Probably more just a terribly biased opinion than a lie. Sort of like a Duke fan saying the 'Zags would thrash the Heels last night.
The best team right now is tough. Kansas, Tennessee, Duke, Michigan, and UVA are the five IMO.
Who is the best team in college basketball right now?
- Thread starter Derrin Rogers
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Probably more just a terribly biased opinion than a lie. Sort of like a Duke fan saying the 'Zags would thrash the Heels last night.
The best team right now is tough. Kansas, Tennessee, Duke, Michigan, and UVA are the five IMO.
Well, I think we can all agree... it is neither Kentucky, nor Kentucky's second string.
Kansas has the best resume so far and has honestly not played well at all. I like that. Michigan and Duke seem to already be playing good ball.
Lots of new faces and guys playing new roles for KU. This team can defend. I like the potential of this KU team. They are nowhere near their potential and keep winning.
Once the offense gets going and guys like Dotson/Grimes continue to grow up and develop we could be right there with anyone.
When has a Bill self team not improved tremendously throughout a season??
Lots of new faces and guys playing new roles for KU. This team can defend. I like the potential of this KU team. They are nowhere near their potential and keep winning.
Once the offense gets going and guys like Dotson/Grimes continue to grow up and develop we could be right there with anyone.
When has a Bill self team not improved tremendously throughout a season??
I am not sure i would say Duke is playing "good ball" yet. At times for sure, even great at times, but I would say they are still very much a developing team. They have looked ugly at times as well. Duke lost almost all of its scoring from a year ago so it is still a developing process. Michigan is a team that I think may be closest to where they might be (based only on potential) at the end of they year and I think if you asked Michigan fans and coaches they would agree that they have much more room to grow as of now.
Duke doesn't deserve to be in this conversation IMO, they haven't won a game in almost 10 days. Inexcusable.
KU just hasn't been impressive. I wouldn't mind KU as a Final 4 opponent if Duke gets that far because I think we match up well. Tre Jones can really get in Dotson's face and Zion is probably Lawson's worst nightmare as far as a matchup goes.
Vick shooting lights out from 3 is a concern since Duke hasn't really been defending the perimeter well.
Well, to be fair, they probably split the vote.
after Buffalo takes care of Marquette on the road they've got a clear path to undefeated season.
How high a seed do you guys think they can get in that scenario? Some really nice road wins on their CV. Could they go as high as #2?
Also, if Buffalo and Nevada both go undefeated do they both go on the #2 seed line? Any shot at a #1 seed?
How high a seed do you guys think they can get in that scenario? Some really nice road wins on their CV. Could they go as high as #2?
Also, if Buffalo and Nevada both go undefeated do they both go on the #2 seed line? Any shot at a #1 seed?
Buffalo, No. Nevada, possibly. It just depends what other teams do.
I think both teams will lose at least 1 game, personally. Marquette should be the toughest task for Buffalo this season. If they win that game, their season is going to be golden. But, Toledo is a pretty solid team in the MAC (#71 in the NCAA Net Rankings). Kent State and Ball State aren't great, but maybe good enough to win if Buffalo brings their C or D game. Nevada has a much tougher road ahead in the MWC. Utah State, Fresno State, and San Diego State are all formidable opponents. Also, Nevada hasn't been overly impressive this season. The last 3 games, for example, were all by single digits. I would guess Buffalo loses once and Nevada might have 2-3 losses.
If, however, they do go undefeated, I think you got to give them a #1 seed. Wichita State was a #1 seed in 2014 and they only had 3 top 50 wins.
Meh, Duke had a better roster last year with easily exploitable match ups and KU still won. Honestly, KU doesn't look very impressive most Decembers unless its a big game they are up for.
eta: I guess maybe Duke or Michigan are the best right now. I don't know, I haven't watched a ton of other teams yet.
You think if both teams go undefeated they both get #1 seeds, regardless of what other teams do?
I said that thinking about their cases independently. If Buffalo goes undefeated (& Nevada loses) they would be a one-seed, and vice-versa. If both teams go undefeated, there's a good chance that one might be pushed to the 2-line. Wichita State had 3 top 50 wins in 2014 and they were the #3 team on the S Curve.
There's a good chance Buffalo could have 4 top 50 wins OOC before the end of the season (West Virginia, San Francisco, Syracuse, Marquette). 3 of those wins would be on the road. Nevada would have 3 top 50 wins if they defeated Utah State twice. Buffalo has a more impressive resume at this point. But I think most people think Nevada has a higher ceiling.
I look at that year as the exception, not the rule. A six loss Virginia team had a one seed. Not a single 1 or 2 seed made the FF.
I just think they'd need some help (losses) from the other tops teams, to get a #1.
Dotson will hold his own and more against Jones imo. Would be a pretty fun matchup. Self will come up will multiple defenses to throw out there to 'attempt to minimize" the zion mismatch.
Dotson-Jones
Vick-Reddish
Grimes/Garrett-Barrett
Grimes/Garrett-Zion
Lawson-whatever dude duke throws out there
I would expect a lot of quick doubling out of kansas and sagging off zion to bait him into working from the outside in. Zion will have his normal highlights for sure---but the key will be to limiting barrett...make him shoot 20 shots to get 20 points. I'd rather play Duke than UM b/c of the blood blood matchup. I think we would play up----but I doubt anybody would be betting on the hawks straight up.
Florida (1 seed) and Wisconsin (2 seed) both made the Final Four in 2014. Also, I would note that Gonzaga had a 1 seed in 2013 with 2 losses in the regular season (including a home loss).
Would Buffalo or Nevada need help to get a 1 seed? Sure, I think that's reasonable. But you need four teams with amazingly strong resumes in order to do so. 2008 or 2015 might have been years where an undefeated mid-major only gets a 2 seed. But I don't anticipate 2019 on being one of those years. If Duke (or Virginia), Michigan, Kansas, and Tennessee all finish the season with 3 losses or less, then yes, I'm willing to say an undefeated Buffalo or Nevada probably won't receive a 1 seed. But the odds are you're going to have multiple one seeds with 4+ losses. Buffalo/Nevada would have strong enough resumes to trump a 4 or 5 loss team, IMO.
Sorry, I misread the stat. It was the third final to not have a 1 or 2 seed. It was the first final to not have a 1 2 or 3 seed. I mean a 7 vs 8 for the championship. I think we can still call that a down year.
Not really. The tournament results are kind of irrelevant. We're talking about who deserves the 1 seeds, not which year had high seeds flame out early. And FWIW, you still had two 1 seeds (Florida/Arizona) and two 2 seeds (Wisconsin/Michigan) in the regional finals. 2018 only had 3 of the top 8 seeds make the regional finals (Nova,KU,Duke).
Take a look at the losses for the average 1 seed over the last 10 years. I've taken Wichita State and Gonzaga out of the equation (being mid-majors), but you can still see the records below:
Losses Per Average 1 seed during 2009-2018
2015: 2.25 losses
2011: 3.25 losses
2010: 3.25 losses
2014: 4 losses (Villanova was a 2 seed at 28-5)
2012: 4 losses
2009: 4.25 losses
2018: 4.50 losses
2017: 4.67 losses
2013: 5.33 losses
2016: 5.75 losses
1 Seed Records from the Past 10 Years (Record before the Tournament)
2018
Virginia: 31-2
Xavier: 28-5
Villanova: 30-4
Kansas: 27-7
2017
Villanova: 31-3
Gonzaga: 32-1
Kansas: 28-4
UNC: 27-7
2016
Kansas: 30-4
Oregon: 28-6
UNC: 28-6
Virginia: 26-7
2015
Kentucky: 34-0
Wisconsin: 31-3
Villanova: 32-2
Duke: 29-4
2014
Florida: 32-2
Arizona: 30-4
Virginia: 28-6
Wichita State: 34-0
2013
Kansas: 29-5
Gonzaga: 31-2
Indiana: 27-6
Louisville: 29-5
2012
Syracuse: 31-2
UNC: 29-5
Kentucky: 32-2
Michigan State: 27-7
2011
Ohio State: 32-2
Pittsburgh: 27-5
Kansas: 32-2
Duke: 30-4
2010
Kansas: 32-2
Syracuse: 28-4
Kentucky: 32-2
Duke: 29-5
2009
Pittsburgh: 28-4
UConn: 27-4
Louisville: 28-5
UNC: 28-4
There are 15 teams in the past decade that had a 1 seed with at least 5 losses. So 1.5 per year. Good chance we'll see that again.
One final thought. Saint Joseph's went 27-1 in 2004 and they earned a 1 seed over a couple of 2 seeds from power conferences, Oklahoma State (30-3) and Miss State (25-3), respectively. I'm okay with a 3-loss team getting a 1 seed over an undefeated Nevada or Buffalo team (maybe even a 4-loss team). But once you get to 5+ losses, then I think the tide starts to turn. Odds are we'll see at least one 5-loss team earn the one line this year.
Is there a tldr version?
It's mostly numbers. It's not overly long if you take out the data.
I just think it's unlikely we'll get 4 teams that could pass an undefeated Buffalo or Nevada team on the S Curve. In the past 10 years, we've had at least one 5-loss team every year, with the exception of 2015.
Agreed with the 'or.' If it's an 'and,' I think it's likely one of them gets passed up. In that case, I'm not sure who I'd give the edge to.
The Dotson/Jones match up would be a really good one. Jones’ defense has been a revelation for this Duke team. Contagious even. Allows K to play straight man to man and even throw varying levels of pressure.
Right now based on the eye test I would not put this KU team in the top 5, maybe not even top 10. For 90% of games they just look unimpressive. Now that other 10% they look amazing with great defense leading the charge and that usually gives KU a big lead or keeps them within striking distance to win close games. They've looked unimpressive but they are still undefeated with 2 wins over top 10 teams. You can probably say this teams biggest issue is playing to the level of their opponent up or down. It will catch of to them eventually.
Now that said I also think KU may have the most room to grow and reach their ceiling of all the top teams right now. Mainly for 3 reasons.
1. Dok's health. Should be back the next couple weeks and by end of January fully healthy from the injury.
2. SDS eligibility. If he becomes eligible then KU takes huge steps forward. Not very likely though.
3. Grimes. This is the biggest question mark. Grimes has been disappointing. Everything just seems to be going too fast for him. We've seen though in all-star games, USA basketball, and a few glimpses so far that he's extremely talented. If things slow down for him and he becomes even just a consistently solid player then KU takes major strides forward.
SDS eligibility and Grimes improvement are big question marks. That lowers KU's floor considerably right now as well. They have one of the lowest floors of the top teams as well.
Now that said I also think KU may have the most room to grow and reach their ceiling of all the top teams right now. Mainly for 3 reasons.
1. Dok's health. Should be back the next couple weeks and by end of January fully healthy from the injury.
2. SDS eligibility. If he becomes eligible then KU takes huge steps forward. Not very likely though.
3. Grimes. This is the biggest question mark. Grimes has been disappointing. Everything just seems to be going too fast for him. We've seen though in all-star games, USA basketball, and a few glimpses so far that he's extremely talented. If things slow down for him and he becomes even just a consistently solid player then KU takes major strides forward.
SDS eligibility and Grimes improvement are big question marks. That lowers KU's floor considerably right now as well. They have one of the lowest floors of the top teams as well.
Seems like they focus and play inspired for about 10 min per game. The other 30 can be hard to watch. Azubuike makes a huge difference though.
Grimes will be fine, but I'm not sure he'll ever be the star he's expected to be (in college anyway). Doesn't have elite athleticism or high b-ball IQ. He's going to need to develop a much more consistent jumper to be a big contributor.
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