Many students at Franklin High School fill out NCAA Tournament brackets, even if they aren’t regular college basketball fans. With March Madness being a little more than a month away, sports fans are preparing to fill out their brackets.
Many top-ranked teams have lost to un-ranked opponents, and 16 of the top 25 teams lost this weekend. With that being said here is a synopsis of the Associated Press top five teams as of this week.
5. San Diego State – With a record of 19-1 and wins over top 25 teams, Creighton, Marquette, and Kansas, the Aztecs have propelled themselves to the number 5 spot in the AP poll. However, their strength of schedule outside these wins, in the Mountain West Conference, is weak compared to other major conferences like the Big 10 and the ACC.
4. Wichita State – The undefeated, 23-0, Shockers land at the number 4 spot this weak after their win over Evansville on Saturday. Many people, however, like Zak Borrelli say they are “overrated,” due to the fact they have not played, nor will they play a top 25 team during the regular season.
3. Florida – The 20-2 Florida Gators remain at number 3 this week after their recent win against Texas A&M, keeping them undefeated in SEC play. The Gators are a solid defensive team, only allowing 57.4 points per game so far. Their 2 losses were to ranked opponents, UConn and Wisconsin.
2. Arizona – With a loss to, un-ranked Cal over the weekend, the Wildcats fall to number 2, after several weeks occupying the 1 spot. With a top 5 ranked freshman, Aaron Gordon, and one of the nations leading scorers, Nick Johnson (16.1 ppg), Arizona has powered through their schedule. They have beaten the only ranked team they have played, Duke.
1. Syracuse – The Orange moved up the 1 spot this week, after their overtime win over Duke, and Arizona’s loss to Cal. Syracuse is undefeated (22-0), despite their challenging ACC schedule. Their aggressive 2-3 zone defense forces teams to take low-percentage, outside shots because zone is uncommon as most teams play man-to-man defense.