Purdue - BUY
Why has no one latched on to the Boilermakers yet? This is a 14-1 team that returns four starters and two All-American candidates playing opposite positions. They control the ball and tempo well. They play cohesively as a team. The can shoot from the perimeter and defend the interior. So why no love for the grown-up Baby Boilers?
Because the most heralded of the Baby Boiler class, Robbie Hummel, is losing another season after tearing his ACL in preseason practice. With Hummel? I think you are talking about the four elite teams instead of three. Without him? This is still a really, really good ballclub and the most legitimate threat to challenge Ohio State for the Big Ten championship.
I'm buying on the Boilers - the Final Four caliber team everyone forgot.
Missouri - BUY
This is my other Final Four sleeper. Missouri creates havoc with their insane tempo and ability to give team's Nolan Richardson-esque 40 minutes of hell type ballgames. Kansas grabs the headlines, and K-State was the preseason darling, but Missouri and Texas are right there with the big boys.
I wouldn't say they are a Final Four favorite, but with the right draw (i.e. avoid Duke, one of the few teams that matches up ideally with them), I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see them playing the season's final weekend.
Syracuse - HOLD
There are five unbeaten teams in the country. There's a reason everyone talks about a "Big Three." Syracuse may be great, they may be good, they may be completely average. It's hard to tell.
The win last week over Notre Dame was a good one, but our feelings on Notre Dame have already been espoused. Their only other "big" win came over a horribly underachieving Michigan State team that has fallen out of the polls, and at time of writing is in danger of falling to 0-2 in the Big Ten with losses at Penn State and Wisconsin at home...
They are deeper than a year ago, nine or ten players log double-digit minutes most nights. Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph have done a nice job picking up the scoring deficiencies, but the Orange still lack the dead-eye outside assassin like Andy Rautins provided the past four seasons, and more glaringly - the All-American do-everything swingman Wesley Johnson.
I think the Orange are a Top Four Big East team, but ultimately see them sliding behind Pitt and Villanova before the season ends.
Southern Miss - BUY
Yeah, I know - I've been puffing Southern Miss as my sleeper team for a couple of weeks. So how did Gary Flowers and Co. repay me? By lacing 'em up for a 94-64 stinkbomb at Marshall this weekend past. Thanks a ton. Tough week for the Golden Eagles, perhaps someone can cheer them up with a text of Farve's wang...
Disappointing loss aside, now's the time to buy. I still think the Golden Eagles get in the Dance, and have three Conference USA teams getting in this year, the year of the very, very soft bubble and traditional mid-majors slumping. This Saturday's visit from UCF will tell a lot about each team's mettle. I'm really looking forward to that game.
Washington - SELL
It's never a good thing for an alleged power conference when, coming off a year of TWO NCAA Tourney teams, the top team in the league is ranked #23 in the country and recently lost their point guard (Abdul Gaddy) for the remainder of the season due to injury.
The saving grace for the Huskies might be the fact that as BAD as the Pac-10 was last year... this year they might be worse. Yes, some teams have improved; Arizona, Washington St, Stanford - but none of them would be safely "in" if the season ended today.
Washington is by no means a lock to make the tourney, and if they stumble significantly, we could actually be looking at a season where only the conference tourney champ makes the Dance.
Ouch...
Tomorrow - Ten more on the slab - Mid-Major Edition; Memphis, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Xavier, UCF, Richmond, James Madison, Missouri State, Valparaiso, and Utah State.
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