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Marching into the Dance

By mlbman92, Section College
Posted on Thu Jan 18 2007 at 2:22 PM EST
More on: college basketball (all tags)

The month of March is coming up soon. You know what that means. March Madness is waiting for us, along with many cinderella sleepers. George Mason went dancing last year, and many will follow in their footsteps. Let's find out who will be dancing when it comes tourney time and who will get ousted quickly.

The college basketball tournaments are meant for the teams that were "The litte train that could". Everyone has a chance in the tournament, as long as they get in. Your record is swiped away, and you are given a seeding. After that, it's your time to prove to the world what you can do. We will see what exaclty these cinderella teams are made of, but for now lets take a look at how the powerhouse teams stack up.

#1. Florida - The defending champs return all five starters to the floor to give it one more shot together. This team is experienced, smart, and balanced. Don't be surprised if they make another run for the title. Joakim Noah and Cory Brewer lead the Gators on offense with 12 points per game.

#2. Pittsburgh- The Panthers are certainly not ranked #2, despite coming off very impressive wins vs. UCONN and Georgetown. Although, they did lose to Wisconsin earlier in the season. The Panthers find themselves at #2 because of their explosive depth with Aaron Gray, who averages a double-double on the year. Mike Cook is also a solid player, who adds experience to this Pittsburgh squad. This team should go far, as long as they stay healthy and focused.

#3. UCLA- The Bruins find themselves in the thick of things, finishing the season up strong with a few games to follow. Junior guard Arron Afflalo leads the Bruins, averaging 16 points a contest. Even though this team is extremely young, they will seem to find their way through the tournament, as long as they don't get bounced early by a cinderella team.

#4. North Carolina- Star foward Tyler Hansbrough leads the Tar Heels with 18 points per game. This team is also young, but they are coached by one of the greats, Roy Williams. Expect this team to reach the Elite Eight, but fall short of a Final Four bid.

#5. Wisconsin - The 17-1 Badgers play in a tough conference, and also backed that up with a tough schedule. Despite those two obstacles, the Badgers are ranked in the top 3 in both polls, and are coming off very strong. Their impressive wins include Ohio State, at Marquette, and Pittsburgh. The Badgers are lead by star foward Alando Tucker, who averages close to 20 points a game. Don't be surprised if this team knocks off some other ranked opponents in the dance.

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Marching into the Dance | 14 comments (13 topical, 1 editorial, 0 hidden)

wow (#1)
by uxley11 on Wed Jan 17 2007 at 6:41 PM EST

no ohio state? did you see Greg Oden play against Tennessee. Damn. Ohio State I believe is the team to beat.

um (#5)
by bsd987 on Wed Jan 17 2007 at 9:50 PM EST

Yeah, Ohio State is clearly the team to beat because they beat Tennessee, since Tennessee is oh so impressive and the fact that they got raped by Florida and lost to Wisconsin doesn't mean anything?
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[ Parent ]

: Tennesse (#8)
by mlbman92 on Thu Jan 18 2007 at 11:33 AM EST

Thank you, because Tennesse is not good last time I checked.
Oh man! They beat Tennesse!! Now I am going to put Ohio State at #1.
In my dreams ...
With all due respect, c'mon

[ Parent ]

Greg Oden (#6)
by mlbman92 on Thu Jan 18 2007 at 10:38 AM EST

Who do you think I should take out for Ohio State, because I certainly think all of the teams posted are very deserving of their ranking.

I know, I know, Greg Oden is a superstar.

But, "there is no "I" in team"

[ Parent ]

Marching To The Dance (#2)
by jetsfan12 on Wed Jan 17 2007 at 7:01 PM EST

This is a good article. I agree with uxley11, Ohio State needs to be in that list. Although I am not sure who you could take out of that list because all of those teams are deserving. The Oakland Zoo will probably have the Panthers rocking into late March. Another good power ranking, there is no question it has my vote.

as far as I am concerned (#4)
by uxley11 on Wed Jan 17 2007 at 8:00 PM EST

Wisconsin is lucky Oden has the worst game of his career. If that game was at a neutral court, Ohio State wins by 15. Hell, if it was at Wisconsin again I would be hard pressed to say that Ohio State would lose. For the rest of the seaon mark Oden down as a 20, 15, 5 man. At least. If you want proof, look at tonight's game against Northwestern

: Ohio Who? (#7)
by mlbman92 on Thu Jan 18 2007 at 10:41 AM EST

What kind of point are you trying to make, Northwestern isn't a great team, although I understand the concept of your opinion. Greg Oden is an amazing stud, OK. But I can promise you that any of my teams on that ranking can beat Ohio State, and beat them good.

[ Parent ]

Ok (#9)
by uxley11 on Thu Jan 18 2007 at 1:03 PM EST

There of those 5 team have beaten Ohio State. The Florida game was a complete disaster, I'll give you that. Ohio State (the team without Oden)played amazingly against North Carolina (@ Carolina) and if they would have had Oden you can't tell me they would have lost. Wisconsin was almost embarrassed because they were up 57-41 with nine minutes, and they won by 3. Also, that game was at home. Put it on a neutral court or play again and Ohio State will win. You'll see when Wisconsin comes to Ohio State later this year. Right now I would place Ohio State #3, because of their blowout loss to Florida, and recent loss to Wisconsin. They could beat both teams if played again though. Good article.

: Neutral ...NO (#13)
by mlbman92 on Fri Jan 19 2007 at 6:17 PM EST

you can't look at a team after they lose and say " They would of won if they were on a neutral court".
Could of, would of, should ove
they lost, and thats it

[ Parent ]

If it were me... (#10)
by johnnyrico on Thu Jan 18 2007 at 2:21 PM EST

I would extend this list to 10:

1.Florida
2.UNC
3.UCLA
4.Wisconsin
5.Pitt
6.Ohio State
7.Kansas
8.Oklahoma State
9.Duke
10.Texas

Any of these teams can beat one another in any game, and all are built for long runs into the tourney. And never, EVER, sleep on the Dukies.

I think Ohio State will be a tough (#11)
by RJ Warner on Thu Jan 18 2007 at 4:39 PM EST

out come March. Wait'll Oden gets his hand back. But right now you can't put them on this list because of potential. For Pitt, the difference in play between Levance Fields this year and Carl Krauser last year has been the key to a more balanced offense. For my money, i'd say Florida, Wisconsin, UCLA, UNC, and Pitt.

: well (#12)
by uxley11 on Thu Jan 18 2007 at 6:53 PM EST

this is a article that is talking about predictions for March Madness. has nothing to do with the regular season I guess. If I am wrong about that then I apologize. OSU will be 1 of the 4 one seeds.

[ Parent ]

yep (#14)
by KaberleA1 on Thu Jan 25 2007 at 6:20 PM EST

great article

Marching into the Dance | 14 comments (13 topical, 1 editorial, 0 hidden)

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