The calendar has reached March, which means it’s almost time for March Madness. This season’s men’s college basketball tournament will give us the usual myriad of buzzer beaters and a few Cinderella Stories.
Here are some teams to think about as you prepare to fill out your brackets in two weeks.
I can easily see Duke making it to the Final Four. The Blue Devils can beat you in so many ways. They take care of the ball. They shoot 38% from three point land, and they play defense. It does not hurt that they have the best player in the country in Cooper Flagg.
Auburn has to be considered. They have played an extremely hard schedule and continue to be ranked number-one in the country. Stats tell us that the Auburn offense is not just the best in the country, but the best over the past 25 years. The Tigers have six players averaging between 10 and 13 points per game.
The Florida Gators may reach the Final Four. They clearly have potential to cut down the nets. They are one of just four teams that are top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. And guess what? They can also rebound the basketball as they rank in the top ten nationally in offensive rebounding.
My personal pick is the Houston Cougars. They play defense as evidenced by the fact that they only give up 58 points a game. The Cougars shoot almost 40% from three this season, with all three starters in the back court each over 40% from deep.
Alabama will likely return to the Final Four again this year. This is a more talented, deeper and more complete Alabama team than the one that made the Final Four a year ago. The Tide have one of the best guards in America leading the charge with Mark Sears. The lone issue I have with them is that the word, defense, seems to be rarely used in Tuscaloosa.
