Why these 11 college basketball teams could dominate March Madness

Minutes after his team lost to Michigan last month, Purdue coach Matt Painter offered a mildly spicy prediction that almost could be interpreted as a national championship pick.

“They ain’t losing four games,” Painter said of Michigan.

Advertisement

Maybe not, but days later, Michigan lost its second game to fellow frontrunner Duke and surrendered the No. 1 ranking.

March Madness power rankings: Ranking top 20 teams based on odds

Underrated: Five most undervalued teams heading into conference tournaments

The point here is not to question the Wolverines’ excellence, but only to say that even the most robust college basketball teams are not immune to defeat. It only takes one off night or one great performance from an opponent to get bounced from March Madness.

Undefeated mid-major Miami (Ohio) is the nation’s only team without at least two losses.

As we sit one week away from the major conference tournaments tipping off, four teams have established themselves as national championship frontrunners: Michigan, Duke, Arizona and Florida. And still, the list of national championship contenders runs deeper than that.

Advertisement

Here are two teams from each of the five major conferences that could contend for the national championship, plus one familiar wild card from outside the power leagues.

Note: This is not a complete list of national championship contenders, because some conferences (the Big 12, in particular), have more than two teams that could play into April.

ACC

Best bet: Duke

Duke just smoked Virginia, the ACC’s second-place team, by 26 points. The Blue Devils’ wall of pelts includes Michigan, Florida and Michigan State. The big question: Will youth prevail? Freshman Cameron Boozer and sophomores Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba II power Duke. They must challenge the theory old teams win in March.

Advertisement

One more to consider: North Carolina

The Tar Heels recovered well after a rough January. They own wins against Duke and Virginia. Caleb Wilson is a member of a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-11-college-basketball-teams-100855832.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-03-03 10:08:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.