Conference tournaments haven’t yet wrapped up, and the NCAA Tournament Selection Show is still hours away, but I don’t have to wait for the seeding: Louisville is my pick to win the 2009 national championship.

When it comes to the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the Big Dance in recent years, parity across the board has created a climate where it’s not so much who has the most talent, but who gets hot at the right time and who can channel that “We (Heart) Haters” motivation effectively. It’s especially true when there’s no dominant team out there, and as we’ve seen from the likes of UConn, Pitt, UNC and Wake Forest passing the No. 1 ranking around like Leilene on “I Love Money,” there is no clear-cut powerhouse in college basketball. Which opens the door for Rick Pitino’s Cardinals to claim their first national ‘chip since Pervis Ellison was running sh*t in ‘86.

Louisville (28-5) tore through the Big East tournament holding opponents to 58 points per game. Saturday’s win over Syracuse extended UL’s win streak to 10 games, and ran their record to 20-2 since the beginning of this calendar year. After slipping from their preseason No. 3 national ranking, the Cardinals haven’t been in the Top-5 the majority of the year. (There’s your hater-sparked motivation.) Instead, they’re peaking right now.

In judging whether Louisville can win the whole thing, ask yourself this: What can’t they do on the court?

The Ruler is back...

They have at least two surefire NBA-ready guys, junior forward Earl Clark (14.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and senior wing Terrence Williams (12.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, 2.3 spg). Projected to get drafted in the Top-10, Clark draws comparisons to Danny Granger. And he’ll probably be a better pro than an amateur, when he’s able to have a more defined role; right now he’s kind of floating between two-guard and power forward on the college level. Williams is a 6-6 piece of granite who will terrorize guys on defense, as well as fill up every stat category on the offensive end. He might be the most versatile player in the country.

Then there’s freshman center Samardo Samuels (11.8 ppg, 59% FG), another future pro. When the game slows down, Samuels can be the go-to anchor in the paint. Junior guard Jerry Smith (39% 3PA) leads a deep crew of three-point snipers, the third-best three-point shooting team in the Big East. And senior point guard Andre McGee — you cannot underestimate the value of a senior PG in the Tournament — leads the suffocating defense that sparks the UL fast break, while backup PG Edgar Sosa gives them depth at college basketball’s most important position. (Look at this decade’s NCAA title-winning point guards: Mario Chalmers/Sherron Collins, Taurean Green, Ray Felton, Taliek Brown, Gerry McNamara, Steve Blake, Jay Williams, Mateen Cleaves.)

Louisville reminds me of last year’s Memphis team, except they don’t have as glaring a weakness (free throw shooting) and they’re battle-tested from playing the Big East schedule. With senior leadership, legit talent and depth at every position, versatility with styles and lineups, good three-point shooters, solid interior play, a stingy defense, a great coach, and the fact that they’re hitting their peak, Louisville has to be the favorite going in.

By the time March Madness bleeds into April, they’ll be the ones leaving Detroit’s Ford Field holding the big trophy.

(Top photo. University of Louisville)