1) Don’t look now but here comes BYU
BYU completed the month of February with a perfect 8-0 record on Saturday as they defeated Pepperdine 81-64 to close out the regular season. With this nine-game winning streak the Cougars are currently on, they’ve risen up the NET rankings. The Cougars got a huge win during the month over Gonzaga and are looking like a tough out come march. BYU sits at 24-7 overall on the season and now has a top-10 ranking in the NET heading into the West Coast Conference. Just how high of a seed could the Cougars get?
2) Gonzaga won’t last long come March
Remember you heard it here first. This Bulldogs team has more holes than people realize and they can be taken advantage of. BYU exposed a lot of those shortcomings and this team doesn’t look to be improving as much as Mark Few teams usually do.
3) Don’t sleep on the Spartans
Yes, the Spartans have not been as people have expected but they may be peaking at the right time and they have Cassius Winston, who is capable of willing his team to victory in a close game. If you don’t believe me, just asked Maryland who was ready to deliver a knockout blow to the Spartans at home and failed badly. Plus did I mention that Tom Izzo is their coach!
4) Seton Hall is the best team in the Big East
Quincy McKnight and Myles Powell are one of the best back-courts in all of college basketball, which will make them dangerous come tournament time. They have been battle-tested in a very tough and deep conference. This is a team that could easily find themselves in the Final Four when it’s all said and done.
5) Patrick Ewing can coach
I have seen a lot of people underrate Ewing. He may not be the greatest X and O’s coach there is, but his teams play hard every night. Remember they lost four scholarship players around the start of the season and injuries to their best two players left, Mac McClung and the big 7-footer Yurtseven, have made things even harder on this team. They still battle short-handed every game.
6) The Wildcats are coming
A slow start for the Wildcats, including a loss to Evansville, has led many people to kind of forget about this team. At this point in the season, the Cats are starting to roll and play at a high level and they are a big-time national contender.
7) Obi Toppin can win Dayton a National Championship
I know, who have they beaten? Hell who did Indiana State beat in the regular season in 1979? Dayton has good players around Toppin and Toppin is special. Is he special enough to lead the Flyers to a National Championship? I don’t know that, but it would not surprise me.
8) Mick Cronin, Coach of the Year?
Did anybody think Mick Cronin would lead this UCLA team to an NCAA tournament bid? No, of course they didn’t but Cronin has done an unbelievable job with this team. I live in the Cincinnati area and most of the Bearcats fans were glad he left. How’s that working out for all those Bearcat fans out there?
9) Duke is falling, will they be able to get back up?
The Blue Devils are 1-3 in their last four games, can they turn it around? As long as Coach K is there anything is possible, but I think this team is in trouble.
