Basketball is Back: 3 Final Four Sleepers
We’ve reached the second week of November, which means that yes, believe it or not, the college basketball season is right around the corner. As Isiah Thomas’s FIU Golden Panthers get eviscerated by North Carolina tonight, the journey to the Final Four will officially be underway. There are prohibitive favorites to square off in Indianapolis in early April — Kansas, Kentucky, Villanova, Duke, and Texas immediately spring to mind– but what of the talented teams who are not projected to make it to the Final Four? Which teams have the ingredients necessary to make a deep run in March? Join me after the jump as I analyze three surprising candidates to make the Final Four.
Butler
For the casual college basketball fan, this selection will come as a shock. But last year’s Butler squad which lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to LSU was just the beginning. Coach Brad Stevens returns everyone from that team, including Horizon POY Matt Howard and Gordon Hayward, who might just be better than his frontcourt mate. Add talented wing Shelvin Mack and capable point Ronald Nored to the mix and you get what should be the best team Butler has ever fielded, better than the 2003 and 2007 editions that made the Sweet 16.
Non Conference Indication of Potential: Over the course of 11 days in December, the Bulldogs play @Georgetown, Ohio State, and @Xavier. That stretch should give a good indication of whether this season will be as special for Butler as many think.
West Virginia
The return of Devin Ebanks (draft flirtation) and Joe Mazzula (injury and suspension) make this Mountaineer team the best Bob Huggins has had in Morgantown. The backcourt of Mazzula, Daryl “Truck” Bryant, and Da’Sean Butler may be the most physical (if not the most talented) in the Big East, and the young forward tandem of Wellington Smith and Ebanks should continue to blossom. The defense (ranked 15th in the country by KenPom last year) will be there, but Bob Huggins will need to find a way to stretch the floor after the departure of sharpshooting Alex Ruoff. The Mountaineers certainly have the talent to make a run to Indy, its a question rather of realizing that talent.
Non Conference Indication of Ability Wake up from your hangovers on New Years’ Day, take a break from the football, and watch a fantastic game as WVU takes on the Purdue Boilermakers.
Mississippi State
Jarvais Varnado would love the help of Renardo Sidney
This pick, more than any other, is contingent on a single player: Renardo Sidney. Sidney, the uber recruit whose eligibility saga has been well documented, is still awaiting clearance from the NCAA Eligibility Center. If that clearance comes, the Bulldogs, who return all 5 starters from last year’s team including swat-fiend Jarvais Varnardo and All-SEC guard Barry Stuart, have more than enough to make the Final Four. If Sidney never dons a burgundy and white jersey, well, that road gets much steeper. Mississippi State should win the SEC West regardless of Sidney’s eligibility, and has a chance to make a deep run in March without him. With him, however, the Final Four might not be the ceiling.
Non Conference Indication of Ability: Unfortunately, none of note. We will probably have to wait until into SEC play to see how good Miss. St really is.
