At CoachCal.com, 1984 Final Four participant Winston Bennett and 1998 Final Four MVP Jeff Sheppard, share how they dealt with the pressure which permeates the event, their game preparation, and how difficult it was to stay focused. Here's an excerpt:

That nervousness Sheppard felt was mitigated a bit by the team camaraderie.

"But in 1998 we had such a good thing going with our team chemistry," Sheppard said. "We were practicing at 6 a.m., even after we beat Duke (in the Elite Eight), I can remember coach (Tubby) Smith saying, 'Well guys, I'm going to give you tomorrow morning off,' and we stepped up as a team and said, 'No coach, we're not taking tomorrow morning off, we'll be there at 6 a.m.'"

"That was the dynamic that existed on that team. We just had a good thing going and a lot of experience."

For the full article, go here and Go Cats!