FOR A COMPLETE BREAKDOWN OF THE NCAA TOURNAMENT, CLICK HERE
When filling out your bracket, there are always those higher-seeded teams that are going to be upset early and ruin your predictions. It would be nice to know which clubs are the ones bowing out in the first couple of rounds. Teams that struggled down the stretch or have inflated records are prime examples of these types of busts. Here are the top six potentially overrated squads:
Kansas State: This is not a slight against the Wildcats. They have great guards in Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, but a match-up in the second-round against BYU is going to be tough. Jimmer Fredette can light it up and the Cougars have the perimeter to hang with Kansas State.
Villanova: The Wildcats are the worst No. 2 seed in my mind, and I do think that they will get a test in the second round. Richmond has great guards that can force ‘Nova to play a half-court game, while Saint Mary’s has inside-outside balance. Villanova struggles to defend and it struggles down low.
Pittsburgh: The Panthers simply got a tough draw, and their lack of offensive firepower outside of their guards could come back to hurt them. Xavier is always a competitive team in the NCAA Tournament, and the Musketeers won’t back down from a physical game with Pitt.
Purdue: The Boilermakers could be an underdog in their first-round game against Siena, which is unheard of for a No. 4 seed. Without Robbie Hummel, this team is not the same offensively, and the Saints are an experienced and balanced group that has won NCAA Tournament games two years in a row.
Butler: The Bulldogs always seem to get a tough match-up in the first-round against big, athletic teams. That happened again this season, as they drew UTEP. The Miners are talented and loaded up front, and Randy Culpepper is explosive. Butler struggles against tall and athletic teams – UTEP is exactly that.
Wisconsin: With Bo Ryan at the helm, the Badgers are always a threat to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. However, they struggle against teams that can bang with them in a half-court game and play their style. Every team in their pod – Temple, Cornell, Wofford – is an effective half-court group.
No comments:
Post a Comment