Who are the teams that you think are being over hyped heading into March, and who is flying under the radar? <u>Underrated</u> #12 Ohio State 19-4 (8-4 Big 10) The Buckeyes are #7 in the RPI, and have quality wins against LSU, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin, and are arguably the best three point shooting team in the nation. They can cause a ton of headaches with their defense and perimeter sniping, and will be extremely dangerous come tourney time. Northern Iowa 22-6 (11-5 MVC) NIU has quality wins against LSU and Iowa, and has emerged as arguably the best team in the terminally underrated Missouri Valley Conference. They've got a very solid starting five and have been a regular in the NCAA tourney the last few years. They'll make some noise this year, too. Cincinnati 18-9 (7-6 Big East) Despite losing arguable their best player, the Bearcats have hung tough in the deep Big East. They've got quality wins against LSU (there's a trend here...), Syracuse and Marquette, and they have the 11th toughest schedule in the nation. They are currently #27 in the RPI, and if they can finish the season with more than 20 wins, they should be a lock for the NCAA tournament. Wichita State 21-7 (12-4 MVC) The Shockers have had some hard luck losses against good teams, most notably against Illinois and George Mason, but they've also proven that they can beat good teams, as they sit atop the MVC. Wichita State currently sits at #24 in the RPI, and Paul Miller is the best big man in the nation that you've never heard of. <u>Overrated</u> #16 Kansas 19-6 (10-2 Big 12) This is the biggest joke of a ranking I've ever seen, and I honestly feel that the panel who votes on the AP Poll should all be fired. Let's look at who Kansas has beaten this season: Cal....um, Oklahoma by a point....Colorado. They've lost to Arizona, St Joe's, Arkansas, Nevada, Kansas State and MISSOURI!!! They are 1-4 against the RPI top 50, and have beaten only one nationally ranked team all year-Oklahoma by a single point. Yet we're supposed to believe that they are the 16th best team in the nation. Where have the Jayhawks' 19 wins come from? Teams like Yale, New Orleans, Northern Colorado and Pepperdine. And their record is further inflated by playing in a very pedestrian Big 12 this season. It's possible that there's never been a bigger case of name-school bias. If a team like Northwestern or Vanderbilt or Nebraska had a resume like Kansas has, they probably would not even be ranked. An absolute joke, and an insult. #21 North Carolina 17-6 (8-4 ACC) Again, we've got a big name school that hasn't been all that impressive, but they're getting tons of votes because of where they play. Carolina, like Kansas, has had a good year for such a young team. However, they are 1-3 against ranked teams on the season, and they are 2-4 against the RPI top 50.
When you refer to Zona as bad loss for Kansas, Zona was actually doing somewhat good on D during that game. They might of taken 50 bad shots and Walters was only one there to play, but it still wasn't that much of a bad loss. Can't say Nevada is bad loss either, Nevada is underrated, I see them getting to Sweet 16. Other than those, Kansas is young and will kill everyone next year if they stay together. As for overrated teams, what about Washington?!?!?! They can't buy a win in the Pac-10 barely and they shouldn't even be ranked (Are they still ranked?). They should be on the bubble rather than Cal.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting J_Ray:</div><div class="quote_post">When you refer to Zona as bad loss for Kansas, Zona was actually doing somewhat good on D during that game. They might of taken 50 bad shots and Walters was only one there to play, but it still wasn't that much of a bad loss. Can't say Nevada is bad loss either, Nevada is underrated, I see them getting to Sweet 16. Other than those, Kansas is young and will kill everyone next year if they stay together. As for overrated teams, what about Washington?!?!?! They can't buy a win in the Pac-10 barely and they shouldn't even be ranked (Are they still ranked?). They should be on the bubble rather than Cal.</div> What makes you think Nevada can make it to the Sweet 16?
Kansas is ranked high though because they're a very young team, and have won 9 straight. So what people figure is that maybe they've matured and gelled and are very dangerous now.
No doubt Kansas is dangerous, and they're going to be very good next year, but #16 right now is rediculous. I wasn't saying Zona is a bad loss, J_Ray, I was making the point they've lost in most of their games against legit teams, and Missouri lol.
By the way, as for Ohio State being underrated, they have two key problems: 1) Tired legs. After playing a few tough games in a row they become visibly tired and their shooting percentages plummet. (3/23 against Northwestern has me worried for MSU tonight.) We used to have a 7th man in Mayes but coaches have been unhappy with his decision making and he's essentially persona non grata now. Additionally, Matt Sylvester's had back problems and is now missing games because of it. That brings the Bucks down to 5 reliable players! Terwiliger and Harris do get some minutes but typically under 10. 2) Interior defense. Dials is a solid big man that I'm thankful to have, but on defense, he can be a step slow against athletic centers (see Courtney Sims's 26 points and 16 rebounds).
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Fast Luck:</div><div class="quote_post">By the way, as for Ohio State being underrated, they have two key problems: 1) Tired legs. After playing a few tough games in a row they become visibly tired and their shooting percentages plummet. (3/23 against Northwestern has me worried for MSU tonight.) We used to have a 7th man in Mayes but coaches have been unhappy with his decision making and he's essentially persona non grata now. Additionally, Matt Sylvester's had back problems and is now missing games because of it. That brings the Bucks down to 5 reliable players! Terwiliger and Harris do get some minutes but typically under 10. 2) Interior defense. Dials is a solid big man that I'm thankful to have, but on defense, he can be a step slow against athletic centers (see Courtney Sims's 26 points and 16 rebounds).</div> Every team has weaknesses, but the three point shooting is huge. They way that Ohio State dug themselves out of a deficit tonight against Michigan State with the three ball shows me that they'll be a great team in the tournament. It's great to know that if you're down nine or ten points you can come back in a few posessions with your outside shooting. The team is for real...
Florida is overrated. We can't not turn the ball over down the stretch. It is in our genes to giftwrap the other team the game.
Florida isn't bad but it's clear they're not a top 10 team, I don't know how they've straggled that high in the ratings for so long... they should be 20-25.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Fast Luck:</div><div class="quote_post">Florida isn't bad but it's clear they're not a top 10 team, I don't know how they've straggled that high in the ratings for so long... they should be 20-25.</div> We should only have 1 loss. The others we had the ball and control of the game with a chance to win and we just choke.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GatorsowntheSEC:</div><div class="quote_post">We should only have 1 loss. The others we had the ball and control of the game with a chance to win and we just choke.</div> Make up your mind... an overrated team or a one loss team? Every team loses close games. That doesn't mean they should count as victories, or else half the teams in the top 25 would be one loss teams, or even undefeated teams for that matter.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">Make up your mind... an overrated team or a one loss team? Every team loses close games. That doesn't mean they should count as victories, or else half the teams in the top 25 would be one loss teams, or even undefeated teams for that matter.</div> No they don't. I'm just saying that we have 4 more losses than we should have. We are overrated because we can't finish off games. We are 5-5 in the last 10 games after starting 17-0.
