Today I have an edition of Bosco's Top 10. This top 10 will run weekly through selection Sunday and be posted on Monday or Tuesday afternoons. This Edition of Top 10 will be who I believe has the BEST shot to get to Final Four weekend and win the NCAA Tournament. I will rank the teams 1-10 with a little note about each one and their previous rank. (This is different from years past where I have posted my own Top 25 weekly rankings.) The other big difference is this will be based upon rankings, records, RPI, and the good old "eye test", since I do watch A LOT of college ball.
- Texas Longhorns (2)- This team just keeps getting better and better! They are currently on a ten game winning streak beating teams by an average of 17.2 points per game. Jordan Hamilton continues to make his case for Nat'l Player of the year. As of right now he's definitely a first team All-American and Big 12 player of the year.
- Ohio St. Buckeyes (1)- I'm going to be honest here. Yes, they lost his weekend, but anyone will lose in that atmosphere. And as much as coaches won't admit it, this loss will help Ohio St more than it will hurt them. They only dropped two spots in the Coaches Poll and 1 spot in the AP poll, so their chances of a #1 seed are just as good as they were last week. Plus Jared Sullinger keeps getting better, maturing in front of our eyes. They also have talented experience with Diebler, Buford and Lighty.
- Kansas Jayhawks (3)- Two weeks ago, I had Kansas at #3 and I plan on keeping them in that same spot. They haven't lost since that Texas game, riding a six game win streak, by beating their opponents by an average of 21.6 points per game. They are a very good team, and can make a deep run so the #3 spot is not a bad thing!
- Duke Blue Devils (4)- I've seen a lot of people writing and talking about Duke's chances of repeating getting worse and worse. Why, I ask? Yes, the ACC is down. Yes, they haven't been blowing teams out? But neither did the Duke team of last year. In the past two weeks since I made the statement... "I don't think Duke can repeat without Kyrie Irving returning", I have actually changed my tune a little bit. I think they have just as good of a chance as the three teams above them. The reasons why are, the bigs inside have actually stepped up of late, the Irving backups have gained much confidence especially Seth Curry and most importantly Nolan Smith has been unstoppable. He to me is right behind Jordan Hamilton (ahead of Jimmer Fredette) as Nat'l Player of the year and a definite first team All-American. The prototype for having a team ride his back all the way to the Final Four!
- Pittsburgh Panthers (5)- It pains me to have them not move up from two weeks ago. This team just keeps winning, but I guess it goes to show you that there are a bunch of teams that can win it all. I feel just as strongly with Pitt going to the Final Four as I do with Texas. This team has two losses and only one in the Big East, which to me is most impressive. That conference is insane and to have gone this late into the year with one loss is a telling sign. A sign that this team maybe Jamie Dixon's best and maybe the most capable of making that Final Four run. I'm still in shock that they were able to win two awfully tough road games at West Virginia (HUGE RIVAL) and Villanova (Hadn't lost at the Pavillion since 2007) without their best player Ashton Gibbs.
- San Diego St Aztecs(6)- The Aztecs are on a five game winning streak since their loss at BYU. That means they still only have one loss overall. As I've said before, they are this year's Butler. One hundred percent capable of making a Final Four run, and then would have a twenty five percent chance to win it from there. Kawhi Leonard is averaging almost 15 points and 11 rebounds per game. He's the type of player that will get the dirty jobs done on the road to the Final Four while still putting up big numbers. While D.J Gay, Billy White and Malcolm Thomas are all big time seniors who can blow up on any given night!
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10)- The Irish are 21-4 overall and 10-3 in the toughest conference in college basketball. Two weeks ago, I thought that they had an outside shot to make it to the Final Four, but now after winning 7 in a row I'm ready to say they have a great shot. Mike Brey has his best team, stacked with experienced seniors, lead by Tyler Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis. They both can put the ball in the hole, while Hansbrough has shown toughness that I've only seen from a few players this year. He is the leading candidate for Big East player of the year.
- BYU Cougars (9)- Jimmer Fredette continues to dazzle but now the team is learning how to win when he doesn't have top notch shooting performances. That's a huge step in allowing this team to grow and be confident enough to make that Final Four run. Noah Hartsock and Jackson Emery are 2 key players that continue to make this team better. I'm ready to say Final Four shot is increasing every time I see them play.
- Georgetown Hoyas (NR)- Here is the first of two teams to make their debut on my Top 10. G'Town continues to show me how good they are. They are riding an eight game win streak in the Big East, changing their record from 1-4 to 9-4. Austin Freeman, Chris Wright & Julian Vaughn are all seniors with tournament experience, and Jason Clark is a junior. They are four players that could use their experience and leadership to make that Final Four run. This is the year that I can see two Big East teams getting back to the Final Four, they have the deepest conference and some really talented experienced teams.
- Wisconsin Badgers (NR)- Okay, as of Saturday at 2pm I did not think I would have the Badgers in my Top 10. But after watching that game I learned two things. One being the obvious, they can play at home which doesn't translate during the NCAA tournament. The other being the key to them being in my rankings. That's the play of Jordan Taylor. Wow, was I impressed with the ability to take the entire team on his back and dig them out of a 15 point second half deficit, and lead them to victory. I already knew that Jon Leuer was a big time senior with the ability to lead the team deep into the tourney. But I thought they lacked a big time perimeter player, boy was I wrong. To take a line from the great Dickie V, Taylor should switch his first and last names, because he had a Jordan-esque performance Saturday, and if he can repeat that, they can beat any team in the country on a neutral site.
