As we creep closer to March and the Tournament, we have to figure out the best teams in the land. Surely, we do not want to go into picking the bracket without an idea of who does what. Right now, there is so much hope for so many teams. Let's figure out who the pretenders and contenders are all across this great nation. Will there be another George Mason? Is Memphis unbeatable? Can powerhouse UNC pull it off? Only time will tell. But for now, lets all hop aboard and look at who I believe will make it and who will not.
Pretenders:
-Memphis Tigers: Seems crazy. But thats what we are all about here at Daily Dose. Acting nuts. Memphis plays nobody, we all know that. So who will prepare them for the finest teams come March? They do play UAB twice, who always give Memphis a run for their money. They also play a ranked opponent in Tennessee later on in the season. But their conference is faily awful and Other teams like UCLA, Duke, UNC and other become prepared as the season goes because of their rigorous conference skeds. Memphis is a pretender and while they may make it to Elite 8 status, I just can't see them winning it all.
-Georgetown Hoyas: No Jeff Green. No title. Roy Hibbert can not do this alone. Jonathan Wallace's numbers are down from a year ago. They are a seasoned team, but I just can't take them seriously for a run at the Final Four. Stay away come March.
-Vanderbilt Commodores: 2-3 in the SEC just doesn't cut it. After a beatdown by the Gators by 22 down in the swamp, they have officially been put on the pretender list. They do have the superstar that it takes to go deep in Shan Foster. But you cant start off 2-3 in the SEC and expect to go on a long run come tourney time. Vandy is coming back to earth.
Contenders:
- Washington State Cougars: Led by Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver, the Cougs can make another run in the tourney after last years improbable season. Coach Tony Bennett is a year wiser, as are his star players. Wazzu also has a deep bench which will allow them to rest the weary when need be. This is a team to watch for come March, let that be known. They play in the uber-tough PAC-10 and are constantly up against teams like UCLA, Arizona and Oregon. They will be ready when the field of 65 is selected.
- Kansas State Wildcats: This team is as talented as any in the country with Michael Beasley and Bill Walker leading the squad. Those two alone make it a talented roster. They are ranked 24th as of this writing, but this team can be a nightmare to play in March. Having two stars can be hell in a pressure environment, especially if these guys play like they have nothing to lose. They can play that way because it is almost assured that Beasley will go pro and probably be a top 3 pick, and Walker will be a first rounder and will be right on his heels to head to the Association. Look out for K-State.
-UCLA Bruins: This isnt out of the blue (and gold, stupid I know). But UCLA is a very, very good team. They have several key players from both tournament runs of the last few seasons. Right now, UCLA is my pick to win it all. You heard it here. With the experience and talent of this Bruin squad, Ben Howland will be cutting down the nets at the Alamodome in early April. Darren Collison runs the team flawlessly, and making that easy for him is super-freshboy Kevin Love and returning starter Josh Shipp. This team is poised and will settle for nothing less than a 12th championship title.
And more..
-Hilarious Youtube videos sent to Rudy Gay so that he can try them in the dunk contest.
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