Teams Poised to Make a Deep Run in the NCAA Tournament

 1. Villanova 

The defending champs have just as much if not more talent than last years national championship team. They have in my mind, one of the top 5 coaches in college basketball, Jay Wright, and they also have National Player of the Year candidate, Josh Hart. They shoot the ball from the field extremely well especially from outside of the arc. They also plays absolutely outstanding defense.  When Darryl Reynolds comes back they will be practically unstoppable as they will have a rebounding presence and a rim protector in addition to those weapons at the guard position. Jalen Brunson has been the most improved player in the country as he is averaging 14.8 PPG and 4.3 APG. Mikal Bridges is playing out of his mind this year shooting 56.6% from the field and above 40% from three. Despite playing an 8 man rotation when Reynolds comes back they are still going to be one of the deepest teams in the country due to the talent of their subs. I think that Villanova is not only a Final Four team, but that they will repeat as the national champions, and continue this success for years to come. 

2. North Carolina

North Carolina is the best rebounding team in the country in addition to having two outstanding players in Joel Berry III and Justin Jackson. Those two can practically score at will and Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks can rebound at will as they are each unstoppable in the rebounding game. They have Roy Williams at the helm of it all, and when he has this type of talent to work with, he almost always takes his team to the Final Four. They can defend at an extremely high rate, and just won the best conference in college basketball. North Carolina will have an outstanding shot at returning to the Final Four and contend for yet another national title.

3. Kansas

Kansas has guard play that can rival any back court in the country. Frank Mason III has a very valid case for NPOY and Devonté Graham is a great threat coupled with him. Freshman sensation, Josh Jackson is quietly building a very good résumé for Freshman of the Year and should challenge Lonzo Ball for that honor. Landen Lucas is a solid big and Svi Mykhailiuk is a  very good player who any team would want on their team. Bill Self is an outstanding coach who can take any team deep in the tournament, but with a team that has the talent of this team, nobody will want to face them in March. 

4. Oregon

Before talking about some of the great players on this Oregon team, I would like to rant about how underrated Dana Altman is. He consistently takes his team into the Sweet Sixteen no matter what the talent is, and he has even been to a few Elite Eights. With that said, this Oregon team has the talent to take Dana Altman to his first Final Four and put Dana Altman on the map considering the great coaches in the game today. Dillon Brooks is absolutely insane and he can go for 25 on any night no matter the opponent. They have one of the best 7 footers in the NCAA in Chris Boucher, who is an absolute monster in the painted area. These two stars anchor the offense that also has some great three point shooters on the perimeter, and Dana Altman who is a defensive mastermind has made this Ducks team scary.

5. Louisville

Louisville is a very interesting team. We all now what Rick Pitino can do with talent, and this team is talented. But they have not been consistently good. Depending on the night you can get a Louisville that beats Kentucky or a Louisville that loses to Wake Forest. They are a very talented team though and with Mitchell and Snider, who can both take over the game, are scary. The X-factor on this team though is Anas Mahmoud. When he shows up and gets 10 and 10 and forces some turnovers in that zone defensively this Louisville team wins. The Anas Mahmoud that has been showing up recently is not good enough to get this team to the Elite Eight even. But this team has the talent to make a deep run depending on how they play.

6. Gonzaga

Gonzaga is playing great basketball. Nigel Williams-Goss is one of the best players in the country and can take a team with not much talent to the Sweet Sixteen. But he doesn't have to do that on this team. If any player is in trouble on this team they can just throw the ball down to 7' 1", 286lb center, Przemek Karnowski. They have great perimeter players that Karnowski can kick out to including Jordan Mathews who is shooting nearly 40% from three. Gonzaga is for real too; they have wins over Arizona and Florida two teams that will be 4 seeds or higher. This Gonzaga team will get to the Sweet Sixteen fairly uncontested, but how far they can get past that is still up in the air. 

7. Duke

Duke definitely has the talent to go all the way to Phoenix, but it is whether they can put it all together that will determine their fate. That duo of Allen and Kennard in the back court is special, and in addition to those two they have Tatum and Jefferson who are both studs offensively and defensively. They are a much deeper team than last year, and can rely on that depth in some close games later in the tournament. If Duke can get to the line like they did in the second North Carolina game, and continue to shoot the three at a high rate they will be a force to be reckoned with. 

8. Butler

Butler is a very sneaky team, and a team that I think will make a run to the Final Four. They have quality wins throughout their schedule including two over the best team in the country, Villanova. They have bigs and guards that can both score, rebound, and make plays. Andrew Charabascz can shoot the ball inside and out, and he also can make plays and create for his teammates. Kamar Baldwin has been a freshmen sensation averaging in double digits, and shooting 38.5% from deep and nearly 50% from the field. He is a good play maker and a defensive stud. Kelan Martin is the best player on this team though. Averaging 16 and 5 and can shoot from anywhere on the floor, Martin also brings leadership to this team. All of this and experience of deep tournament runs are why Butler will be in Phoenix by the end of March. 

9. West Virginia 

West Virginia has competed with the very best teams in the country night in night out with very few slip ups. They dominated Kansas in both of their games, and until the final 3 minutes and overtime of the second game Kansas just looked overwhelmed by this West Virginia team. Their press has led them to being 5th in ESPN BPI. Bob Huggins will have this team ready by the Big 12 Tournament. West Virginia plays best against good teams and they will very hard to beat in the tournament.

10. Middle Tennessee 

This is my surprise team. The Blue Raiders defeated Michigan State, a 2 seed last year, quite handily and return many key players from that team. They should be an 11-seed in the tournament and will wreak havoc on peoples brackets. Giddy Potts has been nothing short of amazing and has been averaging 15.5 PPG. Jacorey Williams is the star on this team though. The redshirt-senior has been amazingly averaging 17.5 PPG while leading this team. This Middle Tennessee State team can play with anyone in the country and will cruise into the Sweet Sixteen and contend to even make a run to Phoenix.