Wait, What am I Watching?

“Where everybody knows your name.” The famous song that opened the show Cheers reminds me of why I like the NBA more than college basketball. Not that the college game is difficult to watch, I just feel like every year we are learning about these teams all over again. Sure we have the blue bloods every year that are at or near the top (Duke, North Carolina, the Big East Top 8 and Kansas), but as a casual fan we usually do not connect to the team stars until March Madness. The college game has gotten better with top high school players not able to go directly to the NBA, but does college basketball do a good job promoting the top player like college football does?

Every year near the end of February we tend to pick our favorite teams from both major and mid-major conferences, but rarely do teams carry over from year to year. This year is no different from years past. Sure there isn’t a dominate team, but isn’t that what we want with March Madness? I would like to do my part for the casual fans. Here are five teams to look out for on the tube this winter. Some of them are mid-major surprises that could make a run in the tournament; others are my dark horses who have a shot at winning it all, or at least knocking off the blue bloods.

 Duquesne  15-5 (7-0) Tied at the top of A-10, winners of the last 10, including win over 23rd-ranked Temple. Hey, this team hasn’t made the tournament since 1977. They may not make it, but with their current success we need to know about them.

 Utah State 20-2 (9-0) Rolling through the WAC conference, winners of 15 in a row. The Aggies are full of upperclassmen who have made the tournament the past two years only to fall in the first game. With an RPI inside the top 30, this could be a team that makes a short run in March.

Georgia 14-6 (3-4) Yes, this team is currently last in the SEC East; however, look for the Dawgs to get hot in February and make a run in the East. Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins might be the best inside/outside game in the country. If they can get into the dance this is a team that can make a run.

Georgetown 17-5 (6-4) Lost in the opening round last year to Ohio. Look for the Hoyas, like Georgia, to make a nice February run and set them up with a nice seed for the dance.

Texas 19-3 (7-0) Hottest team in America by far, destroying ranked Big 12 teams such as Kansas, Texas A&M (twice) and Missouri. Has to be most experts' pick to win it all at this point. Texas has rebounded to have an excellent year. Now the question is whether this is the year Texas can make it to the Final Four.