With March Madness right around the corner, I thought it would be fitting for my first blog to be about college hoops. I am a die hard North Carolina Tar Heels fan (even though the past couple years have been dissapointing) and college basketball is by far my favorite sport to watch and follow. Enough about me though, lets begin the breakdown of the top 5 college basketball teams in the nation.
#5 Duke University Blue Devils
Ahh yes, Duke. As a North Carolina fan I cannot stand the fact that they are consistently amongst the top teams in the nation. However, I will not ever be biased in this blog.
Duke has a great squad this year. At 10-3 in the ACC (3rd place) and 20-5 overall, the Blue Devils look like a team that could go deep into the tournament. Freshman sensation Jabari Parker, with 19.2 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game, is indefinitely the leader of the team. Parker is nearly impossible to guard one on one, and when he gets going offensively, Duke is a tough team to beat. After Parker comes Rodney Hood, who averages 16.2 points per game and has made 55 three point shots. If a team chooses to put their best defender on Parker, Rodney Hood usually takes care of business. The next 4 players, Quin Cook, Rasheed Sulaimon, Tyler Thornton and Andre Dawkins shoot threes. That is what they do. If you leave them open, they will make it rain, and when Duke is making three point shots, they are at their best. Almost HALF of the shots Duke made in their overtime loss to Syracuse were three pointers. I do not want to say that Duke lives and dies by three ball, but you could make a case for it.
The one thing that could knock Duke out of the tournament early is their size. Duke does not have a strong post presence and sometimes struggles to rebound the ball. If they met up with a team who rebounds the ball well in the tournament, it could mean trouble.
Tournament Prediction: Loss in Elite 8
#4 Arizona Wild Cats
This one is going to be short and sweet. I have watched the Cats play 2 times, and both times I have been unimpressed. At 23-2, the Cats may seem like a spectacular team, but their record is deceptive. The ONLY and I mean ONLY quality win that they have had in my opinion was against Duke. Other than that, their schedule has been extremely weak. They recently lost to their in state rivals (ASU) and they have also lost to California. This Arizona team is like the Gonzaga of last year, good record, weak schedule, and an early tournament loss. I just do not see this team making it past the second round of the tournament. Aaron Gordon is a good basketball player, but he is young and inexperienced and if Arizona decides to depend on him to get them to the final four, they will be disappointed. 2 things Arizona does well: Ball movement and defense. Other than that, I think this is an average team who played a below average schedule.
Tournament Prediction: Loss in second round
#3 Wichita State Shockers
Four guys with double digit scoring figures, 27-0 record, and still riding the hype of their spectacular Final Four appearance in last years tournament, the Wichita State Shockers are the 3rd ranked team in the nation. Here is what I have to say about the Shockers: Cleanthony Early, and Ron Baker. Both of these men can straight up ball. They have both almost made 50 threes and average 16.2 (Early) and 13.4(Baker) points per game. The other three guys, Fred VanVleet, Tekele Cotton, and Darius Carter each add great scoring and defense to help out the studs. The Shockers can score (75.1 ppg) and when they get going offensively they are hard to stop. However, their 27-0 record is deceptive because they have not played any good teams. They have experience in tournament play, and I think that they are a tough match up for teams because of all of the different ways that they can score. I think that they will make it far into the tournament because Baker and Early will put the team on their backs.
Tournament Prediction: Loss in Elite 8
#2 Florida Gators
Florida is legit. They have all of the ingredients of a championship team. First of all, they have experience with Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, Casey Prather and Will Yeguete. Secondly, they can flat out defend. And thirdly, they can score. Casey Prather (15.7 ppg) is having a tremendous season. He can score in so many different ways and he is quick and hard to defend. If we are on the topic of quickness, lets mention Scottie Wilbekin (13.5 ppg), who might be the shiftiest college basketball player that I have ever seen. Wilbekin can blow past ANYONE in college hoops. Lets also mention Michael Frazier II who has splashed 69 three balls. Throw in the hustle and grit of Patric Young and Will Yeguete and you have yourself a complete team. I have watched Florida play a few times and each time I have been impressed with their ability to score and how well they dictate the flow of a game. I think that comes down to experience, which the Gators have plenty of. They have been to the Elite 8 the last 3 years in a row. At the end of the day, I think Florida's strongest asset is their ability to stop teams. They play lock down defense, and I truly believe that defense wins championships. HOWEVER, I think Florida is going to lose in the Final Four. When you read who the number one team is, I think you will know why.
Tournament Prediction: Loss in Final Four (very close game)
#1 Syracuse Orange
#2 Florida Gators
Florida is legit. They have all of the ingredients of a championship team. First of all, they have experience with Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, Casey Prather and Will Yeguete. Secondly, they can flat out defend. And thirdly, they can score. Casey Prather (15.7 ppg) is having a tremendous season. He can score in so many different ways and he is quick and hard to defend. If we are on the topic of quickness, lets mention Scottie Wilbekin (13.5 ppg), who might be the shiftiest college basketball player that I have ever seen. Wilbekin can blow past ANYONE in college hoops. Lets also mention Michael Frazier II who has splashed 69 three balls. Throw in the hustle and grit of Patric Young and Will Yeguete and you have yourself a complete team. I have watched Florida play a few times and each time I have been impressed with their ability to score and how well they dictate the flow of a game. I think that comes down to experience, which the Gators have plenty of. They have been to the Elite 8 the last 3 years in a row. At the end of the day, I think Florida's strongest asset is their ability to stop teams. They play lock down defense, and I truly believe that defense wins championships. HOWEVER, I think Florida is going to lose in the Final Four. When you read who the number one team is, I think you will know why.
Tournament Prediction: Loss in Final Four (very close game)
#1 Syracuse Orange
This Syracuse team is the best Syracuse team that I have ever seen since Carmelo Anthony and his national championship team in '03. The only way that you can beat this team is if you go lights out from the 3 point line. And even then, Duke made 15 threes and STILL lost!
C.J. Fair (16.5 ppg) is the most skilled offensive player in all of college basketball. He is silky smooth and he makes clutch shots when his team needs it. He can shoot it from long range but also take it to the rack. He is virtually unstoppable, unless you make him go right, which most teams have not been able to do. Tyler Ennis (11.8 ppg) is the best pure point guard in all of college basketball. Ennis controls the tempo of the game so well and NEVER gets rattled. He also has the "clutch gene" and steps up when his team needs him. Trevor Cooney (13.6 ppg) has made 76 threes so far this year and shoots 42% from beyond the arc. He will pull the trigger at any time and has been draining threes all year long. Jerami Grant (12.5 ppg) is an animal. He pulls in 7 rebounds a game and is a true presence down low with his aggressiveness and his defense. Grant is an all around solid athlete. And finally, Rakeem Christmas is the garbage man on this Syracuse team providing hustle, defense, and heart.
Heart is one thing that this Syracuse team has. They have a will to win and they are going to play any team right down to the last buzzer. I think Syracuse will beat Florida in the Final Four and go on to win the national championship. I am not simply picking them because they are number one, I am picking them because I truly believe that they have the best shot to win the title with the way that they have looked so far. They have a ton of experience and they are going to get their points. The only thing that I can see stopping them is if a team makes 15-20 threes in one game which is not an easy thing to do.
Syracuse WILL experience their first loss on Saturday at Cameron Indoor stadium against Duke. It is tough to get a win in that building and just as some said that the officials were on the Orange's side at the Carrier Dome, the officials will DEFINITELY be on Duke's side at Cameron Indoor. This being said, I actually think it is a good thing for them to lose because it takes the pressure of being undefeated off of their backs. It is hard enough to win multiple games in a row to become national champions and adding an undefeated season to that would be EXTREMELY difficult. It is a bad omen to be the team that is undefeated in the playoffs (16-0 New England Patriots for example). The Orange will get their loss out of the way, and focus on winning it all.
Tournament Prediction: National Champions
For all of you North Dakota State Bison fans, Joe Lunardi has NDSU as a 13 seed in the tournament playing Iowa St. in the first round. I think NDSU will go to the tournament and I also think that they have a chance at winning a few games. NDSU has a veteran team with skilled players.
I hope you all enjoyed this blog!
Until next time,
Jaxon Fitterer
C.J. Fair (16.5 ppg) is the most skilled offensive player in all of college basketball. He is silky smooth and he makes clutch shots when his team needs it. He can shoot it from long range but also take it to the rack. He is virtually unstoppable, unless you make him go right, which most teams have not been able to do. Tyler Ennis (11.8 ppg) is the best pure point guard in all of college basketball. Ennis controls the tempo of the game so well and NEVER gets rattled. He also has the "clutch gene" and steps up when his team needs him. Trevor Cooney (13.6 ppg) has made 76 threes so far this year and shoots 42% from beyond the arc. He will pull the trigger at any time and has been draining threes all year long. Jerami Grant (12.5 ppg) is an animal. He pulls in 7 rebounds a game and is a true presence down low with his aggressiveness and his defense. Grant is an all around solid athlete. And finally, Rakeem Christmas is the garbage man on this Syracuse team providing hustle, defense, and heart.
Heart is one thing that this Syracuse team has. They have a will to win and they are going to play any team right down to the last buzzer. I think Syracuse will beat Florida in the Final Four and go on to win the national championship. I am not simply picking them because they are number one, I am picking them because I truly believe that they have the best shot to win the title with the way that they have looked so far. They have a ton of experience and they are going to get their points. The only thing that I can see stopping them is if a team makes 15-20 threes in one game which is not an easy thing to do.
Syracuse WILL experience their first loss on Saturday at Cameron Indoor stadium against Duke. It is tough to get a win in that building and just as some said that the officials were on the Orange's side at the Carrier Dome, the officials will DEFINITELY be on Duke's side at Cameron Indoor. This being said, I actually think it is a good thing for them to lose because it takes the pressure of being undefeated off of their backs. It is hard enough to win multiple games in a row to become national champions and adding an undefeated season to that would be EXTREMELY difficult. It is a bad omen to be the team that is undefeated in the playoffs (16-0 New England Patriots for example). The Orange will get their loss out of the way, and focus on winning it all.
Tournament Prediction: National Champions
For all of you North Dakota State Bison fans, Joe Lunardi has NDSU as a 13 seed in the tournament playing Iowa St. in the first round. I think NDSU will go to the tournament and I also think that they have a chance at winning a few games. NDSU has a veteran team with skilled players. I hope you all enjoyed this blog!
Until next time,
Jaxon Fitterer
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