There was already talk before the Final Four started that if UCLA didn't win the national championship this year, that Ben Howland would become the new Marv Levy. Even though that's an incredibly stupid thing to say, it wasn't much of a problem since it wasn't in print.
But then Art Spander, a Bay Area sports writing legend, decided to do it. Bad move, Art.

The truth is that in these past three Final Four runs the Bruins have made, there's only been one year where it really seemed like they had a very good chance to win it all. That was their first matchup against Florida in 2006.

From an objective perspective, the Bruins have lost in the Final Four to the first team since '90-'91 Duke to win back-to-back national championships and the team that I think is going to win it all this year. How in God's name does that make Howland like Levy?

People seem to forget that Levy and the Bills were 8-point favorites to beat the Giants in the first Super Bowl of their four year run. When you're fully expected to win, and lose, that's when you start to enter Marv Levy territory.

Even though a number of experts picked UCLA to win it all, anyone who expected UCLA to breeze past Memphis needs to have their heads examined. Memphis was the more talented team heading into that game, and they proved it.

The fact of the matter is that it's incredibly impressive what Howland has done these last three years. He maximizes the talent he has on his team, while other coaches squander it. Look at Bill Self at Kansas. If anyone should be getting crap it's Self - primarily for only getting Kansas to the Final Four once in the last three years. In 2007 I considered it a criminal offense that he didn't get Kansas into the Final Four. That team was loaded beyond belief, and a legitimate potential hurdle for Florida. But they never got there, getting destroyed by a much less talented, but superiorly coached, UCLA squad.

The problem for Howland is that he coaches under the shadow of John Wooden, who won championships while sitting on the toilet. So naturally Howland will face some criticism because of Wooden's legacy, even though it's unfair.

The only thing Howland is guilty of is maximizing his talent, which is something that doesn't always translate into championships. But there's little doubt in my mind that Howland will wind up with a championship before all its all over - because he's clearly no Marv Levy.