By Marc Lawrence

Faster than a 401K on its way down to 201K status, this year's NCAA tournament is down to the Final Four as a quartet of skillful survivors have now arrived in Detroit.  And before the clock strikes 12 Midnight Monday April 6th, we'll crown a new national champion in the world of college basketball.

To put the wraps on the 2009 NCAA Tournament, I have listed below some interesting trends and angles to consider before our Fab Four runs its final lap in the Motor City.  All results listed below are ATS (Against The Spread) since 1991 unless otherwise noted...

NCAA Final Four Round Notes:

Teams off a SU underdog win are 10-15 ATS (Michigan State and Villanova)

Teams off back-to-back SU underdogs wins are 2-7 ATS (Villanova)

Teams who covered by more than 10 points in the Elite 8 round are 13-21 ATS (Villanova)

Teams who 3-0 ATS last 3 games are 9-21 ATS (all 4 teams)

Teams who have covered all 4 games in this tourney are 4-14 ATS (Connecticut and North Carolina)

Favorites of 7 or more points are 1-8 ATS (North Carolina)

No. 1 seeds versus non-No. 1 seeds are 12-6 ATS (Connecticut and North Carolina)

Teams that won 33 or more games last season are 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS (North Carolina)


NCAA Championship Round Notes:

Favorites are 12-6 ATS

Teams off back-to-back ATS wins are 9-14 ATS, including 3-10 as dogs and 1-5 off an ATS win of 14 or more points

Teams off 3 ATS wins are 6-9 SU and ATS

Teams off an ATS loss are 3-2 ATS, including 3-0 as a dog or favorite of 5 or less points

ACC teams are 7-3 ATS

Big East teams are 3-1 SU and ATS

Big 10 teams are 2-5 SU and ATS

Teams that have scored the most points in the tourney are 13-5 SU and 11-7 ATS

There you have it, trends and notes of NCAA Final Four and out games played the last 18 years. I hope you've enjoyed the tournament as much as I have.  I'll return during the NBA playoffs with an overview of some Good, Bad, and downright Ugly stats and trends which hold promise for better performance through the post-season than your IRA.  Until then, enjoy the rest of the �Dance'...