Final Four

Final Four Contenders

The NCAA season is in full swing as the contenders begin to separate from the pretenders, teams are beginning to realize their full potential, and some teams are just in quite a funk. These teams, on this list, may have the most talent as well as having players that play unselfishly. They each have the same goal that is to win a national championship. All of these teams will not make it to the Final Four, but they each have a shot if they handle their business. Of course, injuries, bad games, or miracles - by the other team- can knock these teams out of the tournament. However, in a perfect world these teams would have legitimate chances at punching their tickets to the Final Four.

Syracuse

The Orangemen are undefeated, thus far, as they are led by CJ Fair, Jerami Grant, and freshman guard Tyler Ennis. Syracuse has made a smooth transition from the Big East to the ACC despite a couple scares here and there. Anytime they face adversity during a game, coach Jim Boeheim settles his group down and gets them to play the way he wants them to. Also, what makes it tough when teams play Syracuse is their ability to pressure ball handlers. Boeheim likes to run a full court press zone to cause turnovers and disrupt the other team's rhythm. If Syracuse finishes the season strong and has good play during the ACC tournament, I look for them to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament like last year.

Wichita State

The "Cinderella" darlings from a year ago have not lost a game since their Final Four loss to Louisville. Gregg Marshall did not like the idea of his team being tabbed with that label. However, during the tournament, his team began to shed that label. Marshall is slowly turning his program into the modern day Gonzaga, VCU, and Butlers of the world. The Shockers are led by, NBA prospects, Fred VanVleet and Cleanthony Early. Another key player is Ron Baker as he can certainly light it up at times. Playing against subpar talent in the Missouri Valley Conference, Marshall is probably finding different ways to motivate his players in a lackluster conference. One thing is for sure, Wichita State is a top five team and likely to finish the regular season in the top five. Any team that takes them lightly will be "shocked" plain and simple.

Arizona

The desert has not received this much national buzz since hall of fame coach Lute Olsen was running the show. This is probably the most complete and deepest basketball team on this list. They have multiple players that can have big time performances so their margin for error is a wide margin. They have Nick Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Brandon Ashley, TJ McConell, Kaleb Tarczewski, Gabe York, and others. Head coach Sean Miller does a great job getting this group to play unselfishly and it starts with their leader Johnson. Arizona is also the most exciting team in the country as they throw dubious amounts of lobs. They boast big wins against San Diego State, at Michigan, and against Duke on a neutral site. The Wildcats have yet to be tested in the Pac-12, but it is hard to see them going unblemished in conference play. UCLA, Oregon, and Cal will give them their best games. Having a seven footer in Tarczewski can be key to Arizona's title hopes.

Kansas

On paper, Kansas is one of the most talented teams in all of college basketball. Andrew Wiggins is more assertive and aggressive on the offensive end. Joel Embiid plays with a certain nastiness and toughness that they need from a center. Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden are the two glue players that a coach needs in his lineup to make a run. The only thing that can stop the Jayhawks is themselves. If Wiggins gets comfortable shooting jumpers, Bill Self's group will experience an early exit in the NCAA tournament. Like Arizona's Tarczewski, Embiid is pivotal to his team's success as a seven foot rim protector.

Michigan State

The Spartans seem to be reeling right now as they look like the college version of the Chicago Bulls. As a result, you can say Tom Izzo is doing his best impersonation of Tom Thibodeau. Izzo has had players go in and out of his lineup all season with Branden Dawson and Adreian Payne being the most notable. Michigan State is a tough group though as they continue to play quality basketball. Gary Harris and Keith Appling continue to carry the load for this injury ridden basketball team. When the Spartans get all of their players healthy, this team has enough talent to get to the Final Four. With Izzo at the helm, they have enough talent to win it all. Another key component for this team is: How much of an issue is Appling's hand injury? The NCAA tournament is designed for elite guards to take over so this team cannot afford to lose a player of Appling's caliber.

Florida

Look regardless of if Chris Walker is named eligible or ineligible for the season, Florida is still a talented basketball club. It is really hard to pinpoint who is the MVG of this team. MVG meaning the Most Valuable Gator. This team is led by four seniors in Scottie Wilbekin, Patric Young, Will Yeguete, and  Casey Prather. Billy Donovan's team plays air tight defense and plays efficiently on offense. This might be Donovan's worst 3-point shooting team in the last couple years, but Michael Frazier has no problem assuming that duty. The Gators seniors have been to three straight Elite 8s and want to finally get over the hump. This group looks hungry and is as hot as anyone in the country. They still have two games against Kentucky to see if they are for real and a possible third meeting if they meet in the SEC tourney. Regardless of what happens in those matchups, Donovan and his seniors experience is something they can rely on when they experience adversity.

Duke

Jabari Parker and Duke have regained their swagger during the most critical juncture in the season. There was a point where Parker and Duke were heading south, but it is hard to keep going south with a hall of fame coach like Mike Krzyzewski. Parker might be the most important player for the Blue Devils, but Quinn Cook, Rodney Hood, Rasheed Sulaimon, and Amile Jefferson are key pieces. Coach K has managed to get his team focused and play unselfish basketball. He also does a good job of making sure everyone stays within their role. Jefferson is a perfect example of that as he rebounds and plays with a high motor. If Duke can continue their unselfish play, this group will make a run at a Final Four bid.

San Diego State

Head coach Steve Fisher's Aztecs do not have a star player. This scrappy group of gym rats plays cohesively as a team and epitomizes their coach's personality. They are led by Xavier Thames and the lanky Winston Shepard as they play tough defense and look to attack the paint. They have signature wins over Creighton, Marquette, and Kansas. The only blemish on their record is a nine point loss to Arizona. The Aztecs struggle with scoring at times because they are an athletic group who relies on its defense to get easy buckets. A few reasons why I like this ball club is because they are led by a fifth year senior in Thames, they play 40 minutes of intense basketball, and they can win ugly games.

Power Outage

Power Outage

Following the AFC Divisional Round loss to their rival, the San Diego Chargers is a team that, many would say, overachieved. They overachieved on both sides of the ball starting with their charismatic leader Philip Rivers. Rivers experienced a rebirth under first year head coach Mike McCoy, offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, and quarterbacks coach Frank Reich. The Chargers ran more of an uptempo, yet time consuming, no huddle offense. The Chargers had one of the best offensive units thanks to players like Keenan Allen, Ryan Mathews, Danny Woodhead, Ledarius Green, and Antonio Gates. They also found some stability in a shaky offensive line with players like DJ Fluker and Nick Hardwick being the anchors along the line. On defense, John Pagano did an admirable job calling plays and making sure that defense got hot during the right time. The defense struggled early on, but Eric Weddle and Donald Butler got that group of 11 guys to play cohesively as they began to force turnovers and cause sacks. 

There are a lot of areas that need to be addressed for this Chargers organization during this upcoming offseason. They have to get more stability along the offensive line through the draft or free agency. San Diego has to find another playmaker to play opposite of Keenan Allen. They can wait and see if Danario Alexander and Malcom Floyd can be of service to them coming off season ending injuries. The Chargers have to find a pass rusher opposite of Melvin Ingram and get some help in that secondary while finding a way to keep Butler at linebacker. This team has a lot of needs and it will be interesting to see how owner Alex Spanos and general manager Tom Telesco handle them.

On a positive note, San Diego was one of the big surprises of the NFL season. They went from a, dead in the water, 5-7 record to a 9-7 playoff team. They had some bad losses early on against Houston, Tennessee, Washington, and Oakland. Three out of those four losses were close games and could have been due to McCoy trying to find his way as a first time NFL head coach. He helped revive the careers of Rivers and Mathews while making sure the Chargers never quit. Sunday's final game against Denver epitomized that never quit mentality. The Chargers accomplished a lot this season and have to be happy, but they cannot become complacent with this year's success. They have to find a way to improve on both sides of the ball and take that next step. Especially, with an aging quarterback in Rivers.