by Jeff Goodman

Hoops Hysteria

• Final NCAA tournament bracket
• Bracket Challenge: Check your picks

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Championship — Detroit, Ford Field

• North Carolina 89, Michigan State 72



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FOXSports.com analysis

• Rosenberg: Can't doubt Ol' Roy
• Goodman: UNC's cupboard not bare
• Whatifsports.com: Decade's best teams
• Goodman: Hansbrough's finishing touch
• Kriegel: Tar Heels live up to hype
• Goodman: No excuses for Spartans
• Herwitt: Five keys to UNC's title win
• Chat about North Carolina's title win
• Complete college hoops coverage

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Video

• Lawson, Ellington talk about draft
• Postgame: Tar Heels talk title
• Goodman: How UNC became champ

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Photos

• NCAA championship | Final Four

"I was shocked," said Griffin, Oklahoma's standout big man and the current favorite for National Player of the Year honors. "I was real surprised. I figured Duke or someone else might get them, but the last time I saw them play was against Michigan State."

And after the rout over the Spartans, everyone questioned who could stand in the way of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and the rest of the boys from Chapel Hill. It was just as everyone had expected going into the season.

North Carolina and then everyone else.

The talk even got louder about whether or not the Tar Heels might even be able to run the table.

But the mighty Tar Heels displayed a chink in their armor last week at home to BC, and whether or not the setback helps Roy Williams' club regain a sense of focus from here on out and not overlook anyone on their schedule won't be determined for weeks.

However, the result had an immediate impact on the basketball world.

Everyone realized they have a chance.

"Before people thought that no one could beat them," Harangody said. "Now it's wide open."

"I don't want to say it brought them down to everyone else's level," Griffin added. "But for a while, they were playing on a different level. After the loss, everyone realizes that they don't have it wrapped up."

Players aren't the only ones that have changed their tune.

"It really does change things," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "It really does. It gives everyone hope."

Parity has struck college hoops this season. Maybe the word "upset" should be outlawed from the college basketball dictionary this season because it's becoming difficult to define "favorite" and "underdog" these days.

Toss the top 50 teams in a hat, shake them up and there is little separation between the two teams you'll pull out.

I just did it.

Came out with Louisville and Clemson.

Who is the favorite and who is the 'dog? Sure, Clemson is undefeated at 14-0, but I'm guessing Tigers coach Oliver Purnell doesn't want to see Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals come March.

It's a flip of the coin, a roll of the dice.

Sure, the Tar Heels — on paper — have all the pieces and remain the clear-cut favorite to win the national title in Detroit this season. However, with a weak overall freshman class, the rich haven't gotten all that much richer from a year ago.

That means some of the weaker teams have closed the gap.

Boston College, picked to finish second from the bottom in the ACC this year, went out and knocked off the top-ranked Tar Heels. Then three days later, the Eagles lost at home to Harvard.

Arkansas, which lost nearly everyone off last year's second-round NCAA tournament team, was supposed to be in a major rebuilding mode. Yet the Razorbacks just went out and knocked off the Big 12's two top teams — Texas and Oklahoma — within a week.

Pittsburgh is the current No. 1 team, but even Levance Fields and the Panthers understand there isn't much separation between them and the rest of the country.

"There's a lot of parity this year — without question," said the Panthers senior point guard. "There's a lot of good teams and it's exciting — especially come March."

On one night, Georgetown can do enough to beat then-No. 2 UConn on the road. Then the Hoyas follow with a home loss to Pittsburgh and a road setback against Notre Dame. Duke can beat Michigan on a neutral site and then lose to the Wolverines about two weeks later.

Get used to a constant shuffling in the Top 25 over the next few months, because there just aren't the dominant teams we've been accustomed to in the past. I'm not sure if college basketball is down, but it's leveled off around the country.

No one will go undefeated in league play among the big boys.

In fact, I'd be shocked if Pittsburgh doesn't finish with at least three losses at the end of the season in a loaded Big East.

Nearly every BCS league is considered to be up for grabs. While Pittsburgh has a grip on the Big East, it could change by the end of the month after a four-game stretch in which they face Louisville, West Virginia and Villanova on the road.

Texas and Oklahoma were considered the cream of the crop in the Big 12 entering the season, but there's not nearly as much separation from the Longhorns, Sooners and the rest of the league as was believed.

Ditto for the Big Ten. Purdue just went on the road and lost to Penn State. Indiana, considered the worst team in the league, nearly knocked off Michigan.

The SEC's front-runner, Tennessee, has floundered of late against Kansas and Gonzaga and the Vols hardly look like a team that will win the league, much less pull away from the field.

UCLA has ruled the Pac-10 of late, but the Bruins aren't as formidable as a year ago without a low-post presence — and with Arizona down, the door has opened for teams such as Cal and Stanford to play themselves into a tournament bid.

There aren't many coaches out there who feel confident about their team being a Final Four-caliber club right now, but when they look around the country, they don't feel so bad.

"If we play our "A" game, I think we can beat just about anyone," Michigan State's Tom Izzo said. "But we still have a long way to go."

Join the club. It's growing by the day.