Roger Powell and the Ilini were our experts' pick at the beginning of the tournament, and still are the overwhelming choice to cut down the nets Monday night. AP

Before the tournament started, SI.com asked our all-star lineup of college basketball writers and editors to share their brackets. Like everyone else, those brackets have since busted, so here our experts revisit their Final Four picks.

Senior Writer Grant Wahl

Semifinals:
Illinois 83, Louisville 74
North Carolina 89, Michigan State 80

Title Game:
Illinois 102, North Carolina 101 3OT
We can dream, can't we? We're already on pace for the best tournament, so why not go out with a bang?

Original Pick: Illinois

Writer Stewart Mandel

Semifinals:
Illinois 72, Louisville 65
North Carolina 83, Michigan State 66

Title Game:
Illinois 79, North Carolina 77
I was starting to have a few doubts about my pre-tourney Illini pick -- until that comeback against Arizona. Defense wins championships, and Illinois' perimeter defenders are aggressive and athletic enough to slow down UNC's Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants.

Original Pick: Illinois

Staff Writer Seth Davis

Semifinals:
Illinois 82, Louisville 72
North Carolina 77, Michigan State 74

Title Game:
North Carolina 101, Illinois 100 (3 OT)
This tournament has been so special that a triple-overtime thriller between the best two teams is the only fitting conclusion. Once again, Sean May is the difference down the stretch.

Original Pick: UNC

Senior Writer Alexander Wolff

Semifinals:
Illinois 78, Louisville 75
Michigan State 75, North Carolina 73 (OT)

Title Game:
Illinois 68, Michigan State 64
It's not simply a matter of principle here, sticking with my lone surviving pick for St. Louis. It's also that, given the way the Illini beat Arizona, destiny is wearing orange, setting screens for Deron Williams, Luther Head and Dee Brown to curl off of. They say it's hard to beat a conference rival three times in a season, but luckily for Illinois, it only had to play the Spartans once.

Original Pick: Illinois

Senior Writer Kelli Anderson

Semifinals:
Illinois 79, Louisville 72
North Carolina 73, Michigan State 70

Title Game:
Illinois 80, North Carolina 70
After the Illini top Louisville in the game of the weekend, and UNC needs OT to top Michigan State, Illinois backcourt and mojo wins in a relative title rout.

Original Pick: Illinois

Writer Luke Winn

Semifinals:
Illinois 76, Louisville 74
North Carolina 79, Michigan State 74

Title Game:
Illinois 80, North Carolina 76
I want to see this championship game so bad that I'm willing to ignore a strange feeling that the Izzos will burn Ol'Roy on Saturday. I was on the UNC-title bandwagon in my original picks, but the Illini have since won me over: The Heels have been teetering on the edge of a Felton-less breakdown in their past two games, and I think it'll finally catch up with them Monday.

Original Pick: North Carolina

SIOC Writer John Walters

Semifinals:
Illinois 81, Louisville 76
North Carolina 88, Michigan State 80

Title Game:
North Carolina 74, Illinois 71
This ones got a lower score because of the tightness factor. Two coaching stories to root for -- Bruce Weber's great journey following his mother's passing versus Roy Williams getting the monkey off his back -- but UNC is a team that only gets stronger as the tourney goes on. Villanova should have knocked them out when they had the chance and done the rest of the field a huge favor. Here's hoping Bonnie Bernstein gets the assignment of interviewing Roy postgame.

Original Pick: Illinois