Well, it's getting down to it. The ELITE EIGHT; The eight best programs in College basketball. Usually, this is more of a figurative thought at this time of year, but this might be the first time in my life when it actually is true.

For the first time in six seasons, we are faced with a second weekend without Cinderella. Coming into the Elite Eight, all four #1 seeds are present, three of the four #2 seeds are there, and the lowest seed, Oregon, is a #3 seed, and possibly the hottest team in the country.

The total seeds, 13, is the lowest number in tournament history. Not since 1995, have we seen a total seed count of less than sixteen in the Elite Eight, and that was the second most watched Final four in NCAA tournament history.

So it’s clear that the selection committee has done a phenomenal job at setting up the top brackets in the field, but is this good for the tournament? There are two ways of looking at it. First, the teams that are supposed to be here are here so this will translate to some of the most frenzied, well played basketball in recent memory. The other thought, however, is that a tournament without the sentimental favorite is going to translate into a tournament without story lines or ratings.

I certainly can’t tell anyone else what to think, but as for me, I am loving the fact that the best teams coming in are the last teams standing. With Cinderella comes blowouts, or lopsided victories, as ultimately, the shoe doesn’t fit and the cream always seems to rise to the top (of course, you need not tell that to Villanova, or North Carolina State). As Cinderella gets closer to the ultimate prize, the end tends to be anticlimactic, leaving little doubt that they had a great run but they had to ultimately lose and bow out.

A tournament without Cinderella, however, promises to have excitement and unpredictability that you don’t get with Cinderella in the late rounds. Did anyone really think that George Mason was going to win the National Championship last year? I don’t think so. Rather, I think that the vast majority of us figured they would lose, if not to Florida, they would certainly be taken down in the final.

Don't get me wrong, the story line was fascinating, but the end result was never in question. Mason would not, could not, win the National Championship.

With the current field, however, aside from the near certainty of close games, who can we completely dismiss from having any shot of winning it all? Oregon? Georgetown? With the Elite Eight including Florida, Oregon, Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina, Georgetown, Ohio State, and Memphis, two things are for sure… There will be no blowouts, and any of these eight fine programs can win their next three games and be crowned champion of the basketball world. To me, that represents the ultimate excitement in college basketball, and a level of excitement and uncertainty you just don't get with Cinderella in the picture. Let the games begin!