The first college basketball game I watched this season was an 8-point Pittsburgh win over Rhode Island. It was November 8th- nearly 3 months ago- and I'm still asking myself, where are the great teams? Because I don't see any.
Ohio State is close. Undefeated actually, but does anyone think the Buckeyes will cut down the nets in Houston? I don't. Jared Sullinger is great, no doubt, but he's still a freshman, which should raise a few concerns if you're picking them to win it all in your office pool.
This weekend saw a remarkable 13 ranked teams lose, and 9 of those losses came against unranked opponents.
The Big East looked to be head and shoulders above the other conferences, but its top teams continue to lose. The AP's No. 2 Pittsburgh lost to Notre Dame this week. Uconn lost to Louisville Sunday. Syracuse has lost 4 in a row. Villanova has dropped 3 of 4. We hear every year how great the conference is, but the Big East hasn't had a national champ since Uconn in 2004.
The loss of Duke's Kyrie Irving has hurt the Blue Devils, who were were taken out early by St. Johns Sunday. That's another questionable loss for Duke, who lost to Florida State on January 12th.
Kansas and Texas are the teams in the Big 12 this year, and one of the two will probably grab a No. 1 seed in the dance. Kansas lost to the Longhorns last Saturday, ending their 69 game home winning streak and undefeated season. Texas already has 3 losses but are playing as well as anyone right now.
BYU and San Diego State look like potential Butlers or Davidsons this year, but neither looks truly great so far.
Most years by this time, I have 2-3 teams who I think will win it all. Last year it was Kansas or Duke.
Right now I could fill out 10 brackets and have 10 different winners. The level of parity should make for a ridiculous NCAA tournament, which might have more upsets in 2011 than any year in recent memory.
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