We’re pretty much at the half way point of the season. Definitely by this stage we have a much better idea of which teams were overrated at the start of the season, and which teams were underrated. This goes for conferences as well. And with conference play now underway, most of the non-conference form goes out the window as anything can happen and only the truly great teams survive.
Over the next week we’ll have a few articles relating to the season thus far, and what to expect in the months to come.
Teams That Have Disappointed
UConn have been a touch disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still a very good team – just not the team we all thought they’d be (yet!). Calhoun prepared a fairly weak non-conference schedule to allow his team to mesh following the off-season departures. They seemingly did, but their performance since conference play began has been very ordinary. Big loss at Seton Hall, followed by another at Rutgers doesn’t bode well for a team many picked (myself included) as a potential Final Four calibre team. For mine, Andre Drummond has been a touch disappointing. Hasn’t dominated games as expected. Should be good by season’s end, but I’d certainly look at playing him WITH Alex Oriakhi so at least someone is getting rebounds.
Pittsburgh have been very disappointing. The early season loss at home to Long Beach State didn’t look bad at the time (still doesn’t really) but after winning the next 9, they slumped to very ordinary losses at home to Wagner, and on the road to Notre Dame and DePaul. Pretty much panic time for Coach Dixon and his cronies.
Villanova are not so much of a disappointment, but they’ve definitely been one of the most overvalued sides in betting for the season. It has been a fairly process of backing their opposition at the plus. Nova have a 2-10 ATS record. Their losses haven’t been too bad, such as against Saint Louis (on fire) or Saint Josephs (also on fire) – though that South Florida loss is just disgusting – but its more that Villanova have often been the favourite in games when they really had no right. Watch out now, though, as I expect they’ll soon be undervalued and worth backing again. Not yet though.
Vanderbilt definitely fits in this category. Tipped by most people as a top 10 team (must admit I was never a massive fan given the fact that they were tipped to be great last season too) and have generally been quite disappointing. The losses to Cleveland State, Xavier and Indiana State tell you to tread warily when thinking about backing this team (plus they are only 5-5 ATS). They seem to have come good a bit (that win at Marquette was impressive) but still, be careful. Certainly not the team people expected.
Arizona were one of these teams ranked far higher than they ever should’ve been. Given the talent lost (lottery pick Derrick Williams and Iona star Lamont Jones) there is no reason Arizona should have been ranked in pre-season polls. Still, they were. And it was downhill from there. Arizona brought in a lot of young talent that coach Miller has had to educate. Suspensions and benchings were all too common early season, but it looks like the Wildcats have turned the corner. Expect a more competitive Wildcats side in Pac-12 competition.
There are other teams that could be included, like Xavier since the brawl and UCLA (though they are coming good, stick with em in a weird Pac-12). But the ones listed above are definitely most disappointing for mine.
If I’ve left any out by all means comment, or tweet @wiggum7534 or @AusSportsGuys. Your thoughts and comments are valued.
Next article is on the teams that have been most impressive.
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