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Eight Teams Out
Updated: Wednesday January 17, 2001 11:44 AM
Just as Irving Berlin's God Bless America prompted Woody Guthrie to write This Land Is Your Land, and just as Lynyrd Skynyrd offered up Sweet Home Alabama as a riposte to Neil Young's Southern Man, so, too, do I feel compelled to submit my antipode to Grant Wahl's Second Annual Magic Eight, the list of teams from which G-Dub guarantees will emerge your 2001 national champion. Herewith, then, I present you with my very own compilation -- Eight Teams Out. These are squads that are currently ranked which I guarantee will not win the title. Sure, my task is considerably easier than the one Grant set out to complete -- there is, after all, only one champion and 318 runners-up -- but as the Grateful Dead put it in Touch of Grey: "I see you've got your list out/Say your piece and get out." So compare our lists and check them twice in April to see which one of us is the real Slim Shady. Eight Teams Out (with rank in this week's AP poll) Stanford (1). Sorry, G-Dub, I know this is your favorite non-Ivy League team, but the Cardinal lack a critical March asset: the ability to play varying styles. If and when Stanford runs into a quick team, it's lights out. North Carolina (6). Matt Doherty has done a superb job getting the Tar Heels to play with great enthusiasm, but guard play is essential in the tournament and Ronald Curry is still a year away from being a championship point guard. Florida (7). I loved the Gators coming into the year, but injuries to Brent Wright and Teddy Dupay have disrupted things beyond repair. If nobody goes pro, this is your top-ranked team heading into next season. Wake Forest (10). I'm all for veteran cohesiveness, but you also need great individual talent to win in March. How many Deacs are surefire NBA players? Darius Songaila, probably; Josh Howard, maybe. But that's it. Maryland (12). The Terps have the ability to look like championship contenders one night, NIT washouts the next. In a best-of-seven series, you can afford to put up a couple of clunkers, but not when you're playing one-and-done. Alabama (15). The Tide's ranking and record is inflated because of its easy non-conference schedule. When it gets in trouble, it relies too much on one-on-one moves from Rod Grizzard and Gerald Wallace. That just won't cut it. Seton Hall (18). The Pirates can beat any team in the field, but I don't think they possess the requisite maturity (not to mention chemistry) to sustain them over three weeks. Wisconsin (19). The Badgers came back down to Earth by losing three straight road games in the conference. They're a pleasure to watch, but I don't see them catching lightning in a bottle two years in a row. And a few more Hoop Thoughts to cleanse the palate ... Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers college basketball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Hoop Thoughts will appear each week throughout the college basketball season.
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