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NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 24 teams in 2020 “The Basketball Tournament”

By Max Marmitt

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 30: D.J. Kennedy #1 of the St. John's Red Storm celebrates the win against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on January 30, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 30: D.J. Kennedy #1 of the St. John's Red Storm celebrates the win against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on January 30, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 16: C.J. Burks #14 and Jon Elmore #33 of the Marshall Thundering Herd (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 16: C.J. Burks #14 and Jon Elmore #33 of the Marshall Thundering Herd (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

23. The Basketball Tournament power rankings – Herd That

Actual Ranking: #23 – Round of 24 Matchup: #10 Best Virginia (West Virginia Alumni) on July 5th

Formerly known as the “West Virginia Wildcats” the previous two years in TBT, shooting guard/general manager Ot Elmore recruited some stellar Marshall alumni to this year’s team, officially branding themselves as a Marshall alumni team. Ot Elmore’s brother, Jon Elmore is a fantastic representative of the school.

Not only is he the all-time leading scorer at Marshall, but he is also the first player in NCAA history to break 2,500 points in addition to 750 assists. He put on a show in the 2018 NCAA tournament when his 27 points pushed 13th seeded Marshall over the edge against 4th seeded Wichita State led by now Los Angeles Clipper Landry Shamet. Joining him to create one of the most dangerous backcourts in the tournament is CJ Burks.

A dynamic duo together for Marshall’s 25-10 team, they are not only a dangerous backcourt in the TBT but one of the best all-time backcourts in Conference USA. Burks averaged more than 20 points per game in 2018 when the college juniors would both score more than 700 points individually in the same season, a very rare accomplishment. This team is loaded with electric guard play but also balanced their roster bringing in big men from schools including Arizona, Texas Tech, UAB, and Middle Tennessee.

Ryan Luther, who played at Pittsburg and Arizona, is more than a serviceable big man who can easily reach double figures in points and rebounds while also stretching the floor as a reliable three-point shooter. This team will have to control the tempo of the game by pushing the pace and also needs to take advantage of plenty of offensive firepower. If the offense finds its rhythm it will be very hard for other teams to stop. Marshall has a very tough first-round draw but if there’s any team that would be the most motivated to take down Best Virginia, it’s Herd That. Further motivation isn’t needed for this Marshall team, but they will be facing an in-state rival and the school that knocked them out of the 2018 NCAA tournament.

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