Wiedmer: Final Four should produce its own Godzilla-Kong matchup on Monday night

Almost there.

We're almost to the first NCAA men's Final Four in nearly two years.

Almost to settling into our, um, Barkley Loungers to watch Baylor versus Houston on Saturday at 5:14 p.m. EDT on CBS followed by top-seeded Gonzaga versus UCLA at approximately 8:32 p.m. on the same network.

Almost there to completing one of the oddest - if not THE oddest - NCAA tourneys ever thanks to the omnipresent coronavirus pandemic and all those COVID-19 protocols that come with it.

Here we are, 55 weeks removed from March 13, 2020, when the world as we'd always known it, especially the sports world, ground to a screeching halt.

The NCAA's First Four was to have begun in Dayton, Ohio, five days after that March 13 Thursday. The 68-team tourney was to start two days later. Never happened, though, much to the chagrin of tourney favorite Kansas and expected tourney darling Dayton.

But now we're back. Back with our perennial road trip buddies Charles Barkley, Spike Lee, Chattanooga native Samuel L. Jackson and Jim Nantz to provide comic commercial relief (hence the Barkley Lounger reference) in those wonderful Capital One ads. Back with questionable officiating, especially at the end of that Baylor-UConn women's regional final, and the second charge call on Alabama's Herb Jones in the first 41 seconds of the Crimson Tide's shocking Sweet 16 loss to UCLA.

Back with busted brackets, perhaps the most in the history of brackets, after an opening weekend that saw no fewer than four double-digit seeds advance to the Sweet 16, as well as No. 1 seed Illinois, No. 2 seed Ohio State and No. 3 seed Texas gone in either the first or second rounds.

(Hey, Selection Committee, cashed that check yet from the Big Ten for putting a ridiculous nine of its teams in the Big Dance without a single one advancing to the Final Four? Better cash it quick or it may bounce as quickly as eight of the nine were tossed prior to the Sweet 16. Can you say Big (Has) Been?)

But none of that matters now. For the first time ever we have four teams west of the Mississippi vying for college basketball's biggest prize. Go West, young ballers, indeed.

We also have some pretty wild history taking place. Not only have three of the four never previously won it - Baylor, Gonzaga and Houston - but Baylor hasn't reached the final weekend since 1950 and Houston - despite reaching three straight Final Fours between 1982 and 1984 - is also back for the first time since that run.

Then there's UCLA, which won 10 of 12 NCAA tourneys between 1964 and 1975 thanks to coach John Wooden - the late Wizard of Westwood - grabbed another in 1995, then reached three straight Final Fours between 2006 and 2008 under current Mississippi State coach Ben Howland, but failed to win all three times.

So whichever team wins, there will be a lot of (hopefully) socially distanced partying in Indianapolis early Tuesday morning.

But which one?

It's almost impossible to believe Gonzaga will lose to UCLA, which has won two games in overtime, beaten Michigan by two points in the Elite Eight and might not start a single player other than Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang who could also start for the Zags.

The Bruins might have a comparable bench, but Gonzaga should win its 28th straight game by double figures. And if you think the Zags coming out of the West Coast Conference was seen as poor preparation for a supposedly tougher NCAA field, consider this: the Zags' victory margin in conference play was 23.4 ppg. Their victory margin in the tourney is 24.5 ppg.

As for the Texas Two-Step in the other semi between Baylor and Houston, the Cougars have the ability to pull the upset, especially if Houston guard Dejon Jarreau, a defensive demon, can impose his withering will on the Baylor backcourt.

But after struggling with a COVID-19 outbreak in February, the Bears seem poised to reach the title game for the first time since 1948, when they lost to Kentucky.

Which brings us to Monday night, which should become college hoops' version of Godzilla Vs. Kong. Gonzaga and Baylor have pretty much been No.s 1 and 1-A all season. This is the matchup we expected at season's dawn. This should be what we'll see at season's end.

Can Baylor defend a Zags bunch averaging over 91 points a game this season well enough to prevail? Maybe. Especially if the Bears are bullish behind the 3-point line.

But before that pick becomes official, let me go with current Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens to replace Roy Williams at North Carolina. One gentleman and basketball savant replacing another.

As for Monday night, expect the Zags to prevail 81-73 and Gonzaga big man Drew Timme to win MVP. Then let's hope that a year from now we're done with COVID-19, the transfer portal in its current form and referees who can't tell a block from a charge.

Hey, a fellow can dream, can't he?

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.