If you could redo your brackets right now, who would you take to win it all? The current Vegas odds have UCLA, Memphis, and Kansas at 3 to 1 and UNC at 8 to 5 (that’s less than 2 to 1 for those of you doing caveman math).

In our NextRound pool only two people backed Memphis. If I could redo my brackets today I would take Memphis to cut down the nets.

First, they have Derrick Rose. When it’s all said and done he might be the number one overall pick in the NBA draft. The guy’s numbers don’t do him justice because he’s unselfish to a fault. It’s not like his numbers are exactly bad though; he went for 21 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds against Texas. Not to mention he held Longhorns’ superstar point guard DJ Augustine to 4 of 18 shooting, all the while making Augustine look like a second class player.

But the thing that makes Rose so dangerous is that he can get any shot on the floor at any time, regardless of the defense. He’s the most talented player left in the tournament, there is no debate (first person to tell me Hansbrough is the most talented gets donkey punched).

Second, Memphis is the only Final Four team that had to deal with beating the number 2 seed in their bracket. They had hands down the toughest matchup this past weekend and in the process made Texas (who I’m sure a ton of you had going to the Final Four) look like the girls JV squad from your favorite Catholic high school. I respect the hell out of the  Texas basketball program, but Memphis handed them the most impressive no-rubber beat down of the season.

Third, Memphis ONLY LOST ONE FUCKING GAME BY ONE FUCKING POINT THIS SEASON. And that was to a legitimate top ten Tennessee team. Do they need to apologize for playing in a crappy conference? Well, yeah, they do. The majority of the teams in Conference USA would lose to me, JB, and a homeless dude in a pick up game. But Memphis did beat Oklahoma (6 seed) at Oklahoma, Connecticut (4 seed) at Connecticut, Southern Cal (6 seed), Georgetown (2 seed), Arizona (10 seed), Siena (13 seed), and Gonzaga (7 seed) out of conference. When you tack on their wins over Mississippi State, Michigan State, and Texas in the tournament, I find it hard to argue that any other team has been more impressive up to this point in this season.

And finally, John Calipari is both a greasy pompous ass and an extremely good basketball coach. I’m starting to think most sports fans have dismissed Memphis’ chances to win it all simply because Calipari looks like he just unloaded a used Nissan for above blue book price to some unsuspecting old lady. But that aside, do you realize that Calipari is the only head basketball coach to take two different non-BCS schools to the Final Four? I find that stat pretty amazing.

I might end up looking like a complete and utter retard — which, at this point, is kind of like taking a piss for me — but at 3 to 1 I’ll be backing the Tigers this weekend. And if Derrick Rose is looking for an agent, someone give him my number.

Previous Editions of Turf Toe:

• Booth Defends His Bracket
• Moderately Good Teams That Could Make Your Bracket
• Booth’s Thoughts on NFL Free Agency
• Hansbrough Eats Dong
• How Shaq and Tim Almost Ruined the NBA

“Wicked Case of Turf Toe” is Booth’s weekly column dedicated to passing judgment on the world of sports. Click here for the archives.

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