For the last little while there has been a furor of debate about how Kentucky would possibly fare against the weakest teams in the NBA. I originally liked the idea considering how this is one of the strongest NCAA teams in history and will very likely take home the championship tonight.

But the fact remains that while the Wildcats have at least four guys that will likely be taken in the first round of this year’s draft, the rest of the roster would just not compare to an NBA squad. So that’s four NBA-calibre guys facing a roster full of NBA-calbre players.

Heck, one Las Vegas bookie even went as far as to set a line as if this game could ever happen. If the Washington Wizards were to face Kentucky on a neutral court, the Wiz would be favoured by 30 points. Granted, I’d love to take the points, but the fact is that Washington isn’t going to lose that game.

So, the better question that I would pose is this: How would Kentucky fare if it played in the NBA Development League?

Tricky question, right?

Right off the bat you could argue that the ‘Cats would have the two best players on the floor with Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. With their four first-round calibre guys, you could argue that the ’Cats might even have the best four players out there. How many lottery picks ever play in the NBDL? The only high draft pick that I can remember being sent down is Hasheem Thabeet and he’s still kind of garbage.

The NBDL is a league of gunners too; guys that are trying to impress NBA teams with their numbers. I wouldn’t expect a group of guys making less than you or I to be interested in playing as a team. I’ve never watched a D-League game, but I can only assume by the mostly high scores that it’s more akin to rec-league ball than a shutdown defensive affair.

There are two spots that a NBDL team would have an advantage: Their depth and the rules. We would of course have to play with NBA rules, meaning that there would be the longer three-point line and different defensive schemes. This would hurt Kentucky’s chances, but I believe their overall defence is strong enough to get through that difficulty. The game would also be longer, so stamina may become an issue for UK.

In terms of depth, the NBDL team’s bench players would most likely be better than Kentucky’s. In the D League, the bench guys would still probably be past second-round picks and the best of the undrafted players. It would be silly to think that this entire Kentucky team will be drafted one day. I doubt their ninth man is going to make the NBDL even as a walk-on.

So, could the Kentucky Wildcats hang with the Los Angeles D-Fenders or the Fort Wayne Mad Ants? I believe so and I wouldn’t bet against John Calipari’s crew. But come on, let’s just put to bed this silly ‘Kentucky could play in the NBA’ nonsense – even after they win the title tonight.

We’ve boiled down an astounding 68 NCAA basketball teams through a crazy – some would say mad – two weeks and now we’ve found four that are fit enough to make the final. While all have their merits, one team is a clearly above the rest: Kentucky.

Usually an offensive juggernaut – and they’re no slouches on that end this year either – this team is built around an amazing ability to protect the paint. Anthony Davis alone averages almost five blocks a game.

These kids block shots like they’re playing NBA Jam with goaltending turned off.

They also sport two guys that will likely be selected in the top-five of this year’s NBA draft – maybe even as the top two. Along with Davis, the consensus No. 1 overall pick, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has ridiculous talent as well. Then there’s still Terrence Jones, who stayed in school last year – a Kentucky rarity.

Many will say that they bowed out of last year’s tourney in Final Four and could do it again, but that feels unlikely. Their opponent’s this year (Louisville) do not matchup to the team that defeated the Wildcats last year, the eventual champions, UConn.

There’s no Kemba Walker-level player to lead the Cardinals to the shock upset. It will even be questionable if Louisville can hold a lead against Kentucky. Shockingly, in this entire tournament the most that Kentucky has trailed by is five points. Now that’s amazing.

With the first tipoff of the 63 that will settle who’s the best team in NCAA basketball set for 12:15 today, why not throw out a few predictions and a little bit of a breakdown of what we know, well,  just think we know.

OK, that first sentence has two technically incorrect facts: First, we’ve already played four games in the tournament, but the only people that care about the First Four are people from the schools involved and gamblers. Second, the winner of this all may not in fact be the best team in the States; they’re really just the ones that one those six games in a row.

So what do we think will happen? Let’s make a few quick picks.

-Big upsets first-round upset: New Mexico State over Indiana, Belmont over Georgetown, NC State over San Diego State

-Potential future upsets: Vanderbilt over Syracuse, Marquette over MSU.

-Potential bracket busters: UConn, St. Bonnaventure, Kansas State.

-Region winners: Kentucky, Marquette, Florida State and North Carolina.

-Tournament winner: Kentucky

-MVP: Anthony Davis and his one eyebrow.

I’ll be tweeting all Thursday and Friday while watching the “first-round” matchups, so if you want to follow along, chat and make some predictions, follow me @danbilicki

It has taken me a while to sift through this year’s NCAA bracket and I’m still as confused as I was when I started to stare at it for an hour straight. In honesty, it has also been fairly easy to get sidetracked by the Redskins’ megatrade for RG3, Peyton’s free agent cross-country tour and Mass Effect 3 – one of the best video games in recent history.

So what do I know about this year’s March Madness? Well I have a few things up my sleeves.

-Kentucky is the best bet, but they’re very hard to trust. Two years in a row you could have made a solid case for the Cats to win it all, but failed both times. This year they have the consensus No. 1 player in the nation again, but are a very young squad. It won’t be surprising to see them cut down the mesh or bow out in the Sweet 16 this year, either way.

-Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, the aforementioned best player, doesn’t look like your conventional star. Seriously, search Google images for him and you’ll find a face that only a mother can love. Come on, he has a uni-brow! Many casual hoops fans will be shocked when they first lay eyes on him – for his talent and his looks.

-It’s always fun to pick Michigan State to go on a run, but this year not so much. Having the Spartans as a No. 1 seed kind of defeats that purpose. In fact, I’d be more inclined to say that they don’t make the Final Four this year.

-If you’re looking for a Cinderella team, look no further than the 14-seeds. With the three-seeds a step below the twos, you can make a case that any of the 14s has a shot at winning at least their opener. Even St. Bonaventure, who made it in on the last day, has a great player in Andrew Nicholson who can give the solid Florida State Seminoles a good run.

-In March Madness, defence trumps offence, so be wary of Missouri and possibly Duke. Both teams won’t lose their first games, but I’d be very hesitant to have them go further than the Sweet 16.

-Where are the western powerhouses? Granted, I don’t pay much attention to regular season college ball, but what happened to the likes of USC, UCLA and Washington? There are three teams that you can usually rely on to see pop up in your bracket.

-UConn is an eight-seed and has to face Kentucky in the second round? Has any defending champion ever been stuck in that position before?

-Harvard is having one hell of a year. After Lin-sanity swept the nation, the Ivy League school made their way into the tournament for the first time since the 1940s. It’s also their second time every making it to the Big Dance. It will be hard for them to advance past Vandy, but you never know.