CBB: Frequently Asked Questions Pt. 2
1. Who are the five best teams and why? Michigan, Duke, Kansas, Tennessee, and Nevada. Michigan has three marquee wins: A 27-point victory over Villanova, a win against North Carolina, and a win over Purdue. Michigan remains unbeaten and has only two wins by less than 10. Duke has three big games in the win column as well. The Blue Devils had a shoot-around against Kentucky winning by 34 points, as well as wins over Auburn and Texas Tech. They do have a loss to Gonzaga, but Duke remains one of the top teams. With wins over Michigan State, Tennessee, and Villanova, Kansas takes the third spot. Tennessee with wins over Louisville and Gonzaga and an undefeated Nevada (+15.3 margin of victory) who has victories over Arizona State and San Diego State round of the top five.
1. Michigan
2. Duke
3. Kansas
4. Tennessee
5. Nevada
2. Which unbeaten will last longest? There are currently four unbeaten teams in D1: Michigan, Virginia, Nevada, and Houston. By the looks of it, January 19th is set to be a big day for college basketball. The remaining four teams face a big test as two of them go on the road. Michigan travels to Wisconsin, while Virginia has to face Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. As for the other two, Nevada will get a tough Air Force team on their home floor, and although they'll be favored, it might not come as easily as the rest of their schedule. Lastly, Houston heads to South Florida for an American league game, which will be packed if the Cougars are still unbeaten. We say Nevada will be the final undefeated team left standing behind of their easier scheduled.
3. Who is the most underrated team in the country? Buffalo is our most underrated team. Their single loss comes at Marquette where Markus Howard scored 40 of his 45 points in the second half for the Golden Eagles. The final score to this game was 103-85. Generally speaking, when your team scores 85 points there’s a high chance of winning unless someone like Howard goes off. Despite this loss, Buffalo traveled to West Virginia and Syracuse and won both. The Bulls are for real this season. They knocked off Arizona in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament and is looking to do some more damage in the MAC this year. Other teams to consider are Texas Tech, despite their loss to Duke, and Kentucky, who has seemed to turn the corner following a loss to Seton Hall.
4. Who is the current freshman of the year? Duke forward R.J. Barrett would take home the freshman of the year if it was given out right now. Duke has three incredible freshman in Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, and Barrett, but R.J. is the most versatile of the bunch. Barrett can score from anywhere on the court with ease and make any defender look silly. He is currently averaging 23.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He is going to continue to turn heads and lead the Blue Devils deep into March alongside Williamson, who isn't far off. Williamson is putting up 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game on 65.2 percent shooting from the field. There are a lot of other options, including a pair of Big Ten studs: Ignas Brazdeikis from Michigan and Romeo Langford out of Indiana.
5. Who wins Michigan State @ Ohio State? The upcoming matchup between the Spartans and Buckeyes is set to be a gritty battle. Both teams are currently 2-0 in Big Ten play but Michigan State played a tougher non-conference schedule. They lost the season opener in a nail biter to Kansas and then to Louisville on the road, but boasts wins over Iowa, Texas, and UCLA. The Buckeyes also knocked off the Bruins but that seems to be their only test to this point. Cassius Winston leads the Spartans with 16.9 points and 7.5 assists as the team averages 87.6 points. The Bucks, on the other hand are coming in averaging 77.7 points. This fight between two top tier Big Ten schools will be in Columbus which could give the Buckeyes an edge. We're split on this one, so we'll tentatively take the home team.
Photo Credit: 247 Sports.
