After the early tournaments, a few things have become obvious this year:
1. Duke is as good as advertised. They have perimeter play, they can rebound. They can shut down opponents, push the ball, and finish. They are deep, and play smart basketball. In short, they are a nighmare.
2. Kansas looks really strong. They may be the most athletic team in the country. The big men are active and the guard play is solid as well. The consensus that K-State was the team to beat in the Big 12 was premature.
3. The Big East is very deep and the top teams are better than most thought before the season. Pitt was picked by most as a top 5 team, but Syracuse (as usual) was clearly underrated as was Connecticut. While Villanova and West Virginia may have been a little overrated (and the jury is still out), Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame and Marquette are clearly better teams than the pollsters thought. THIS CONFERENCE IS SCARY.
4. The ACC is weaker and the Big Ten may be better than most thought. The ACC is very top heavy again (i.e., Duke, and only Duke, is worth mentioning), and the Big Ten may wind up with 6 or 7 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State appears to be loaded. Michigan State has played an absolutely brutal schedule and Purdue is very good. Illinois has already beaten UNC, Maryland, and Gonzaga. Wisconsin may turn out to be a very good team by the end of the year (they beat NC State by about 40), and Minnesota looks tough. Even Northwestern could turn out to be good...they blew out Georgia Tech (okay, the Ramblin' Wreck was eaten alive by Kennesaw St.).
There's a lot of parity again this year, so thank you Hoop gods.
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