Get a $500 Bonus on a $500 Deposit at BetUS!
Overrated NCAA Basketball teams
In this article, I take a look at several NCAA basketball teams which I feel will prove to be overrated by season’s end. The first on this list just might surprise some of you.
Wake Forest in the current No. 1 ranked team in the country on both the AP Top 25 and USA Today/ESPN polls. While Wake is a top ten team (closer to 10), it is clearly not a No. 1 and that is why I the Demon Deacons make the list. While Wake is long and athletic and is yet to lose this season; while it has beaten North Carolina and then-unbeaten Clemson, it is missing one thing that keeps it from being a legit top team in the country: three-point shooting. Wake’s three-point percentage of 33.5 is good, or should I say bad, for 201 in the country. Also, defensively this team gives up too many easy baskets, ranking 137th in the nation allowing 65.8 points per game. Jeff Teague is clearly one of the best point guards in the country, but when teams start to make him and the Demon Deacons beat them from the perimeter, this team will go through a rough spell. Without consistent outside shooting, it is nearly impossible to cut down the nets. Memphis found that out a season ago when it was shocked by a better shooting team.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers have made tremendous strides in a short period of time under Tubby Smith, but this team is starting show that it is overrated. While Minnesota has some good wins and is 16-2 on the season, it is clearly not a top 25 team in my opinion. Bowling Green, Georgia State, and Colorado State all three took the Golden Gophers down to the wire in the early part of the year. They were lucky to escape with wins at Iowa and at Wisconsin as they trailed by double digits in both of those games. They’re luck finally ran out against Northwestern as they endured a nine-point loss. Minnesota could easily be 12-5 this season and is currently only ranked this high because of it has a good record and is in a major conference. Offensively, this team struggles from the foul line, shooting only 69.1 percent (159th in the nation). That is going to cost them close games in the Big Ten. You will also notice that Minnesota is 12-1 at home and the losses will start to pile up more as the Gophers play more road games. Next year, Minnesota will be legit, but this year they are overrated.
At 16-1, the Butler Bulldogs are ranked 16th in the land but I have a hard time believing that they are better than any teams below them. Purdue, Gonzaga, and Notre Dame are all exceptionally better in my opinion. It just goes to show you how much the rankings are determined by a team’s record. This Butler team lost several key players off last year’s team and is not even as good as that team. The Horizon League is way down and that makes the Bulldogs look better though. Butler only beat a terrible Detroit team by four points. A win at Xavier isn’t bad on the resume, but this team really hasn’t played anyone. If it had, it wouldn’t be ranked so highly.
Jimmy Boyd’s NCAA basketball picks are ready to lead you to the most successful season of beating the basketball odds you have ever had. Start your NCAA basketball betting with Jimmy Boyd today!
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
- Overrated NBA Teams
- Underrated NCAA Basketball Teams
- Illinois-Chicago Butler Free NCAA Basketball Pick for February 13, 2009
- Purdue Minnesota Free NCAA Basketball Pick for January 22, 2009
- Georgia Tech Clemson Free NCAA Basketball Pick for January 25, 2009
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Comments
6 Responses to “Overrated NCAA Basketball teams”
Got something to say?
When did Butler lose to Drake? I thought their only lose was by 2 to Ohio State
You’re right. Had a computer error on my stat sheets and I should have double checked. Butler beat Drake first game of the season. I’m not that big on Butler yet but I’d love to be proved wrong as I love mid-major runs in March.
The Horizon League is way down? They’re ranked 11th in conference RPI; CSU beat Syracuse (and while the last second game winner was exciting, CSU pretty much controlled the game from the start) UIC beat G-Tech and Vanderbilt; and oh yeah Butler knocked off Xavier.
Do you actually know anything about Butler and/or the Horizon League; or was this the first team you saw in the top 25 that you decided didn’t belong?
I was referring that it is down compared to last season and not necessarily in terms of the entire country. Wright State, for example, has been a 20-win team the past couple seasons but is now struggling. Watching Butler last season and now watching them this season, the Bulldogs aren’t as good. I’m usually bigger on the Horizon League than most but it’s just not as talented top to bottom. Tell me you don’t actually think CSU is better than Syracuse. How many games would CSU win in the Big East?
Yeah, and last year UWM was down, and now they’re 12-6; same with UWGB .500 last year, 14-5 this year. WSU for what it’s worth is still a top 100 RPI team. The HL will likely end up with as many 20 win teams this year as last; even if they aren’t the same teams.
The question isn’t whether CSU is better then Syracuse, it’s whether CSU can compete with Syracuse; and so far this year the HL has shown itself capable of competing with conferences that are supposed to be its superior. And Butler has again shown itself to be the cream of the crop in said conference.
As for Purdue being exceptionally better Purdue and Butler have 5 common opponents; both are 5-0 against said opponents, both with an average double digit victory. I’m not sure that that demonstrates exceptionally better.
We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. I appreciate your insight and your enthusiasm for the small guys. Hopefully the Horizon will get a couple teams in the Big Dance so we can see how they stack up on the big stage.