Tar Heels.

Moderator: Sean P. writes: "Now that Ed Nelson is gone, do you think Lee Humphrey is the headiest player left in the tourny?"

LP: I'm assuming that's a crack on Nelson's shiny dome, and not a testament to Humphrey's 3-for-12 shooting line against Villanova.

Moderator: For the first time in about 25 years, no No. 1 seed made it to the Final Four. The national champion will be either LSU, UCLA, George Mason or Florida -- none of which were supposed to be there. What does that say about the selection committee's choices?

LP: More importantly, what does it say about various commentators (who shall remain nameless, but at least one of them goes by the initials "Billy Packer") who blistered the committee for showing so much love to the mid-majors? You have to go back to 1980, when you had No. 5 seed Iowa vs. No. 2 seed Louisville and No. 6 seed Purdue vs. No. 8 seed UCLA, for the last Final Four without a No. 1 seed. (Louisville beat UCLA 59-54, for those of you keeping score.)

In terms of nitpicking this years' tournament field, you can find fault with some seeds, but the No. 1 seeds were dead on. Are you telling me that the committee was supposed to predict UConn would have to play what amounted to a road game against No. 11-seed George Mason in the regional final?

Moderator: So now that everyone's brackets are decimated, who do you think will make it to the finals? And who will emerge as champions?

LP: Given my track record this year - Boston College seemed like a good Final Four pick at the time - why would you want me to hazard a guess on this weekend?

LSU is looking too strong right now not to put them in Monday night's game. I really want the George Mason's underdog story to continue, but the Gators won me over with their win over Villanova. So we're looking at an all-SEC final, which should prompt a predictable bout of chest-thumping from SEC fans declaring their league is the finest in all the land (as if). Look for LSU's long defenders to provoke a bad hair day for Joakim Noah in the Gators, provoking some syrupy-sweet feature stories from clueless sports writers about how winning a national basketball championship generates an outpouring of love and good will in Louisiana to counterbalance all the nastiness from hurricane season.

Moderator: The ACC's absence from the Elite Eight is glaring. Considering which players are coming and going, how competitive will the conference be next season?

LP: Wow, tough question. I think you have to take into account the early departures and arrivals of programs around the country to assess where the ACC will rank next season. Even if players such as UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, Florida State's Al Thornton — I know he's said he's coming back, but players have been known to change their minds in April — leave early, I think the league will be more competitive next season. That means improved play from Clemson and Georgia Tech, more consistent play from Florida State, Maryland and (maybe) Virginia. That's a roundabout way of saying I think the ACC will earn more NCAA Tournament bids next year, even if it doesn't have as clearcut contender for the Final Four as Duke appeared to be this year before it ran into LSU.

Moderator: Thanks for your time, Lorenzo.

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