Which Teams Will Go Dancin’? Only March Will Tell?
A Preview to March Madness before the month has even begun
The 2019-2020 college basketball season has been one of the most inconsistent and unorthodox seasons in recent memory. As the regular season winds down and conference tournaments begin, dozens of college basketball teams have legitimate chances at earning bids to the upcoming National College Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament.
Without a clear No. 1 ranked team, this season has seen numerous upsets as well as historically non-powerhouse basketball programs soar to the top of this year’s rankings. Teams ranked highly in the preseason, such as Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina and Michigan State have all had up and down seasons. Over the past weekend, three of the top five ranked teams lost, shuffling the top tier of the college basketball standings heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.
“It’s cool for the game,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. “If you think about March, if you can get in that thing, why can’t you dream big? What’s happened has been so interesting with the so-called top teams. It’s been musical chairs. It gives more teams hope if you can qualify.”
Most recently, the Kansas Jayhawks dethroned the Baylor Bears who had been atop the national rankings for five weeks. Baylor has had a resurging season as they have won 23-straight games going into last Saturday’s matchup against Kansas.
San Diego State entered their Saturday home game against University of Las Vegas with a 26-0 record and a No. 4 national ranking. However, the Aztecs lost a hardfought 66-63 battle to end their perfect season.
Mostly led by superstar transfer players, San Diego State features former Santa Clara guard, KJ Feagin who is averaging 8.6 points per game while starting every game for the Aztecs. Among other surprise teams this year, the West Coast Conference’s (WCC) BYU has surged into the top-25 following a win against national powerhouse Gonzaga last weekend. The BYU Cougars have dominated since the return of their senior forward, Yoeli Childs, and are one of three WCC teams projected to be in the tournament.
Saint Mary’s, another WCC program projected for postseason play, does not have its spot in the tournament secured as safely as Gonzaga and BYU. The Gaels will have to impress in their final two games against Santa Clara, who beat them in January, and the No. 3 ranked team, Gonzaga.
When asked to comment about the importance for March Madness hopefuls to finish the regular season on a high note, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said that simply qualifying is a big concern for most teams due to the prestige of making the NCAA tournament.
“People who say the regular season doesn’t mean a lot are wrong,” said Krzyzewski. “You have to qualify. You can’t take qualifying for granted. The top 25 could be a top 50. There’s so many teams that have a chance to be really, really good.”
Bubble teams, which are teams without guaranteed spots in the tournament but who still have a realistic chance at making it, include the two teams in last year’s national championship: Virginia and Texas Tech.
Additionally, many Pac-12 teams such as UCLA, Arizona State and Stanford, still have much more work to do if they want to qualify and hear their name called on Selection Sunday, the national broadcast of announcing the 68-team NCAA tournament field, which will take place on Sunday, March 15.
People filling out March Madness brackets should not only pay attention to these bubble teams, but also teams in low or mid-major conferences who must win their postseason conference tournament to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament.
Potential Cinderella teams from small conferences that are capable of upsetting highly ranked teams this March include East Tennessee State, Stephen F. Austin and Liberty. East Tennessee State, who appeared in last year’s tournament as a No. 13 seed, has dominated opponents in the Southern Conference all year long and have been dubbed one as one of the teams that big schools fear playing in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Stephen F. Austin already boasts a win against No. 7 Duke on their home floor. Also, Liberty’s 26-3 record paired with their upset victory in last year’s NCAA tournament should urge bracket makers to choose them against higher ranked opponents when the bracket is released in two weeks.
With the inconsistency seen from many teams, fans should tune in to watch the final two weeks of the regular season to gauge which teams seem to be peaking at the right time as March Madness approaches.
Contact Kieran Bradford at kbradford@scu.edu (408) 554-4852.