The craziest thing about the 2013-14 season is that we all keep refusing to admit that we don't have it figured out.

Before the season, this was going to be the year that the preseason top five, and the best crop of freshmen that college basketball had seen in some time, were going to dominate the sport from start to finish. That did not happen. Then it was going to be the year that the midseason power quartet of Syracuse, Wichita State, Arizona and Florida kept rolling the competition all the way to the Final Four. That only kind of (barely) happened.

You'd think we all would have stopped by the time the brackets were announced on Selection Sunday, but of course, we did not. According to ESPN, 8.9 percent of the 6.1 million brackets submitted on ESPN.com this year had a Final Four of Michigan State, Florida, Louisville and Arizona, by far the most popular combination, and an abnormally high percentage. For reference, last year's most popular Final Four combination only accounted for 4.5% of all the network's brackets. So of course, that popular quartet proved to be only 25 percent accurate.

And now, as you might have guessed, everybody thinks they have the Final Four figured out: Florida will have no trouble beating Connecticut before going on to handle a resurgent Kentucky squad for the fourth time this season. Recent history says that even if you truly believe this scenario is going to play out, you probably shouldn't wager anything you can't afford to lose on it.

Before diving any more deeply into what we think will or will not happen this weekend in Dallas, it's important to look back at just how wrong we've already been and just how fun it was to see it all play out. So here's the best and worst of the two weeks that led us to this place.

Five Best Games

1. Kentucky 78, Wichita State 76 (Midwest, Round of 32)

You could really make a case for any of Kentucky's last three games to occupy this spot. The Michigan game had a better finish and the Louisville game a better comeback, but in terms of non-stop back-and-forth- for 40 minutes, I don't think you can beat UK-Wichita State so far.

Photo: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The game felt like a regional final from the opening tip to the final horn, as the 35-0 Shockers and the preseason No. 1 Wildcats traded blow after blow after blow until Fred VanVleet's final swing came up empty and Big Blue Nation could celebrate.

The game saw 14 lead changes, only 20 total turnovers and a pair of huge banked three-pointers in the final six minutes. Both teams shot better than 54 percent from the field and better than 44 percent from behind the three-point line.

Cleanthony Early and Ron Baker were both tremendous in defeat, combining to score 51 points (Early had 31 alone) and hit 8-of-12 shots from beyond the arc. But the Harrison twins were up to the challenge, combining to score 39 points and hit five treys, the perfect accent to big man Julius Randle's 22nd double-double of the season.

The only disappointing thing about this remarkable contest is that it felt like it was played one Sunday too early. This wasn't fair to Wichita State, a 35-0 one seed that deserved better protection. I don't think there's one other eight or nine seed that keeps the Shockers from the Sweet 16, but now that's a part of their story that doesn't get to be told.

2. Kentucky 75, Michigan 72 (Midwest, Elite 8)

Again, this was the thriller with the superior ending, as Aaron Harrison drilled a deep three to break a 72-72 tie with 2.6 seconds left .

Michigan entered the game hoping to force the Wildcats into taking contested jumpers from inside the arc. That did not happen. In fact, Kentucky attempted exactly zero second half shots that didn't come from either outside the three-point line or inside the paint. UK used its significant size advantage to rebound 65 percent of its own misses, and seldom-used reserve Marcus Lee etched his name into Big Blue lore by dominating the middle for long stretches while playing in place of the injured Willie Cauley-Stein.





Big Ten Player of the Year Nik Stauskas, who scored a game-high 24 points, attempted to play hero at the buzzer, but his shot from just inside midcourt found nothing but backboard.



