I saw Louisville for the first time this season, and came away very impressed with the Cardinals. I know this after watching Louisville practice and play: Rick Pitino has a chance to do very well in the NCAA Tournament this season, contend for a Final Four berth next season, and will national title in the next three years.

Many teams claim to play all out over 94 feet for 40 minutes. Louisville actually does it. The Cardinals press with passion and fervor, play halfcourt defense the same way, and run good halfcourt sets when they don't score in transition.

Pitino believes in the liberal use of the 3-point shot, his Cardinals are hard to guard, and Louisville is perhaps the most well-conditioned team I have seen this year. Louisville wears down opponents, and is fresher at the end of games. This Louisville team can beat anyone.

Reece Gaines is one of a handful of premier guards in the nation, and he is a future pro. Gaines is long-armed, athletic and has a will to win that is unique. Most guards have a difficult time seeing over Gaines, and he is an excellent scorer and distributor. Don't be surprised to hear his name called early in this year's NBA Draft.

One coaching note: Louisville's staff did an extraordinary job of scouting and game preparation for the Tennessee game, which was typical of its homework for every game Louisville plays. Louisville's pinpoint scouting report and game plan was among the best I have seen, down to the level of detail and the manner in which it was communicated to the team. Pitino is a great coach, and his preparation is immaculate.

SEC Cream of Conferences: The Southeastern Conference has proven to me, beyond a reasonable doubt, that it is the best conference in the country. This league could get seven teams in the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, and that is not an unrealistic goal.

Georgia is the most undervalued team in the league, and has the chance to be the best team out of the SEC. If you want to beat Georgia, you had better make Ezra Williams and Jarvis Hayes guard people on the defensive end, and run things right at them. If they are not made to guard people, Hayes and Williams will have the legs to kill you on the other end.

Florida is another team that is truly dangerous and has the chops to win a national title. The Gators may not have a powerful inside game, but they have toughness, and have won facing a variety of different styles. The Gators can spread teams out, and have the most mature and developed freshmen in the country in Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh, who fit in perfectly with veterans Matt Bonner, Justin Hamilton and Brett Nelson.

Hamilton is a do-everything player who should be getting more attention for his defense. If not for Emeka Okafor's presence as the college game's human eraser, Hamilton would be getting more buzz for national defensive player of the year. Billy Donovan has done a great job putting this team in a position to win.

True Warriors:The term "warrior" is overused in college basketball, but there is no other word to describe the performances of Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich and T.J. Ford in the Texas-Kansas game on Big Monday.

Collison played through fatigue and beat the competition to 23 rebounds in a gutty performance that personified heart Hinrich played at one speed ... all out, and showed exactly why I have been calling him the best shooting guard in the nation since the first day of practice. There is no guard on the planet who can keep T.J. Ford in front of him on defense, and Ford has established himself as the best point guard in the country.

Ford was embarrassed last season when defenders would play way off of him, and he improved his shooting to the point where he has to be guarded. When he is guarded, he is gone, because he blows by anyone in the country off the dribble. Aaron Miles did a great job on him, but Ford was almost uncontainable.

The Big Monday game in Lawrence was Final Four quality, and don't be surprised to see a replay in New Orleans. Wayne Simien's return will be the deciding factor in KU's ability to win the national title. With Simien back healthy, the Jayhawks are a title favorite. Without him, they are still one of the top teams in the country.