NCAA basketball conference tournaments are set to start soon and, depending on the results, could very well determine the number one overall seed for March Madness.
Here we are, entering the month of madness, and there is still no clear cut top team in the nation for men's college basketball.
Don't tell that to the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Gonzaga (28-2, 15-0) continues to sprint past opponents, averaging 90.5 points per game. They've defeated currently ranked teams in the Duke Blue Devils and Washington Huskies, plus Illinois, Arizona, and Texas A&M.
The West Coast Conference isn't going to win any awards for toughest conference and Gonzaga has not been truly tested, with their closest victory being 12 points. A matchup with BYU last weekend was supposed to provide the Bulldogs with a test. Instead, Gonzaga won easily and handily, 102-68.
Still, this should say something about how talented this team truly is. The reasons are usually the same as to why Gonzaga isn't worthy of a number one -- or high -- seed. Fact is head coach Mark Few has built a powerhouse program during his tenure and this team might be his best yet.
Playing a strong out-of-conference schedule and with talent inside and on the perimeter, the Bulldogs are deserving of the top seed (supposing they beat Saint Mary's this week and go on to win their conference tournament). Gonzaga is knocking down 53.4 percent of their shots and hold a 6.8 advantage on the boards.
Rui Hachimura should be considered a Player-of-the-Year candidate. Hachimura averages 20.7 points per game while shooting 61 percent from the floor. He also is second on the team in rebounds, averaging 6.6.
Inside, it is Brandon Clarke who controls the paint. The redshirt junior forward averages 16.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Clarke also has 94 blocked shots this season.
Two other Bulldogs average in double digits in scoring, guards Zach Norvell, Jr. and Josh Perkins. Norvell averages 16 ppg and has knocked down 85 threes, while Perkins chips in 10.7 points. Perkins also averages nearly 7 assists per game.
Even as good as Gonzaga has been, there is still talk of a new team taking the number one seed: the Virginia Cavaliers.
Virginia Cavaliers
Up until a few weeks ago -- and a freak injury to Duke star Zion Williamson -- the Blue Devils were predicted take the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
Losses to the North Carolina Tar Heels and Virginia Tech Hokies have knocked the Blue Devils down a peg, with Virginia (25-2, 13-2) sliding into the top spot in the ACC.
Ranked 2nd in the nation, the Virginia Cavaliers certainly have an argument to be the number one seed, especially if they go on to win the ACC tournament.
Their two losses, however, have been to Duke. And Gonzaga beat Duke so... Okay. That routine rarely works but it surely should be taken into account.
The ACC is again one of the best conferences in the nation. If Virginia comes out unscathed for the rest of the regular season and conference tournament, a number one overall seed is viable.
Quietly, the Cavaliers have put together another outstanding season. Not entirely a bad thing, considering the way they ended the 2017-18 season. The approach of the Cavaliers hasn't changed and there are hopes they can find an ultimate redemption arc for last season by winning this year's title.
Defense is still the name of the game, with Virginia holding opponents to 54.3 points and 37.4 percent shooting from the field.
On offense, the Cavaliers have been efficient, averaging 71.8 points per game. Virginia is led by guards De'Andre Hunter (15.3 ppg) and Kyle Guy (15 ppg). Hunter knocks down 54.5 percent of his shot attempts and has committed only 32 turnovers this season. Guy leads the team with 81 made threes.
My top-10
- Gonzaga (28-2)
- Virginia (25-2)
- Duke (24-4)
- Kentucky (24-4)
- Tennessee (25-3)
- Houston (27-1)
- North Carolina (23-5)
- Marquette (23-5)
- Michigan State (23-5)
- Michigan (25-4)
On the rise
The Kansas Jayhawks have won the Big 12 regular season for 14 straight years, but 2019 could finally see that streak end. Kansas is still lingering around, in the third place, but it is the Texas Tech Red Raiders (23-5, 11-4) who might be the team to dethrone the Jayhawks.
Texas Tech has won eight of their last nine games, including a 29-point win over Kansas. The Red Raiders share the Big 12 lead with the Kansas State Wildcats and, with one of the best defenses in the nation (58.1 points per game) could very well achieve the feat no other team has done since 2004, when Oklahoma State won the regular season title.
The Purdue Boilermakers (21-7, 14-3) out of the Big Ten have been on a roll as of late, winning 12 of their last 13 games. In all of those wins but one Purdue has scored 70 or more points.
They have won four in a row and are are a perfect 14-0 at home in 2018-19. They are sitting in second place in the conference, trailing the Michigan State Spartans. Purdue split their two games with the Spartans and dropped their only matchup against the Michigan Wolverines.
Their record might not indicate it, but the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers (18-12, 11-6) are still feeling residual love from their Final Four run of a season ago. The Ramblers are tied for first with the Drake Bulldogs in the Missouri Valley Conference. Guard Marques Townes hopes to recapture the magic and leads the team in scoring at 15.6 points, including a 32-point game versus Drake.
Slip-sliding away
This is the time of the season when you want to being playing your best basketball. A week after thinking they were sneaking back into title discussion, the defending champion Villanova Wildcats (21-8, 12-4) are heading in the opposite direction.
Prior to knocking off Marquette earlier this week, 'Nova had lost four of their last five games. They still have a shot to win the Big East, but they'll likely need another victory over Marquette.
As previously mentioned, Kansas (21-7, 10-5) is having somewhat of a down year. Any hopes of winning the conference for the 15th-straight season will be determined on the road. I wouldn't be surprised if the Jayhawks enter the NCAA tourney as a four or five seed.
A few weeks ago, the BYU Cougars (18-12, 10-5) were being discussed as a possible bubble team. They've now dropped back-to-back games and will likely need to win the WCC tourney to have any shot of making the big dance. (An 0-4 record against AP-ranked teams doesn't help, either).
Bubbling up
The Utah State Aggies (23-6, 13-3) are making a strong case to enter the NCAA tournament as an at-large team, if it comes down to that. Of course, they have a shot a winning the regular season outright if they defeat the 12th-ranked Nevada Wolf Pack this week.
That task won't be easy, if if the game does take place at Utah State. And the Aggies, even with a win over St. Mary's, are thriving in a down Mountain West. Even with a loss this weekend -- and if they don't win the Mountain West tournament -- the Aggies could have an argument if they finish with 14-regular season wins and go on to make it to the finals of the Mountain West tournament.
On the flip side of the coin, the Oklahoma Sooners (17-11, 5-10) are being discussed as a possible team to burst through that bubble. Every year, a team like them manages to get in. You know, the teams are under .500 in conference games, haven't won a meaningful contest since December and seem to slide in on the name on their jerseys alone. But these teams get in -- despite outcry from fans -- and usually proves their worth by winning a couple of games in the NCAA tourney.
Oklahoma has struggled in conference play, but has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation. It will be interesting to see if they get in, especially if they don't get far in the Big 12 tournament.
Others to keep an eye on in March: Wofford Terriers (25-4, 17-0, ranked 24th), Xavier Muskeeters (16-13, 8-8, winners of 5 straight), Belmont Bruins (24-4, 15-2, 12-game winning streak).
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