Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Tournament: Ranking all 68 teams in the Big Dance

By Lukas Harkins

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 19: The Cameron Crazies taunt Ty Jerome #11 of the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 19, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 72-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 19: The Cameron Crazies taunt Ty Jerome #11 of the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 19, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 72-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – MARCH 16: A cheerleader of the Gators performs. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – MARCH 16: A cheerleader of the Gators performs. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Power conference mediocrity

38. Baylor Bears (19-13, 10-8 B12) – No. 9 seed

Baylor is limping into the NCAA Tournament. They have lost their last four games and one of those defeats even came at home against Oklahoma State. On the whole, the Bears have overachieved throughout this year but their recent play has not exactly heightened their Big Dance potential, in my eyes. When healthy, Makai Mason is one of the more underrated players nationally and could go off for a huge scoring outburst in the dance.

37. Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-13, 9-11 B10) – No. 10 seed

I think that Minnesota was underseeded slightly with regards to the NCAA Tournament but they also not that strong of a team either. They finished under .500 in the Big Ten and stumbled their way to that mark while losing six of seven in the middle of the conference schedule. On the whole, their metrics are relatively solid albeit nothing special. With Amir Coffey and Jordan Murphy as the stars of the team, it should come as no surprise to hear that the Golden Gophers are one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to getting to the free throw line.

36. UCF Knights (23-8, 13-5 AAC) – No. 9 seed

UCF definitely deserved to reach the NCAA Tournament this year and they proved it throughout the season. While, for the most part, the team lacked elite wins, they consistently handled their business and then landed back-to-back victories over Houston and Cincinnati in the closing weeks. The Knights are a balanced unit on both ends of the floor with offensive studs BJ Taylor and Aubrey Dawkins to go along with a defensive anchor in Tacko Fall.

35. Washington Huskies (26-8, 15-3 P12) – No. 9 seed

Washington has seriously stumbled down the stretch of this season. And while their record might not say that, it is the truth because of how weak the Pac-12 is this season. On the whole, the Huskies have been quite disappointing this year and have rarely passed the eye test. They are coming off of a 20-point loss in the P12 Tournament final and many are already counting them out. Their defense is still going to be very tough to match up against but they need to find a way to get some offensive consistency. They were held under 70 points in six of their eight losses.

34. Syracuse Orange (20-13, 10-8 ACC) – No. 8 seed

Syracuse entered this season ranked in the top-25 and they never quite lived up to that status. The offense did not take the strides many thought it potentially could and the defense was nothing special compared to years past. With that said, though, this was still a relatively strong season for the Orange to safely land an NCAA Tournament bid. As always, head coach Jim Boeheim‘s team is defense-oriented but they do have a couple of nice offensive pieces. Syracuse is always a tough out in the Big Dance and they become even tougher to beat if someone like Tyus Battle gets it going offensively.

33. Florida Gators (19-15, 9-9 SEC) – No. 10 seed

An extremely inconsistent team, Florida can be dangerous due to their elite defense. In the NCAA Tournament, sometimes all it takes to win a game or two is taking opponents out of their offensive rhythms and that is exactly what the Gators can do. On the offensive end, Florida’s inexperience often shows as they can go several minutes without scoring. Despite not being the most efficient shooters in the country, the Gators really like to let it fly from deep so they can be tough to beat if those shots somehow start to fall. I am personally a big fan in freshman Andrew Nembhard as one of the more underrated guards in the nation.

32. Louisville Cardinals (20-13, 10-8 ACC) – No. 7 seed

Louisville has some really good wins and high-quality metrics but I am not really a believer in the hype. They have lost eight of their 12 games and are stumbling into the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals certainly have the talent to win a couple of games in the Big Dance but I think that they might have peaked a bit too soon when they started 7-1 in the ACC against the weak portion of their schedule. Louisville does a nice job on the defensive end of the floor, though, preventing easy looks from deep or around the rim while also limiting offensive rebounds.

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