By AMEARA DITSCHE
Staff Writer
It’s that time of the year again, where everyone pretends to care about college basketball. People who two weeks prior couldn’t name more than a handful of schools in the running, are suddenly obsessively filling out brackets to compete with friends, classmates, or colleagues. Whether you’re a fan of Florida, Syracuse, or anywhere in between, March Madness has finally crept up and is surely going to be exciting.
For starters, defending champions Villanova are not doing so well. Villanova won the championships in 2016 and again in 2018. This could be due to the loss of star player Donte Divincenzo. Along with Divincenzo, three other ‘Nova players were drafted in 2018 which surely changed the team dynamic. They are currently ranked 23rd.
Superpower Duke University has remained in the top five for the better part of the season. Longtime rival UNC started the season off rough but has climbed their way to the spot above Duke. UNC also is one of the two teams that beat the otherwise undefeated Gonzaga. If the Tar Heels keep playing like they have been they have a good shot at the title, much to my dismay.
Duke has continued to hang on to their spot even without star forward Zion Williamson who has been out with injury in light of the Nike shoe mess.
The current number one in the AP rankings is Gonzaga University. Gonzaga last made the Final Four in 2017, but couldn’t find their way to the Elite Eight in 2018. Their consistent offense and defense all season paired with powerful leaders gives them a steady chance.
Almost tied with Gonzaga is University of Virginia. UVA has also only suffered two losses all season. Depending on how they play their next two games will determine if they tie the rankings and have a good chance at a number 1 spot. The next game UVA will be playing is against the Louisville Cardinals, UVA has a 94 percent matchup winning chance, according to ESPN so things are looking good for the Cavaliers.
Also peeking into the top ten is of course University of Michigan, and Michigan State, both who have been teetering down the rankings in the past few weeks. Their current spots and historic ability will probably secure them spaces in the Elite Eight but I can’t see them going farther than that.
My final four predictions are Gonzaga, Duke, UNC and Virginia. UNC despite my personal feeling is objectively one of, if not the best team in the tournament. From coach to coach, and roster to roster, they find their way into high rankings year after year. And when they get to the finals the usually win. They have won twice in the past 10 years. Three in the last 20, and throughout all of that time have been a runner up once. Losing to then underdog Villanova in 2016. With Villanova out of the question, the title is in their line of vision.
The other school with a recent history as impressive as the two North Carolina rivals, is the University of Connecticut. UConn has also won two championships in the last 10 years. But similar to Villanova, they have dropped dramatically in 2019 and are currently ranked low with a 14-16 record. This has surely not been the year for the northeast geographic area.
It is still early in the tournament and the month and a lot could happen between now and the finals. Teams dwelling in the teen rankings could play their way into the quarter or semi finals. And some of the teams who seem strong now could suffer a bad streak due to injury, getting cocky, or just being outplayed by teams they weren’t expecting it from. The tournament so far is going to be exciting and is looking promising.
