By Brandon Davis
If there’s one thing we fans have learned throughout the college basketball season, it’s that no one can make a confident prediction of who will walk away with the hardware in April.
As the final week of the regular season is now upon us, fans all over the country are now gearing up for the year’s most exciting period in sports.
But as I start to reflect upon the turn of events this regular season has produced over the last four months, I find it hard to remember the last time we’ve had a college basketball season like this, where not one team has declared itself the clear favorite to cut down the nets in the Motor City.
Since the start of conference play, stability as the nation’s top ranked team has been practically non-existent. Last week, Pittsburgh reclaimed the top spot in both the AP Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll after their win over previous No.1 Connecticut, only to get upended at Providence less than 36 hours after the polls were released.
Pitt’s loss to the Friars marked the second time this season the Panthers lost a game as the No. 1 ranked team in the country. The other which came from another Big East conference foe, who for some reason, I have trouble remembering. Maybe someone out there reading could help refresh my memory?
What about unanimous pre-season title favorite North Carolina? The Tar Heels brought back virtually their entire team from last season’s Final Four squad. Some even speculated they were capable of finishing undefeated.
Carolina has since lost three games in conference, including one last weekend on the road to Maryland. Though I do believe UNC still must be considered one of the favorites, that whole pre-season concept that every other team in the field would be lucky if Tar Heels coach Roy Williams allowed them to sleep anywhere near the national championship penthouse, has not held up.
Besides, as an experienced college basketball fan, I find it difficult to give the nod to a team like UNC who treats defense as just an inconvenience in between their offensive possessions.
Then there are teams like Wake Forest, Duke and Oklahoma, who at some point in the season were all voted the “best in the nation,” only to fall shortly thereafter due to their own individual set of team weaknesses.
Wake is inexperienced. Oklahoma is strong, as long as Blake Griffin plays every second of every game. And as for Duke, well I don’t have enough space in my column to list all of the Blue Devil’s ESPN disguised deficiencies.
Add in other teams such as Louisville, Memphis, Michigan State, Marquette, Villanova, Clemson and Missouri. All of these teams could be considered legitimate Final Four contenders, but have also experienced their own peaks and valleys throughout the season.
Throw a list of potential Cinderella teams into the mix and what do you have? You’ve got a field of teams that seem destined to embody the phrase “March Madness.”
Despite what your employers and teachers might say, any absence from school or work due to the NCAA Tournament is totally acceptable; especially in the state of Kentucky.
Just sit back and enjoy this one because the only reasonable prediction for this year’s tourney is that it will be madness.
