National Champion Contenders - OTR Writers Draft, Round 2
If you missed it, we went through our top-tier round of national champion contenders in yesterday's article. On to round 2!
If you missed it, we went through our top-tier round of national champion contenders in yesterday's article. On to round 2!
BoilerUp89
Pick 5 (Kind of...): Duke Blue Devils
Well, if Houston should've beaten Florida last year (and they should've), Duke really should've beaten Houston in the Final Four. You may have forgotten how improbable Houston's comeback was. Just glorious. And as good as Cameron Boozer has looked this year, he's no Cooper Flagg. And there's certainly nobody who can shoot like Kon Kneuppel could last year. Isn't this year's Duke team clearly inferior to last year's?
Yes, they are.
Of course, '25 Duke is the highest rated team in the 21st century according to KenPom. And the second-highest overall, behind only the '99 Blue Devils, who famously, also came up short. Duke reloaded and won the title two years later.
The loss to Texas Tech was almost as big of a choke as the Houston loss last year, but there are wins over Arkansas, Florida, and Michigan State.
When you look at the numbers, Duke is VERY similar to Michigan. Their showdown on 2/21 should be dynamite. Even with a loss, Duke has the inside track for the 1-seed in the South, and though Rice is the host of the regional, it's in Houston so the Cougars should be elsewhere. It's gross, but I'm fine rolling with Duke for purposes of this exercise.
Pick 6 (BoilerUp89): Illinois Fighting Illini
Right now, the Illini are playing as the best team in America. They have size, athleticism, talent, and more Yugoslavians than anybody else. The catch? Brad Underwood's teams routinely seem to not live up to their promise in the tournament. I think Wagler can change that but its an awful lot to put on a freshman's shoulders. If we were judging just based on roster I like this team better than Duke and UConn. UConn has the better coach while Duke is Duke and will have the refs in their corner. Honestly, thrilled to get Illinois in the 2nd round despite my minor concerns.
AlmaOtter: Hey, if Wagler can keep putting up 46 a game, we might have a shot. We're still winning, but we definitely miss Boswell running the point. The offense gets super stagnant and reliant on Wagler without him.
BoilerUp89: Boswell should be back for the tournament unless I'm mistaken.
Pick 7 (MaximumSam): Florida Gators
MaximumSam: Hey, do you remember the Gators won it all last year? Don't feel bad, I don't either. But ESPN says they did, which means I have the champs of the last three years. The Gators can't throw the ball into the ocean, but they are all seven feet tall (or even taller), so who needs shooting?
Pick 8 (AlmaOtter): Purdue Boilermakers
BoilerUp89: Insanely bad pick
AlmaOtter: Oh, I know. But someone had to take them. And you repped my team; I'll rep yours. Let's make the case for the Boilermakers and against gravity and the sweeping arc of history.
Braden Smith, despite his poor taste in facial hair and cars, is arguably the best pure point guard in the country. Fletcher Loyer is damn near averaging a 50/40/90%. Trey-Kylo Renn is an immensely versatile undersized 5. And they've played in roughly 3000 games together at this point. They've got the second most efficient offense in the country (just behind Illinoisovich) and, despite their recent swoon, still have a defense robust enough to stay in the Peach Basket metric. And they've been tested by one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Is that enough to buck a century of Farleigh disappointing runs in March?
PETE SAYS YES
