NCAA mens hoops projections

This would appear to be the year of parity. In other words, no one college basketball team jumps out as being elite above the rest. Everybody's eminently beatable.

Let's check out the current Top 10, because it's highly unlikely a champion will emerge from any lower in the ratings.

Virginia. The Cavaliers are cruising right along with only 2 losses to date, tops in the field. But don't they always have a way of folding when the pressure heats up at tournament time?

Michigan State. The Spartans are perennial contenders, but they were beaten handily by Duke at a neutral site early in the season. To boot, they got hammered at home by Ohio State, and again by rival Michigan. Yes, they've been "clean" since (which is more than can be said for their football and basketball programs -- investigations still underway). Head coach Tom Izzo always has a lot of talent and toughness with his teams. Brains? Not so much.

Xavier checks in at #3. Which is odd, given they were pummeled at home by...

Villanova. How can it be the defending champs are ranked lower than the Musketeers? Maybe because they've shown a scary penchant for playing bad against far lesser teams, hence their 4 losses.

The Dukies are much the same. They can easily dispatch the likes of Michigan State, without their best player, but lose to Vermont? Really?  It must drive Coach K crazy.

Kansas always seems to be in the mix. But does anybody really think they're a title contender this year? Not yours truly.

I love Gonzaga, the tiny little private college in the far northwest. For such a small fry, kudos to them for developing an elite hoops program over the years. Even made it to the Finals. But champs this year? Nada.

Purdue is an example of the weakness of the field this year. Yes, they're very good. But can they play with the really good teams? I think not.

Like Kansas, North Carolina is a perennial power. But there's a reason they're all the way to #9. Too mistake and bone head prone. An Elite Eight and maybe even Final Four team is a possibility. But cutting down the nets in Columbus? Don't think so.

Rounding out the Top Ten, and another example of the parity mentioned above, is Cincinnati. They play in the American Athletic Conference. Good luck to the Bearcats if and when they get to the Sweet Sixteen and the competition stiffens up in a large way. The only formidable team of late to come out of the AAC is the lady's hoop version at UConn. But that's a story for another day.

For all the above reasons, this shapes up to be quite the tourney this year. At least half a dozen teams have a legitimate shot at becoming champions.

Though yours truly is always, and I mean ALWAYS wrong when it comes to such things, my feeble minded crystal ball (brain), hence prediction, is leaning towards Nova.

But oh my, how I would dearly love to see the Zags rise up and conquer the field this year.