1. North Carolina -- UNC has turned out to be the most dependable team in the NCAAs. Regardless of injuries, the Tar Heels will have to drop their final game at home to Duke and then lose again early in the ACC tourney NOT to be a No. 1 seed lock. If I was filling out a bracket today, I'd pick UNC as my champ.
2. UCONN -- Thabeet is a beast and maybe one of the best shot blockers in NCAA history. His lack of aggression showed when Pitt's DeJuan Blair put 20/20 on him. I can see UCONN cutting down the nets, but I hesitate to really pick them to win it all after they lost Jerome Dyson for the season. UCONN's performance in the Big East tourney will determine if they are the No. 1 overall seed.
3. Pittsburgh -- Pitt has spent time as the No. 1 overall team this season -- a total of three weeks. The Panthers are pretty much a lock for a number one seed. I really think they have a great shot at winning it all with the three studs that make-up their "star"ting lineup. Sam Young leads the team in points per game, DeJuan Blair leads the team in rebounds per game and LeVance Fields leads the team in assists per game.
4. Oklahoma -- Having to play the last two games without potential Player of the Year Blake Griffin will help OK in the long run. But if they continue to struggle with the BG on the bench, it will be hard for the committee to give the Sooners a No. 1 seed.
5. Memphis -- Is it just me, or is everyone waiting for the Tigers to lose? I feel like they don't get any respect because of how badly they destroy their conference. I guess it doesn't really matter to Calapari what anyone thinks of their C-USA run of 55 games... the only thing they want is an NCAA title. They may get a No. 1 seed for the second straight year if all the other powerhouse favorites around them continue to struggle.
6. Louisville -- Depending on how the Cardinals finish in the Big East standings at the end of the regular season will determine whether they get the No. 1 seed. Louisville's inconsistency may hurt them, but if they put together a nice run in the Big East conference tourney -- they'll run into a No. 1 seed.
7. Kansas -- I read somewhere that this Kansas squad is the third youngest team in the history of the NCAA's at an average of .82 years of experience. When I first read that I was like "oh, that's an easy choice for a first round upset"... but after the way the Jayhawks have played, I don't think age will be a factor in the post-season. The Big XII title is up for grabs, if Kansas can take it, they'll also take a top seed in the big dance -- what a quick re-build after winning it all last year and losing a bunch of talent to the pros (Chalmers and Rush are doing well playing for a paycheck).
8. Duke -- It's hard to get an understanding on Duke. They'll play really well for a stretch, then really poorly. The Blue Devils have quality wins against Purdue, Xavier and recently vs Wake Forrest. And really, if you put it in perspective, the only bad losses Duke has are against Michigan and Boston College (both hoping to be tourney bound), the rest have come against top 10 opponents (L @ #6 WF, L @ #10 Clemson, L vs #3 UNC). A good showing in the ACC tourney will give Duke a shot at a No. 1 seed even though they'd be happy getting a No. 2 seed.
9. Michigan State -- The Spartans won't be a No. 1 seed, but they have the best team in the Big Ten. If other teams struggle, Michigan State will benefit. Michigan St. is known for being a tournament team, so don't overlook the Spartans even if they fall to a No. 3 seed. I'd be surprised if MSU doesn't win the Big Ten and the Big Ten tourney and finish with the second best No. 2 seed.
10. Villanova -- The reason I have Villanova ahead of Marquette on my list is because of their head-to-head match-up on Feb. 10th where Villanova won convincingly 102-84. There is really no way that the Wildcats will end up getting a No. 1 seed, or even a No. 2, but mark my words -- they'll be a scary No. 3 seed.Others fighting for a 2 seed: Marquette, Missouri, Wake Forest, Clemson, Xavier, Washington
I like the predictions! Washington is also not given much respect, even though they play UCLA, AZ ST, AZ, etc. in the Pac-10. I like a Pac 10 team in the final four. I said UCLA at the start of the year with OKLA, UCONN and TENN. I'm going to stick w/ OKLA and UCONN, but add Washington and NC.
ReplyDeleteMarquette just lost one of their 3 Seniors that put in so much work. I liked them to make a run with that older core, but not anymore!
I think I'm one of the people that's waiting for Memphis to lose. I'll wait until the Sweet 16. Haha! JK. Coach Cal doesn't f-around.
All-Time Best team in the tournament...
UNLV 1990, runner up Arizona 1997
Best team to lose in the tournament, ever...
Illinois 2005