How does one build the representative body of this year's Final Four? With these 10 parts:

1. The Gator's Tail Who knew, back in early March, that the hirsute star of the NCAA tournament would not be Gonzaga's Adam Morrison, but rather the lanky, pony-tailed Joakim Noah? The bracket's biggest Bob Marley fan doesn't sport dreads, but his bushy 'do gives him the most recognizable head in Indy.

2. Big Baby's Braces When Big Baby drove me into the Park-town neighborhood of Baton Rouge to meet some of his old classmates from Capitol Middle School, more than half of them had "golds" in their mouths -- permanent metallic caps over their teeth. And a few of those dudes had mouths that were completely golden. Big Baby got out of that rough 'hood, and now flashes his version of metal-mouth: braces.

3. The Mason Duds Jersey-popping has been en vogue for the past two NCAA tournaments, and really, is there any jersey more representative of this wild year than Mason's? It doesn't matter if the Patriots win another game; they're still (with apologies to Gonzaga) America's team of 2006.

4. UCLA's Defensive Muscle Some say Memphis went ice cold in the Elite Eight (shooting 2-of-17 from 3). Others say the Bruins shut them down. Some say Gonzaga collapsed in the Sweet 16 (allowing UCLA to score the final 11 points). Others say the Bruins' D pulled off some crazy-clutch thievery. I'm with the others: UCLA's defense is the best lock-down unit left in the tournament.

5. Lamar Butler's Hot Hand George Mason didn't need a miracle to beat UConn, but it did need a nearly unconscious shooting day in D.C. -- and the Patriots went out and hit 50 percent of their 3s. Sports Illustrated cover boy Butler hit 4-of-6, and kept Mason's Living On A Prayer-run going for another week.

6. Jai Lewis' Waistline Lewis' big (275-pound) body provided the bulk needed to counteract UConn's skinny size advantage inside in the Elite Eight, and plus-sized basketball fans everywhere are salivating over the thought of a Big Baby-Lewis title game showdown on Monday night.

7. Cedric Bozeman's Knees The grandfather of the Bruins' Final Four run, Bozeman has endured a roller-coaster career in Westwood. He arrived at UCLA as a Class of 2001 McDonald's All-American, started at point guard for his first three (somewhat underwhelming) seasons, and then blew out his right knee before his senior year. Bozeman redshirted in 2004-05, and watched Jordan Farmar take over the point, but Ced' rehabbed and returned as a valuable swingman in his fifth year.

8. Tyrus Thomas' Calves If Davis is the Big Baby, then Thomas is Big Hops. His calves are made of bionic material; there is just no way a human can jump so high, so fast. LSU coach John Brady said Thomas makes plays that can "somewhat demoralize" opponents -- and his calves are where the play-making begins.

9. Florida's Fleet Front Line No 3-4-5 combo in the nation can match the athleticism of the Gators' Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah and Al Horford. Each one of those forwards can run the break, and handle and pass the ball with ease, as slower big men on South Alabama, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Villanova found out the hard way.

10. The Patriots' Slippers I know, the picture at left is just a shot of regular old Nike kicks. Use your imagination, though -- it's not that hard -- and you'll see something more apropos of Cinderella's feet. Coach Jim Larranaga's squad outlasted fellow little guys UWM, Northwestern State, Montana, Bradley and Wichita State to achieve something that few thought was possible for a mid-major.

Readers, what pieces were left out? Chime in via the comments section.

Will Tyrus Thomas' block party continue? Bill Frakes/SI

It wouldn't be prudent to abandon the numbers now. I'm going to ride this statistical business 'til the end, and offer Final Four previews in the raw, without mentioning the glass slippers, ponytails, Big Babies or revived powerhouses. And since there have been complaints -- namely, that stats don't take heart into consideration -- I'll tell you which way my heart is leaning, too.

First up is Saturday's nightcap, UCLA-LSU, and a look at how the teams stack up in terms of tempo (possessions per 40 minutes) and offensive and defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions). All stats are the latest from kenpom.com.

Team   Tempo         Off Eff.      Def. Eff.
       (Nat'l Rk.)   (Nat'l Rk.)   (Nat'l Rk.)
UCLA   63.4 (303)    113.2 (23)    84.9 (3)
LSU    69.5 (94)     110.3 (42)    85.3 (4)

Team       FTs           2s            3s
           (Nat'l Rk.)   (Nat'l Rk.)   (Nat'l Rk.)
UCLAOff    20.0 (176)    52.9 (137)    27.1 (184)
LSUDef     15.2 (323)    54.1 (84)     30.7 (79)

Team       FTs           2s            3s
           (Nat'l Rk.)   (Nat'l Rk.)   (Nat'l Rk.)
LSUOff     20.4 (159)    62.6 (2)      17.0 (334)
UCLADef    19.3 (210)    57.2 (20)     23.5 (296)