NCAA Basketball: Flopping, mid-majors, and Houston among key topics
By Bryan Mauro
3. Who should be number 1? Why?
Anyone who has read anything I wrote or tweeted this season would know exactly who I think should be number 1. The Houston Cougars are the best team in the country and after watching them play this year it is pretty evident they have the best team. Houston has blown out their opponents and they have looked good doing it.
The Cougars are efficient on offense and relentless on defense. On top of all of that Houston has the best backcourt in the country. That is my opinion of course but for my money the trio of Jamal Shead, Marcus Sasser, and Tramon Mark are the three I would take into battle against anyone.
Houston is well coached by head coach Kelvin Sampson they play extremely fast and overwhelm teams quickly. There are not many teams in the country who can play as fast as Houston does on offense and play as slow as they do on defense and do it successfully. In addition to the guards, the two frontcourt options are offensive threats but are also excellent rebounders and great shot blockers. They are great around the basket and make sure that the opponents have to guard every position on the floor. Houston has a great game with Oregon on the schedule today, I don’t believe Oregon is that good but it is the first major test for the Cougars.
Houston is currently ranked number 3 in the country and if they win today they will likely be number 2 as Gonzaga did lose to Texas earlier this week. The Cougars are making the march to Number 1 as they are going to be right on the heels of the North Carolina Tar Heels who have looked shaky at best. Houston is the one team this season that has taken care of the teams they are supposed to.
Next. Top-30 mid-major power rankings. dark
They have buried lesser competition and while they are going to get tested going forward they have the pieces to make a run to the National Championship. It’s hard to go undefeated but Houston has a team who can get really close. I picked them to win the National Title and they likely won’t fall out of the top five all year and will be a favorite going into March.