Almost Tourney Time

So as every sports fan knows, the NCAA tournament is just around the corner. This week is of course championship week with all the conference tournaments underway and Selection Sunday only 5 days away. With the most exciting time of the sports year about to get underway, some thoughts as you get ready to fill out your bracket...

Team to beat: North Carolina. Yes Illinois came within one game of an undefeated season and should be the overall #1 team in the tournament. But the Tar Heels are the most explosive team in the conference and with a healthy McCants will be virtually unstoppable. And yes, every year the team that no one can see losing always seems to lose, but Roy Williams just might finally get that championship he has been looking for.

Most Overrated Team: Boston College looks to be this year's Stanford. The Eagles played their way out of a #1 seed. The only real chance they have now is too run the table in the Big East tournament. BC has struggled down the stretch losing to Notre Dame, Villanova, and Pittsburgh. Not a good sign heading into the tournament.

Most likely to dissapoint: Syracuse leads this category. The unpredictable Orange(men) have yet to really play one complete 40 minute game. The best performance came against Villanova, a 90-75 victory in Philly. And despite wins against Memphis and Miss. St. early in the year, SU has struggled against all top tier teams. Oklahoma St. , Pitt twice, BC , UCONN twice, all losses. With Hakim Warrick, Gerry Mcamara, and Craig Forth all still around from the 2003 championship team, AND one of the stronger sophomore classes in the nation, this season will be an extreme dissapointment if the 'Cuse doesn't make the Sweet 16 and even then this team has the potential to do so much more. The one saving grace...Mcnamara is clutch come tourney time.

Illinois?: Yes, the undefeated season came to a halt with a last second 3 pointer to Ohio State, and no there is no such thing as a good loss. But that being said, that loss shouldn't shake this Illini team's confidence in the least. Illinois does come out of the weaker Big Ten tournament, so make the case that they would have lost more games in the ACC, etc. This sounds all so familiar kind of like last year's St. Joe's. And both teams have similar play...they rely heavily on the guard play and surprise surprise in the loss the other day, the Illini backcourt had their worst shooting performance of the season. The one thing Illinois has that St. Joe's didn't - a consistent presence down low that can carry some of the load if the guards don't shoot well. And Illinois is this year's St. Joe's and not because they won't make it to the Final Four. This team should make the Final Four, and SJU came within one shot of doing the same last year.

Teams to watch out for: Alabama, LSU, Villanova, Arizona, UConn. Connecticut has been red hot since starting the Big East 4-3. The Huskies have won 9 straight in the conference and 9 of their last 10 with the only loss coming against North Carolina. Arizona is a quiet likely #2 seed. One bump down the stretch against a solid Washington team, otherwise a strong showing in the Pac-10. LSU a misleading 17-10 record but 12-4 in the SEC and 7-2 down the stretch- getting hot at the right time. Alabama is a powerful squad that has hit a few bumps down the stretch - losses to UK and LSU - but again a 12-4 record in an SEC looking to send 5 teams. Wrapping up these squads is Villanova. The Wildcats a surprising year finishing 11-5 in the Big East. Wins against Pitt, Kansas, and BC. Almost beat BC twice. If Espn's bracketology is a preview of what will be....Zona, BAMA, Nova all in the same region...look out.

Others who could come up short: Cincinnati and Wake Forest - Both of these teams earn this spot due to their hard-earned reputations of being perennial tournament choke teams. Also Kansas (Langford is questionable) and Kentucky have been all over the place this year, so don't be surprised if the two KU and UK boys in blue fall early.

Last words : Duke not the Duke of years past....only a sweet 16 this year? Will Gonzaga finally succeed as a top 5 seed?

So there you have it, your pre-selection sunday preview.