Selection Sunday is drawing ever closer and on Monday morning, 68 teams can at least dream.
Half of them will be gone in a big hurry, and by the next Monday, we’ll be down to the Sweet 16.
It’s always an absolute blast of adrenaline to see the upsets. Yet while we tend to see one or two teams really shine, this tournament gets down to brass tacks quickly, and the real contenders emerge.
We might see some of these teams get shocked early, but our guess is that the champion will be one of these five schools:
- Duke
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Florida
- UConn
Those are the top five teams in the AP Poll currently, but that’s not why. The first four teams are playing great. We included UConn because of our deep respect for Danny Hurley’s talents.
Duke is playing very, very well. If Dame Sarr can score in double figures, Duke’s very hard to beat. That defense will keep them in virtually every game. The offense is the key, and it appears to be surging as well.
Arizona convinced us when it won at Houston with Koa Peat and Dwayne Aristode unavailable and Brendan Burries having an awful game. In their last two games, they ran over Kansas and Iowa State. They’re ready.
Michigan’s numbers are off the charts. Guard LJ Cason is done for the rest of the season, which is a concern, but Trey McKinney should be ready to step up. Remember, Dusty May has said he’s incredibly mature for a freshman.
Florida lost at Duke by one point and faced early criticisms over its backcourt. Not so much lately: their only loss since January 6 was to Auburn. They beat Arkansas senseless on Saturday, 111-77, and held freshman sensation Darius Acuff to 6-19 for 17 points. Florida is a much, much better team today than we saw in Cameron.
As for UConn, Hurley ripped their defense before the St. John’s game. UConn then destroyed the Johnnies, who missed their last 24 shots and scored just 40 points. They played Seton Hall on Saturday and played with fire, winning 71-67.
They’re the most erratic team in this Group of Five, but you underestimate UConn at your peril.
ESPN, incidentally, lists the top seeds currently as Duke (East), Michigan (Midwest), UConn (South), and Arizona (West).
Florida is the #2 seed in the South, incidentally, while Purdue is #2 in the East. Iowa State is #2 in the Midwest, and finally, Illinois is #2 in the West.
We’ll get into this stuff more when the time gets closer, but we think the top four schools we listed, along with UConn, have really separated themselves.
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