Are Gonzaga and Baylor nonetheless school basketball's prime canine?
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At this level final season, there was one overwhelming non-COVID-19 query engulfing school basketball: May anybody derail the Gonzaga-Baylor prepare that was destined to fulfill on the ultimate Monday of the season?
The reply was no. No one may, though UCLA got here very shut.
This season, there's once more one dominant query, however it's nothing just like the aforementioned one. It’s the precise reverse, really.
Is that this the 12 months of parity?
It positive looks as if it. There isn't any apparent No. 1. There isn't any staff that's closely favored to achieve New Orleans for the Remaining 4. There are greater than a handful of faculties that may minimize down the nets. Go forward, decide amongst Duke, Gonzaga, Baylor, Auburn, Purdue, UCLA and Kansas. They’ve all had their moments of dominance, but in addition sudden losses or less-than-inspiring wins towards mediocre opponents that will make you second-guess choosing them to advance into April.
There may be steadiness in school basketball, the polar reverse of the simply completed school soccer season during which solely a small group of groups have a reliable shot yearly. Numerous high-quality groups — and no one of Gonzaga or Baylor’s ilk of a 12 months in the past — are all able to getting scorching on the proper time.
On Monday there can be a fifth totally different No. 1 staff, after Baylor dropped two residence video games this week. The Bears will be a part of Gonzaga, Duke and Purdue as earlier top-ranked groups to get knocked off. There have been 19 totally different groups ranked within the prime 10 — and 11 within the prime 5. Eight ranked groups misplaced Saturday alone. No undefeated groups are left. The brand new No. 1 might be Auburn, which began the season at No. 22.
Gonzaga began because the No. 1 staff earlier than shedding to Duke and Alabama, and almost getting upset by Tarleton State. Duke, taking pictures challenged from the perimeter at occasions, misplaced at Ohio State and fell at residence to Miami. Purdue fell to Rutgers and struggled just lately with Penn State, two Large Ten faculties not anticipated to complete within the prime half of the convention. UCLA was tripped up at residence by unranked Oregon, Kansas fell to heavy underdog Dayton, and Baylor couldn’t get by seven-loss Oklahoma State in its personal constructing on Saturday.
It's the story of the season over two months in. No clear favourite has emerged. Numerous groups have regarded the half for stretches, earlier than unpredictable stumbles. It may make for a memorable March. It positively has the texture of a vastly totally different match in comparison with a 12 months in the past.
Blue bloods again
Kentucky and Duke are again. After each missed the NCAA Event in the identical 12 months for the primary time since 1976, the 2 predictably reloaded and are main elements. They did it in several methods.
Duke is led by its improbable freshmen, Paolo Banchero and Trevor Keels, and key returnees Mark Williams and Wendell Moore Jr. Kentucky has gone the switch route, benefitting from affect newcomers similar to level guard Sahvir Wheeler (Georgia), Oscar Tshiebwe (West Virginia) and Kellan Grady (Davidson).
It’s working for each applications. Duke, in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final season, is the category of the pedestrian-at-best ACC. Kentucky is an SEC contender and has all 13 of its wins by double figures. Some normalcy in these loopy COVID-19 occasions.
COVID conundrum
The NCAA Event committee’s job goes to be harder than typical. As a result of pandemic, a lot of groups have performed shorthanded. Some haven’t had the companies of their head coach. Seton Corridor, for example, suffered two losses with simply eight gamers. That has to get factored in. It will possibly’t be glossed over.
It makes the job far tougher. However groups which have opted to play brief shouldn't be punished whereas others which have opted to attend till they've their full complement of gamers out there — and people groups are on the market — get rewarded.
The committee has stated it is going to preserve monitor of gamers’ and coaches’ absences, and they are going to be a part of the analysis course of. Let’s hope that's the case when it comes time to make choices.
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