BOSTON — The National Collegiate Athletic Association 2008 Men’s basketball Tournament is well under way; four brackets and 64 of the best collegiate teams in America have been whittled down to the final four: UCLA, North Carolina, Memphis, and Kansas are still in the chase for an invitation to The Big Dance.

The 2008 bracket is a study in dashed hopes and dreams with some of the best teams in the field bowing out in early rounds. March, a month of big upsets and unthinkable buzzer beaters, is now securely tucked away in the history books. April however, promises to be the month where basketball super giants reign supreme.

The Final Four is not a David and Goliath story, the four survivors are all formidable contenders armed with far more than rocks and a slingshot. While fans engaged in the usual early fantasy of a Cinderella story spurred on by Davidson and Stephan Curry, we knew deep down in our hearts that the ranked field was just too strong to be denied.

Yet, we cheered Davidson on as they took down Gonzaga by 6 points, upset the powerhouse Georgetown team by a narrow 4 point margin and readily sent Wisconsin packing with a 17-point edge. Joining the Sweet 16 and hoping for a bid to The Big Dance, we all groaned as the clock struck 12 and it was finally time for Cinderella to go home when Davidson lost a nail biter, missing the game-winning three point shot at the buzzer, losing to Kansas by only 2 points.

Davidson’s loss has set the stage for a Final Four lineup the likes of which has never been experienced before in more than 67 years of NCAA tournament play; four top seeded teams have made it to 2008 Final Four competition. These teams are the product of four renowned basketball schools; for decades each team has cultivated a reputation for big, big hoops. Just ask their alumni, administration and rabid fans about the importance of collegiate basketball and you’re sure to get more than one reference to basketball gods and magic moments.

No stranger to winning, each team is riding into the Final Four on a double-digit winning streak. Memphis and Kansas with 11 straight wins each, UCLA 14 in the W column, and North Carolina holding onto an incredible 15 game winning streak.

The stage is set in San Antonio for the 2008 clash of the basketball titans.