Don’t Forget About These Four Teams
It’s hard not to be a prisoner of the moment when it comes to sports. But the beauty of the NCAA Tournament is that it features more than just the teams that have ‘been hot lately.’
Of course we all have our favorites heading into the tourney, but there are some talented teams that will make the cut that aren’t being talked about all that much. Here are four teams that had a lot of hype coming into the season, but have been slightly disappointing thus far.
Missouri:
Mizzou has talent on their team, there’s no getting around that. In there first year in the SEC they have only been average. It d doesn't help their case that the SEC has been weaker than usual this season.
But the Tigers have quality wins over Illinois, Ole Miss, Florida and VCU this year. And believe me when I say this team can go as far as point guard Phil Pressey is able to take them. He is a terrific distributor, but has been wildly inconsistent this season and has hurt the team when he tries too hard to score the basketball himself.
North Carolina
It’s never a great idea to just rule out the North Carolina Tar Heels. They have a lot of talent on their team, most specifically, forward James Michael McAdoo. McAdoo can be a huge presence on the inside. He has great leaping ability, which helps him finish around the basket and affect shots defensively.
Carolina’s guard play has been shaky this year. It was understood coming into this season that Carolina would succeed as a team that drives the ball to basket and plats well down low, but the team has shot an ill-advised amount of long shots and has not converted a high percentage.
It was surely disappointing for UNC to go 0-2 this year against arch-rival Duke, but that doesn't mean they can use their athleticism to make some serious noise in the tournament.
UCLA
It’s been a bumpy ride for the Bruins, but at 23-8 they were no slouch this season. And they have one thing going for them heading into the postseason: Shabazz Muhammad. The young freshman is a terrific scorer who will surely be in the NBA next season.
But Muhammad doesn't play like a freshman with the NBA on his mind. He is a tenacious and over-competitive player who wants his team to score points. UCLA has experienced the growing pains of relying on a freshman to win games, but they have surrounded him with the right supporting cast to beat just about anyone in the country.
North Carolina State
North Carolina State was probably overrated coming into the season. But you could make the argument that they are underrated going into postseason play.
The Wolf Pack know hows to score the basketball. They shoot an amazing 49 percent as a team. They are an experienced team with veteran leadership. The question will be whether or not junior forward C.J. Leslie will be able to find his 3-point shot, which he has always been reluctant to shoot. If that can be something that he efficiently adds to his game than that one difference could make NC State a very difficult opponent.
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