2012 NCAA Tournament: The 5 Best Teams That Will Not Make the Final Four
The 2012 NCAA Tournament, aka the best time of the year, is quickly approaching. March Madness has consistently been one of the most exciting sporting events due to its unpredictable nature, Cinderella stories, and its ability to vault a relatively unknown school into the national spotlight (see Davidson, Butler, George Mason etc).
With that being said, for every Cinderella story, there is a top team that under-performs.
Here are the five best teams that will NOT make it to the Final Four this year.
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NBA All-Star Game Starters, Final Ballot and Roster Predictions
After enduring the painful TNT Tipoff show that teased us till the very end, the 2012 NBA All-Star starters have been announced, via NBA.com.
With the game scheduled to be played at Orlando arena, it comes as no surprise that Orlando Magic forward Dwight Howard was the leading votes with 1,600,390. Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant led the Western Conference with 1,555,479.
The votes were 100 percent from the fans, and the reserves will be selected by the head coaches for each side and will be announced next Thursday for the game on Sunday, February 26th.
Here’s the full starting lineup:
Eastern Conference:
G: Derrick Rose- Chicago Bulls (1,514,723)
G: Dwyane Wade- Miami Heat (1,334,223)
C: Dwight Howard- Orlando Magic (1,600,390)
F: LeBron James- Miami Heat (1,360,680)
F: Carmelo Anthony- New York Knicks (1,041,290)
Western Conference:
G: Chris Paul- New Orleans Hornets (1,138,743)
G: Kobe Bryant- Los Angeles Lakers (1,555,479)
C: Andrew Bynum- Los Angeles Lakers (1,051,945)
F: Kevin Durant- Oklahoma City Thunder (1,345,566)
F: Blake Griffin- Los Angeles Clippers (876,451)
Final Ballot:
If the coaches take the fan vote into account, here are the player’s that will likely get the nod off the bench:
East:
Guard: Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics 547,110; Ray Allen, Celtics (382,147); Deron Williams, New Jersey Nets (208,697)
Forward: Amar’e Stoudemire, Knicks (383,734); Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics (367,914); Chris Bosh, Miami (324,605)
Center: Joakim Noah, Bulls (236,497); Tyson Chandler, Knicks (166,077)
West:
Guard: Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves (397,456); Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns (276,268); Russell Westbrook, Thunder (262,186)
Forward: Pau Gasol, Lakers (470,353); Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks (468,435); Kevin Love, Timberwolves (373,800)
Center: DeAndre Jordan, Clippers (322,056), Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies (285,525)
Predictions:
The Celtics will be well-represented because of their tenure, but neither Garnett nor Allen truly deserves to be there. Then again, neither does John Wall or Jose Calederon, so I’m ok with picking them.
I think the fans did a terrific job of picking the most deserving players (aside from voting ‘Melo a starter), and the one that stands out is Rubio.
It appears as if everybody has been tracking his progress as he continues to get better every night. He deserves the nod, as does Nash. Hopefully they can play together at some point.
Westbrook deserves a spot, as does Nowitzki and Love. Leave the Gasol brothers and Jordan at home.
Projected Reserves:
East: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Deron Williams, Amare Stoudemire, Kevin Garnett, Chris Bosh and Luol Deng
West: Ricky Rubio, Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan
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The Top 11 Teams Who Will Miss the Final Four
The Big Dance is a sacred college basketball tradition that has defined the sport for decades, making a usually boring month into one of the most anticipated times of the entire year.
With the newly implemented system of a 68 team spread in lieu of just 64, every squad’s chances at ending up in the coveted Final Four dropped slightly. Programs now have an even tougher time finding that perfect team to secure a slot in the sports biggest stage.
However, last season we once again had a Cinderella squad prove to us that no matter where a team starts out or what seed they might be, a championship run can always be in the cards.
VCU, a lowly 11 seed who was placed in the First Four round, ended up losing in the Final Four to Butler. On their way to Houston, Virginia Commonwealth took down classic powerhouses Georgetown, Purdue, and even a star-studded Kansas squad in what turned out to be the conversation of the entire tourney.
If that doesn’t show the college basketball world anything is possible, I don’t know what will.
There will only be four squads allowed into New Orleans this postseason, and with teams like Butler and VCU always stealing away one or two of those slots, it is becoming more difficult for top programs to secure a position in the Final Four.
We will take a look at the best 11 squads who have all the potential to make it into the sport’s most acclaimed level of the Big Dance, but will fall short before reaching New Orleans.
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2012 NCAA Tournament: The 5 Best Teams Who Will Not Make the Final Four
The 2012 NCAA Tournament, aka the best time of the year, is quickly approaching. March Madness has consistently been one of the most exciting sporting events due to its unpredictable nature, Cinderella stories, and its ability to vault a relatively unknown school into the national spotlight (see Davidson, Butler, George Mason etc).
With that being said, for every Cinderella story, there is a top team that under-performs.
Here are the five best teams that will NOT make it to the Final Four this year.
View full post on Bleacher Report – College Basketball
Duke Basketball: Why Mason Plumlee Is Key to Final Four Run for Blue Devils
In line with preseason predictions, the sixth-ranked Duke Blue Devils have been among the favorites for the Final Four all year. While star freshman Austin Rivers has gotten the most press, however, he won’t be the biggest factor if Duke makes good on its potential and enjoys a deep NCAA tournament run.
Junior F/C Mason Plumlee has been doing the dirty work for the Blue Devils under the boards, leading the team at 9.4 rebounds a night. It’s his 1.6 blocks per game, though, that will have even more to say about Duke’s postseason fortunes.
In their three losses this season, the Blue Devils have allowed their opponents to shoot 59.3, 56.4 and 54 percent from the field. Much of that damage has been done on the perimeter, but Plumlee must shoulder some of the blame as well.
Even more importantly, Plumlee—who can actually play defense—will need to act as a safety net for the porous guards so that they can dial up the pressure against opposing three-point shooters. Otherwise, the first hot-shooting team Duke faces in March could hand them a very early exit.
Plumlee will also need to provide some stability on offense for Duke. If the outside shooters go cold (as in a 3-of-15 performance against Ohio State in November), Plumlee and his .617 field-goal percentage will be an essential backup plan.
The oldest of the three Plumlee brothers is far from the most explosive talent on this roster, but he’ll deserve a major share of credit for any postseason success Coach K enjoys this year.
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College Basketball: Projecting the Final Big Ten Standings
With the Big Ten basketball season just about at the halfway point, we can reasonably start to project how things will shake out in early March based on the first half of the conference season.
The Big Ten is easily the nation’s toughest conference this season with four of the top 11 and eight of the top 45 teams, according to Jeff Sagarin’s NCAA Basketball Ratings.
Many analysts are predicting the Big Ten will send nine teams to the NCAA Tournament, which would represent 75 percent of the field.
This feat would be considered even more impressive than the record 11 teams (out of 16) the Big East sent dancing last season, or just under 69 percent of its membership.
Let’s reveal what the Big Ten standings will look like on Sunday, March 4th.
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10 Reasons the Murray State Racers Are a Legit Final Four Threat
If there were bets taken in November about who would be the last undefeated team in college basketball, absolutely no one would have answered the Murray State Racers.
Chances are, most people didn’t even know where Murray State was. But now, the tiny school in Paducah, Kentucky is famous.
The Racers are 20-0 and ranked ninth in the country. Ninth! Overall!
That’s ahead of traditional powerhouses like the Florida Gators, Indiana Hoosiers and Connecticut Huskies.
The question on almost everyone’s mind now is whether or not Murray State is for real.
Will the Racers finish the season without a loss? When the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament starts, will they lose by 20 in the first round? Or could the team make it to the championship game?
My answer? Watch out, NCAA, Murray State is coming to crash the postseason. Here is why the Racers are a legitimate Final Four threat.
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NCAA Tournament 2012: 8 Teams That Look Most Likely to Make Final Four Runs
It’s an exciting time of the year for college basketball fans. As teams delve deeper into conference play, the pretenders and contenders begin to reveal themselves.
Although the NCAA tournament doesn’t tip off for another month-and-a-half, it is becoming more apparent with every passing game which teams have the necessary ingredients to reach New Orleans for the 2012 Final Four.
The following is a look at the eight teams who, as of today, stand the best chance of reaching New Orleans and cutting down the nets.
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ACC Basketball: Predicting the Final Standings in Conference Play
When dealing with a conference as tough as the ACC is for basketball , it is difficult to predict how conference play will work out when judging teams solely on non-conference schedules.
Thus, now that every team has played at least one conference game, I will look at where I think each team will finish the season in the ACC standings.
Just for the record, this has nothing to do with the postseason (i.e. ACC tournament, NIT, NCAA Tournament) so please don’t make any comments about how I am wrong because so-and-so is winning it all this year—that’s not what this article is about.
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4 College Basketball Sleepers for the Final Four
These four teams, in my mind, have the capability to make a serious run into march.
These teams have all gotten off to hot starts and have snuck their way into the Top 25 polls.
As March is just around the corner, take into consideration these teams as possible sleepers when you fill out your brackets.
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