12-17-2013, 11:35 PM
He sounds like me in regards to later in the season thinking...only 1 AAC Team in his Top 10 Title National Title Contender which has changed since his Preseason....
1. Arizona
2. Louisville
3. Syracuse
4. Michigan State
5. Florida
6. Duke
7. Wisconsin
8. Oklahoma State
Others in consideration: Kentucky, Ohio State, Kansas, Gonzaga, Oregon, Wichita State & Iowa.
From the article posted today:
In his College Basketball Opus, the seminal work of this hoops season, The Bilastrator gave you his top eight national title favorites: Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas, Arizona, Florida and Syracuse. After watching and processing over a month of college basketball games, one thing is clear: There is not a truly great or dominant team this season.
At least, it should be noted, not yet.
There is not automatically a "great" team or teams every season. There is a champion crowned every year, but that doesn't make a team historically great. "Great" is a term that is overused in sports, and when I say great, I mean the dictionary definition of the word. Great means to be "remarkable or truly outstanding in magnitude, degree or extent; superior in quality or character; to be of outstanding significance or importance; to be eminent, distinguished."
Because there are no dominant teams like there were in 2007-08 or 2008-09, it would not be at all shocking to see a team like Colorado, Iowa State or Oregon get hot and reach the Final Four in Dallas. It could be that kind of season, and those seasons can be all kinds of fun.
That said, while there is no great team yet, there are still prohibitive favorites to win it all. Here are the eight teams that The Bilastrator believes are the best so far, and the best-suited to reach Dallas and cut the nets down.
1. Arizona Wildcats
The Wildcats are the most complete team The Bilastrator has seen, and have the size, athleticism, depth, lineup versatility, guard play, and mental and physical toughness to win the whole thing. And, this team can and will get better and better.
Where Arizona sets itself apart is on the glass. Sean Miller's team does a really good job of building a wall defensively and limiting opponents to one challenged shot. The Wildcats keep people off the foul line, and they rebound with length, great bounce and will. Opponents had better make their first shot, because there are few second ones. Aaron Gordon has gotten a lot of press, but his best contribution is as a defender and finisher. He can be one of the toughest individual defenders in the nation if he chooses to be.
But the difference between Arizona as a good team and Arizona as national champions rests with T.J. McConnell, Nick Johnson and Brandon Ashley. McConnell is a true point who is a terrific setup guy, Johnson is a hard-nosed scoring guard who is very efficient and Ashley is one of the tougher matchups in the country due to his length and versatility. Arizona won't hold on to the No. 1 ranking all season long, but may very well be the best team.
2. Louisville Cardinals
The Cardinals miss Peyton Siva and Gorgui Dieng badly. Rick Pitino can replace their talent, but it is impossible to duplicate what "team-first" players and leaders they were. Still, Louisville has all of the pieces to get to another Final Four.
Right now, Louisville is the only team in the country that is ranked among the top six teams in both offensive (first) and defensive efficiency (sixth) by KenPom.com. In fact, the Cardinals and Oklahoma State are the only teams in the top 10 in offensive efficiency that are even in the top 15 in defensive efficiency.
When healthy, Louisville has the bodies and talent to beat anyone. Whether Louisville has the leadership is another matter. Usually, Rick Pitino's teams are at their best at season's end. He throws a lot at his teams and toughens them up considerably throughout the season. I don't doubt that this will be the case again this time around.
http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/jay-bilas/post?id=284
That why I consistently say and the fact I am a Football guy first and foremost when it comes to Basketball especially with Louisville don't really focus on it until after the Super Bowl/College Football National Signing Day/last 10 Regular Season College Basketball Games Timeframe...that is when it starts....all bout Mid March to Early April in The Show...
1. Arizona
2. Louisville
3. Syracuse
4. Michigan State
5. Florida
6. Duke
7. Wisconsin
8. Oklahoma State
Others in consideration: Kentucky, Ohio State, Kansas, Gonzaga, Oregon, Wichita State & Iowa.
From the article posted today:
In his College Basketball Opus, the seminal work of this hoops season, The Bilastrator gave you his top eight national title favorites: Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas, Arizona, Florida and Syracuse. After watching and processing over a month of college basketball games, one thing is clear: There is not a truly great or dominant team this season.
At least, it should be noted, not yet.
There is not automatically a "great" team or teams every season. There is a champion crowned every year, but that doesn't make a team historically great. "Great" is a term that is overused in sports, and when I say great, I mean the dictionary definition of the word. Great means to be "remarkable or truly outstanding in magnitude, degree or extent; superior in quality or character; to be of outstanding significance or importance; to be eminent, distinguished."
Because there are no dominant teams like there were in 2007-08 or 2008-09, it would not be at all shocking to see a team like Colorado, Iowa State or Oregon get hot and reach the Final Four in Dallas. It could be that kind of season, and those seasons can be all kinds of fun.
That said, while there is no great team yet, there are still prohibitive favorites to win it all. Here are the eight teams that The Bilastrator believes are the best so far, and the best-suited to reach Dallas and cut the nets down.
1. Arizona Wildcats
The Wildcats are the most complete team The Bilastrator has seen, and have the size, athleticism, depth, lineup versatility, guard play, and mental and physical toughness to win the whole thing. And, this team can and will get better and better.
Where Arizona sets itself apart is on the glass. Sean Miller's team does a really good job of building a wall defensively and limiting opponents to one challenged shot. The Wildcats keep people off the foul line, and they rebound with length, great bounce and will. Opponents had better make their first shot, because there are few second ones. Aaron Gordon has gotten a lot of press, but his best contribution is as a defender and finisher. He can be one of the toughest individual defenders in the nation if he chooses to be.
But the difference between Arizona as a good team and Arizona as national champions rests with T.J. McConnell, Nick Johnson and Brandon Ashley. McConnell is a true point who is a terrific setup guy, Johnson is a hard-nosed scoring guard who is very efficient and Ashley is one of the tougher matchups in the country due to his length and versatility. Arizona won't hold on to the No. 1 ranking all season long, but may very well be the best team.
2. Louisville Cardinals
The Cardinals miss Peyton Siva and Gorgui Dieng badly. Rick Pitino can replace their talent, but it is impossible to duplicate what "team-first" players and leaders they were. Still, Louisville has all of the pieces to get to another Final Four.
Right now, Louisville is the only team in the country that is ranked among the top six teams in both offensive (first) and defensive efficiency (sixth) by KenPom.com. In fact, the Cardinals and Oklahoma State are the only teams in the top 10 in offensive efficiency that are even in the top 15 in defensive efficiency.
When healthy, Louisville has the bodies and talent to beat anyone. Whether Louisville has the leadership is another matter. Usually, Rick Pitino's teams are at their best at season's end. He throws a lot at his teams and toughens them up considerably throughout the season. I don't doubt that this will be the case again this time around.
http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/jay-bilas/post?id=284
That why I consistently say and the fact I am a Football guy first and foremost when it comes to Basketball especially with Louisville don't really focus on it until after the Super Bowl/College Football National Signing Day/last 10 Regular Season College Basketball Games Timeframe...that is when it starts....all bout Mid March to Early April in The Show...
