It seems that basketball teams on the East Coast have been
paralleling the weather, namely cooling down. Way down.
In the NBA, no true contender has shown itself capable of being
the Beast of the East and challenging a Western conference team in
the finals, and the same has been true in the college game.
The Big East and ACC, annually two of the elite conferences,
have shown major chinks in their armor as the calendar flips
towards February and tournament resumes are cemented.
The traditional powerhouses will likely need to buck the weather
trends and warm up quickly ““ or else I hope they have HD,
because they’ll be watching from home come March.
UConn, just three years removed from a national title, sits at
2-5 in the Big East after an 11-0 start, and is in danger of
missing out on a tournament bid.
Syracuse is in a similar position. Just four years ago, Carmelo
Anthony led the Orange to a title, but Jim Boeheim hasn’t
tasted similar success since. Syracuse’s up-and-down play and
back-to-back losses to Louisville and St. John’s bode poorly
for the future.
Preseason favorite Georgetown has failed to live up to
expectations, and its’ recent four-game winning streak has
come against teams that are just a combined 9-21 in conference.
Pitt and Marquette appear to be separating themselves from their
Big East brethren, but they too have flaws, and neither has the
look of a dominant team.
The ACC appears to be in even worse shape than the Big East.
Duke has had erratic play at the point, and its young bigs
haven’t played to their potential. Boston College actually
currently leads the league, but just lost center Sean Williams, who
was kicked off the team. Maryland and Georgia Tech have
disappointed thus far, and Clemson has gone 1-4 since a 17-0
start.
Only one team in the East has played well enough to truly
establish itself among the nation’s elite: North
Carolina.
The Tar Heels have been ranked in the top five for most of the
season, and deservedly so. Although extremely young, they are
equally talented and play a fast, appealing style of
basketball.
At 19-2 (5-1 in the ACC), the Tar Heels are setting themselves
up for a potential No. 1 seed and a likely league title. Few other
teams can match Roy Williams’ feared secondary break led by
quicksilver guard Tywon Lawson, or Brandan Wright and Tyler
Hansbrough down low.
UNC also ranks in the top five nationally in both offensive and
defensive efficiencies (according to kenpom.com), meaning the Heels
not only come after you on offense, but they play some in-your-face
defense as well.
And they come after teams in waves for 40 minutes with their
overflow of talented players just waiting for a turn, such as Wayne
Ellington, Danny Green, Marcus Ginyard and Reyshawn Terry, not to
mention California natives Alex Stepheson and Deon Thompson. That
list doesn’t even include last season’s starting guards
Wes Miller and Bobby Frasor.
North Carolina’s 28-point rout over Arizona last week
cemented the Tar Heels as the best in the ACC. That much is
obvious.
At this juncture, it appears UNC has joined Wisconsin, Florida,
UCLA and possibly Ohio State and Oregon as the nation’s elite
teams.
But with the rest of teams in the East going through a cold
spell, the Tar Heels really don’t have much competition.