NCAA Basketball: 10 teams with most to prove during 2023 Feast Week

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 13: Head coach Hubert Davis talks with R.J. Davis #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half of their game against the Miami Hurricanes at the Dean E. Smith Center on February 13, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Basketball Villanova Wildcats head coach Kyle Neptune Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports /

Before the start of conference play, “Feast Week” represents the best part of the non-conference portion of the NCAA Basketball season. There are several multi-team events (MTE) going on that allow some notable power conference programs to face off. We have tournaments such as the Maui Invitational, ESPN Events Invitational, and Battle 4 Atlantis to watch in the coming days.

There are several programs that many of us aren’t so sure about when it comes to being a potential in March. This week will offer a legit early test for many of them. Here’s a list of 10 programs that surely have “something to prove” in the week.

10. Michigan Wolverines

MTE: Battle 4 Atlantis

The Wolverines weren’t a team I was too high on entering this NCAA Basketball season. However, after reportedly beating Marquette in a secret scrimmage and dominating St. John’s a week ago, it looked as if this team had a roster good enough to make the Big Dance. Guard Dug McDaniel is in the midst of a breakout season (21.0 ppg and 6.3 apg), while Tennessee transfer forward Olivier Nkamhoua (18.3 ppg and 8.8 rpg) is having a big senior year so far.

However, giving up 94 points in a recent upset loss to Long Beach State halts the momentum for a bit. Which asks the question, who is this Michigan team? They’ll have a great opportunity in the Battle 4 Atlantis to establish how good they can be, starting with Memphis in the quarterfinal matchup.

9. Villanova Wildcats

MTE: Battle 4 Atlantis

The concern with head coach Kyle Neptune remains at Villanova, a program that has gotten used to being in the national scene. They lost to Penn last week but did manage to dominate Maryland, a team who itself is in free-fall.

The Wildcats are now in the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they take on Texas Tech in the first-round. This would be a fairly impressive win if they can get it and if they can beat a team like UNC or Arkansas, people can take them more seriously.

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