16. Tennessee
The Volunteers are expected to get Nate Ament back before the NCAA Tournament – and they need him. If Ament were in the lineup, it’s quite likely that the Vols would have beaten both Alabama and Vanderbilt, and they’d have an entirely different postseason outlook.
17. Nebraska
This team is one that I will look to be picking against in their first round of the NCAA Tournament. They aren’t overly big or athletic, aren’t an elite rebounding squad, and force teams into shooting a lot of 3-point shots. This is a recipe for a plucky underdog to come in and have a hot shooting night to deny Fred Hoiberg and the Huskers their first-ever NCAA Tournament win.
18. Texas Tech
After going 3-0 in their first 3 games without JT Toppin, the Red Raiders have fallen back to Earth just a little bit, losing their last two. They are going to need to get a little more offensively from anyone not named Anderson or Atwell if they want to make a deep tournament run, and I just don’t know if that’s going to happen.
19. Wisconsin
The giant killers of the Big Ten put another notch in their belt with a road victory over Purdue to close out the regular season. They’ve beaten Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, and now Purdue. Guard play rules in March, and the Badgers have one of the nation’s best backcourt tandems in Nick Boyd and John Blackwell.
20. Virginia
This is one of those teams that seems to be unlikely to be upset early in the NCAA Tournament because of their size, defensive intensity, and domination of the glass. And they’re a well-coached team with Ryan Odom at the helm. But I have not seen a ceiling from them that makes me think they can legitimately make a Final Four.
